Some community members are accusing organizers of a local election forum of hiding political bias; others say the forum is a good-faith effort at political dialogue.
Organizing Wednesday’s forum was Citizens for Haines, an independent expenditure group that has been registered with the State of Alaska since 2024.
According to Alaska statute, independent expenditure groups may spend money in support of candidates so long as spending “is made without the direct or indirect consultation or cooperation with, or at the suggestion or the request of, or with the prior consent of, a candidate, a candidate’s campaign treasurer or deputy campaign treasurer, or another person acting as a principal or agent of the candidate.”
As critics have accused the group of obscuring from the public its partisan slant, one question has been about the relationships between the group and some of this year’s candidates. Another has been whether that has any bearing on the validity, or fairness, of the forum.
The group has been active in the past two years’ local elections, purchasing signs and advertisements in support of local candidates Gabe Thomas, Richard Clement, and Mark Smith.
One of this year’s assembly candidates, Lee Robinson, donated $400 to the group in 2024.
Community Facebook group moderator Sheri Loomis in a post this week called the event a “partisan forum,” as opposed to “non-partisan forums” held in the past by other groups.
Former assembly member Natalie Dawson described the group in an email to the borough clerk this week as a “partisan political group posing as an ‘informal’ group to host a forum at the library.”
“I don’t believe the forum shouldn’t happen,” Dawson said Wednesday. “I just think they should be transparent about who they are and who they’re supporting.”
On the group’s promotional materials for the forum it described itself as “an informal citizen-led action group.”
As of the group’s latest financial disclosure, filed to the state on Sept. 4, it has not spent any money in this year’s election.
Group organizer Randa Szymanski said Wednesday that the group hasn’t purchased signs this year or yet purchased ads for any of the candidates, or contributed funds in any other way.
There is a statement printed on candidate Lee Robinson’s signs saying the signs were “Paid for by Citizens for Haines.”
Szymanski, however, said the statement was put on the signs when the group was considering paying for them, but Robinson ultimately purchased the signs himself.
According to Szymanski, candidates running in this year’s election have attended the group’s meetings but were not given any of the questions for the forum in advance, Szymanski said.
“That was something we were very specific on,” she said. “Candidates who have attended any of our gatherings were not there when we discussed the forum. They did not have any part in putting together the forum.”
Szymanski would not say which candidates had attended gatherings.
“I don’t think it’s anybody’s business who comes to our gatherings,” she said. “This is such a loose group. We talk about stuff over coffee. Sometimes it’s different people each time, and it’s open to anybody. I don’t feel like I want to name names.”
Members of the group say the forum is an important part of the election process, allowing residents to see candidates and understand their positions.
“I think the more exposure candidates get, the better candidates can campaign for themselves why they’re the best to be in those roles,” said Barbara Nettleton. “Just leave it to Haines to make a candidate forum a dividing factor or make it about partisanship.”
The forum’s moderator, former Chilkat Valley News publisher and former KHNS general manager Kyle Clayton, had a similar message.
Clayton said he had been stopped on the street and received calls and emails from residents describing Citizens for Haines as “far-right” and “fascist.”
“I have to push back on this kind of stuff,” he said Wednesday. “We live together. We’re going to be around each other. We’re going to argue about stuff. I would much rather people come to a forum, sit through it, and talk to each other before and after, rather than make Facebook comments on their siloed groups.”
Clayton said when he was approached to moderate the group he hadn’t known the group was a political action group, but described the questions he was given to ask at the forum “very standard.”
“I think just because this group is a political action committee doesn’t mean they can’t hold a forum for candidates because they want their interests addressed,” he said. “I’m happy to moderate because I feel like engagement across political perspectives is always a good thing…
At the end of the day, this group has interests, and candidates are going to have to reckon with them at some point. If you’re on the opposite side, why not go and engage with them?”
Election day is Oct. 6.