Unbelievably fifteen seemingly sane people are vying to be the next Mayor of Anchorage.

For reasons that completely escape me there are a large number of individuals who believe that being elected the mayor of Alaska's largest city at the beginning of the coming recession is somehow a good thing. I know it boggles my mind as well.

First up we have Republican Dan Sullivan. Who apparently wanted the job so bad that he filed for it waaay back in 2007. You know even though he is an Alaska Republican, which by definition makes him a potential criminal, I have half a mind to help him get elected to this crappy job. That will teach him!

Next up is Matt Claman, who is currently serving as acting mayor after Mark Begich was elected to the Senate, so you would think he would know better then to even pursue this position. But nope. There he is smiling like the Cheshire cat and acting as if keeping Mark Begich's old chair warm qualifies him to run this city. Hah!

But what Claman fails to realize is that in the next year EVER SINGLE thing that goes wrong (and we know stuff is about to go wrong) will be laid right at his feet. This will give his opponents all the ammunition they need to mortally wound him and render him unelectable.

Then we have Walt Monegan. We love Walt, he has been an inspiration to the Alaska progressive bloggers and much of the reason why the Alaskans for Truth PAC exists today. But Walt has never been elected to anything before so in many ways he remains an unknown quantity.

Paul Honeman (another ex-cop) seems like a nice guy, has same problem as Walt concerning elections. I think Walt will overshadow him and he will not get very much attention.

Sheila Selkregg is a former city planning director. Again a nice person, has no shot here.

Merica Hlatcu is a marine engineer who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican gubernatorial nomination in 2006. No that is not a typo, that is how this person's name is really spelled. No website, no information, no chance.

Richard Wanda ran unsuccessfully for the School Board in 2004. Do I really need to add anymore to this? How often is a successful run for mayor preceded by a failed attempt to get on the SCHOOL BOARD?

Bob "Joker" Lupo lost a race for the Assembly in 2007. Same problem as Wanda. And he must already know he has no chance, hence the nickname "Joker".

Dominic S.F. Lee is a local businessman. I can't even drum up the energy to say anything snarky about this guy. Throw another one on the loser pile.

Then there's Billy Ray Powers, father of Snowzilla. Okay now we are talking!

Here is a guy that gained national attention for building a giant eyesore made of snow, that pissed off all of his neighbors, and took until the middle of July to finally melt completely away.

How is this guy not the front runner for the job of mayor?


Which brings us to Eric Croft. Now Croft is the guy that makes many of my progressive friends get a little nipply with excitement. He is smart, he has experience, and he probably has the best chance of winning this thing right now.

Is there a problem? Well yeah there are a few nitpicky things. Number one is the cheesy picture on this part of his website. That may be one of the most unnatural poses by a politician I have ever seen. Hey Eric, GQ called and they demand you stop using their poses!

And then there is this description of his position on the issues.

Eric understands the importance of keeping our local economy strong in the changing global economy; is the only candidate in this race with a comprehensive plan to lower taxes for Anchorage residents while maintaining vital city services; and will make sure Anchorage has the resources we need to combat crime and keep us safe.


Apparently when young Eric was away at college he attended a course called "Vague Descriptions 101".

Look I am not sure WHO I like in this race so far, but if there was a prize for uninspiring these candidates would ALL be competing for first place.

(Yes I realize I only wrote about ten candidates, but that is only because nobody knows who the hell the other candidates are! If you find out let me know.)