Friday morning on the Rick Rydell radio show (AM 650 KENI) former Florida congressional candidate Ross Beiling announced he was challenging Mike Hawker in the Republican primary for House District 28.
Hawker has represented South Anchorage/ Hillside in the legislature since 2002. He has drawn criticism the last two years for what many see as excessive spending on an extravagant new legislative office building in downtown Anchorage. Hawker, as chairman of Alaska Legislative Council, negotiated and oversaw that project.
Beiling said Hawker “doesn’t get it.”
Listen to his announcement below or get the full podcast here.
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.