An Anchorage mayoral forum on Alaska Native issues turned testy Wednesday when one front-runner, Andrew Halcro, referred to another, Dan Coffey, as the “most unethical” mayoral candidate in city history.
Up until that point, homelessness, economic development and problems associated with alcohol dominated the lunchtime forum hosted by the Alaska Native Village Corporation Association and the Alaska Native Professional Association. Organizers hoped to spur a conversation about economic issues, said Curtis McQueen, the president of Eklutna Inc. and one of the moderators.
References to ethical leadership surfaced at the end. Coffey, a longtime Anchorage lawyer and lobbyist, sought in his closing statement to refute accusations of special interests, raised obliquely by Demboski earlier in the forum. He called such accusations “nonsense” and said his only “client” would be the city of Anchorage if he’s elected.
In her closing, Demboski reiterated campaign promises of ethical leadership and honesty if she’s elected. Then Halcro took the topic a step further.
“What we’re talking about is a 10-year history of some of the most unethical conduct in the history of Alaska politics,” Halcro said. “We’re talking about the most unethical candidate to run for mayor in the history of this city.”
As Halcro spoke, Coffey leaned over to whisper to Berkowitz, seated on his right, and patted Berkowitz twice on the shoulder. In his statement, Halcro did not identify the candidate he was referring to, but confirmed after the forum that the remark was directed at Coffey.
Coming less than three weeks before the April 7 election, the remarks signal what may be a key line of criticism against Coffey, who has released files on himself online in an effort to fend off parts of his background that could become problems for him in the campaign.
Via adn.com
image credit APEonline
