Dunleavy recall opponents plan to drop court fight

Dunleavy recall opponents plan to drop court fight

Opponents will attempt to sway the possible recall election.

The group opposing an effort to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy said Tuesday it plans to drop its court fight and instead gear up for a possible recall election.

Stand Tall With Mike, in a statement, said it told its attorneys to withdraw its appeal before the Alaska Supreme Court, saying recent court actions indicate “further participation in the legal process would not be a productive use of its resources.”

“Stand Tall with Mike will place its trust in the voters, not unelected judges, to protect the integrity of our elections, now and into the future,” the group said.

The court last week allowed for pro-recall group Recall Dunleavy to begin a new signature-gathering phase while the case is on appeal. The state, on behalf of the Division of Elections, had joined with Stand Tall With Mike in appealing a lower court ruling that found the recall should be allowed to proceed.

The state’s appeal will continue, Department of Law spokeswoman Cori Mills said by email. The state maintains an opinion by Attorney General Kevin Clarkson and a decision by the Division of Elections based on that analysis were correct and that the issues need to be addressed by the Alaska Supreme Court, Mills said.

Anger over budget cuts Dunleavy proposed last year helped fuel the recall effort,which gathered more signatures than required as part of an application that was rejected by the division.

Division director Gail Fenumiai has said her decision to deny the application was based on a legal review from Clarkson that concluded the stated grounds for recall were “factually and legally deficient.” Clarkson is a Dunleavy appointee who was confirmed by lawmakers.

Dunleavy, a Republican who took office in late 2018, has called this a political recall. He told Alaska Public Media’s “Talk of Alaska” Tuesday that recall opponents hoped the court would look at whether various standards had been breached.

“It doesn’t appear that that’s going to happen and so we have to gear up for a campaign so that the people of Alaska can weigh in and decide whether they believe … this governor should stay in office,” he said.

Grounds for recall in Alaska are lack of fitness, incompetence, neglect of duties or corruption.

Recall Dunleavy, among its claims, said the governor violated the law by not appointing a judge within a required time frame, misused state funds for partisan online ads and mailers, and improperly used his veto authority to “attack the judiciary.”

The recall group must gather 71,252 signatures in seeking to force a recall election.

Stand Tall With Mike called Chief Justice Joel Bolger a “material witness” in the case and raised concerns with him hearing the matter. Bolger met with Dunleavy last year after the governor refused to make a judicial appointment. Dunleavy has said the meeting provided “important clarification” on the nominations process that he was seeking when he delayed the appointment.

Brewster Jamieson, an attorney for Stand Tall With Mike, in a statement said the group considers the recall “seriously flawed.”

“If it is allowed to go forward, this means that Alaska has a purely political recall system, which is contrary to the Alaska constitution,” he said. “Those issues are still before the court, but in the meantime, with signature gathering underway, my client determined that it would no longer devote resources to legal proceedings.”


• This is an Associated Press report by Becky Bohrer.


More in News

The Norwegian Bliss arrives in Juneau on Monday, April 14, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire file photo)
Ships in port for the week of May 12

This information comes from the Cruise Line Agencies of Alaska’s 2024 schedule.… Continue reading

The Alaska House of Representatives is seen in action on Monday, May 5, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Republican opposition kills bill intended to fix Alaska’s absentee voting problems

Senate Bill 64 passed the Senate this week, but the House doesn’t have enough time to address it, legislators said.

Fu Bao Hartle (center), a Juneau Special Olympics athlete, crosses a bridge with family and supporters during the annual Alaska Law Enforcement Torch Run on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (Ellie Ruel / Juneau Empire)
Community spirit shines at Juneau’s Law Enforcement Torch Run for Special Olympics

Energy was high at race to fundraise to send Juneau’s athletes to Anchorage Summer Games.

The Alaska State Capitol is seen behind a curtain of blooming branches on Saturday, May 17, 2025. (James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Most state services will see no new funding in final Alaska state budget draft

Flat funding, combined with inflation, will mean service cuts in many places across the state.

Steve Whitney (left) is sworn in as a Juneau Board of Education member by Superior Court Judge Amy Mead in the library at Thunder Mountain Middle School on Saturday, May 17, 2025, after five candidates were interviewed by the other board members to fill the seat vacated when Will Muldoon resigned last month. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Steve Whitney returns to Juneau school board six years after departure to temporarily fill vacant seat

Fisheries manager and parent selected from among five candidates to serve until October’s election.

A used gondola purchased from an Austrian ski resort is seen as the key to Eaglecrest Ski Area’s year-round operations and a secure financial future. (Eaglecrest Ski Area photo)
Board chair: Eaglecrest’s gondola pushing limits of 2028 completion deadline under Goldbelt agreement

Company can nix $10M deal if work not finished on project ski area calls vital to its financial future.

Two spawning pink salmon head upstream in shallow water in Cove Creek in Whittier on Aug. 5, 2024. While last year’s pink salmon runs and harvests were weak, big increases are expected this year. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska officials forecast improvements for the state’s commercial salmon harvest

Total catch is projected to be twice the size of last year’s weak harvest.

Juneau law enforcement officers stand in formation while Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Branden Forst reads the names of Southeast Alaska’s fallen officers on Friday, May 16, 2025. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Fallen officers remembered in annual ceremony during National Police Week

Memorial recognizes their sacrifice and the highest officer assault rate in the past decade.

Adam Telle, nominee for assistant secretary of the Army for civil works, answers questions during a confirmation hearing this week. (Senate Armed Services Committee photo)
Trump’s nominee to head Army Corps of Engineers vows ‘expedited’ fix for Juneau’s glacial outburst floods

Adam Telle says “it’s going to require creativity,” without offering a specific timeline, at confirmation hearing.

Most Read