Free Republic

MAYOR RELEASES PRIVATE AUDIO TO DAMAGE HIS ACCUSER Mayor Ethan Berkowitz came halfway clean on Monday after admitting that he had had an inappropriate “messaging” relationship with TV reporter Maria Athens. But he didn’t come all the way clean. Instead, he asked everyone to respect his privacy. Porcaro That alleged “messaging” relationship was something Athens had never discussed last week. Her actual allegation was that the mayor had been posting lewd photos to a kiddie porn website and she said she had “reliable sources.” She was readying to go on the air with the allegations on Friday, when the station...

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz announced his resignation at Tuesday night’s assembly meeting. Berkowitz, while not in attendance, announced his resignation through a written statement read by his chief of staff. “It is with profound sadness and humility that I resign as the mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage,” Jason Bockenstedt said on behalf of the mayor, to applause and cheers from those in attendance.

Ethan Berkowitz headed to victory with a big lead over opponent Amy Demboski in the Anchorage mayoral runoff election Tuesday night. With 93 percent of the vote counted, Berkowitz had nearly 60 percent of the vote to Demboski’s 41 percent, a margin that was insurmountable. Berkowitz had held a commanding lead over Demboski throughout the counting Tuesday night. As his margin over Demboski held strong, Berkowitz stood on a chair at his campaign party in a downtown restaurant to wild applause and waving signs. He asked his supporters’s to continue to help after the night’s celebration to work on unifying...

A new poll of Alaska voters finds that Alaskans, weary from the scandal-plagued Rep. Don Young (R-AK), support challenger Ethan Berkowitz (D) by a 51% to 45.5% split. This marks the first time the challenger has held a lead over Young this cycle. Perhaps of even more concern for Young, the poll found 34% are strong Berkowitz supporters -- unlikely to change their decision -- while only 19% of those polled called themselves strong supporters of Young. Berkowitz was the 2006 Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor. CQ: "Young has rarely faced serious competition since the 1973 election he won to...