The Alaska Supreme Court says a campaign to evict the governor could be carried out by Reuters

By Yereth Rosen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (Reuters) – The political enemies of the Republican governor of Alaska have good reason to continue the campaign to oust him through election reshuffles, the state Supreme Court ruled on Friday.

The campaign to remind Governor Mike Dunleavy, who is about 17 months away from office, is legal and can move forward, the Alaska Supreme Court has ruled.

Whether or not Dunleavy’s opponents justify their alleged deficiencies – which is incompetent and corrupt – is a matter for the electorate, the court said, is up to the voters.

“People who have asked to sign petitions must decide whether the allegations are serious enough to ensure the election; every voter at the polling station must decide whether the allegations are serious enough to remove them from office,” the opinion says.

Dunleavy, a former teacher, school administrator and lawmaker representing Wasilla, was elected governor in 2018, placing him as the current political acolyte of U.S. President Donald Trump. His tenure has been rocky, with Alaska facing financial difficulties and dependence on reduced oil revenues.

The governor’s enemies say he deserves to be reminded because he is inappropriate and has abused his power. Among the reasons cited by supporters, Duleavy accuses him of illegally using the budget veto, punishing judges on abortion rights judgments and violating ethical laws by using state funds for partisan campaign purposes.

To regain the Alaska ballot, the campaign must complete a two-phase test, collecting signatures for 10% of the votes cast in previous statewide elections and then collecting signatures for 25% of the vote. Recall that the Dunleavy campaign reportedly had 81 percent of the required second-phase signatures in April.

In a speech Friday, Dunleavy blasted the court’s ruling, saying the electorate “will lead political opponents to unfounded, costly and unintentional elections.”

Dunleavy had other problems other than the threat of recall.

In an incident with Parliament, he vetoed the Alaska Sustainable Fund dividend this year, the coveted payment of oil wealth for the population that has been made every year since 1982.

This week, CNBC ranked Alaska’s business climate dead among all 50 U.S. states. CNBC specifically cited Dunleavy’s actions, saying it “constantly reduced” funding for the University of Alaska and made other bad decisions.