Lawsuit challenging Wasilla lawmaker's eligibility to hold office could be fast-tracked
Aug. 31—220204 David Eastman
An Anchorage judge is set to decide on Wednesday afternoon whether to fast-track a legal challenge against Wasilla Republican Rep. David Eastman's eligibility to hold state office and appear on the general election ballot.
Randall Kowalke, a former Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly member, filed the suit in early August, alleging that Eastman's lifetime membership of the Oath Keepers violates the Alaska Constitution's disloyalty clause, which has never been tested in court.
Kowalke wants Eastman taken off the general election ballot through a preliminary injunction filed Monday. His attorneys from the civil rights law firm Northern Justice Project said the Division of Elections is set to certify primary election results next Tuesday and start printing ballots next Wednesday, necessitating an expedited schedule.
In June, Eastman was approved to appear on the ballot after the division fielded 24 timely challenges to his candidacy. Director Gail Fenumiai wrote that the"preponderance of evidence supports his eligibility."
The division filed a motion earlier in the month to dismiss its charge in the lawsuit. State attorneys argue that the Division of Elections is "not equipped" to investigate candidates' political associations for disloyalty and that that is the role of the Legislature. Instead, state election officials say they are better suited for the "politically neutral" tasks of determining candidates' age, citizenship and residency.
Eastman is represented by Joe Miller, an attorney best known for his 2010 Republican candidacy for the U.S. Senate. Miller filed a motion asking that the judge move the case to Palmer, arguing that Kowalke and Eastman both live in Mat-Su. He said he would also file a motion to dismiss the case.
Miller argued in a brief status hearing that there is a separation of powers issue at play because the judiciary should not decide who is eligible to serve in the Legislature. By phone, he called the case "atrocious" and "anti-democratic."
State attorneys joined Miller in opposing Kowalke's plans for an expedited hearing schedule, calling it an "unnecessary fire drill."
Savannah Fletcher, one of Kowalke's attorneys, said it made more sense to resolve the question of Eastman's eligibility to hold state office before he is potentially reelected in November.
Anchorage Judge Jack McKenna separately scheduled oral arguments next Friday to hear the division's motion to dismiss the case.
