The Alaska Democratic Party on Wednesday urged a Superior Court judge to disqualify a Republican state House candidate who submitted a nearly blank financial disclosure form when he filed to run for an Anchorage seat.
The filing asks the court to enforce a prior decision in which it ruled that the Alaska Public Offices Commission, rather than the Division of Elections, was responsible for verifying candidates’ financial disclosures. That came after the Alaska Democratic Party requested Tagle be disqualified for failing to complete his disclosure form.
Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom certified Jose Tagle to run against Democratic Rep. Ted Eischeid on Sept. 4 despite the Public Offices Commission’s recommendation to disqualify him. That reversed a previous decision Aug. 31, when Dahlstrom told Tagle she would not certify him as a candidate in the general election, saying the law did not allow her the discretion to overrule the commission’s findings.
Tagle was one of two candidates Dahlstrom allowed onto the ballot despite missing financial disclosure information. The other was former attorney general and Republican gubernatorial candidate Treg Taylor, who failed to list the full names of tenants at an Anchorage apartment building he owns.
The commission cited similar reasoning in both cases. Neither Taylor nor Tagle corrected their financial disclosure forms within a 30-day period outlined in state law. Tagle ultimately did file a more complete disclosure form in August, after the deadline had passed, and blamed the initially blank form on a “glitch.”
“When initially filed, there was a glitch (and) all my saved history was not submitted,” Tagle wrote Aug. 8. He updated his disclosure form again eight days later with additional details, including a child support debt and a previously undisclosed judgment against him.
To justify certifying Tagle and Taylor, Dahlstrom cited a preliminary Department of Law analysis that found discrepancies on a large majority of candidates’ financial disclosure forms beyond Tagle and Taylor.
But in its court filing, the Alaska Democratic Party argues Dahlstrom didn’t have the authority to allow Tagle on the ballot. The party cites a mid-August court ruling that a candidate who doesn’t comply with disclosure requirements forfeits the opportunity to run.
“The Division of Elections has clearly botched handling of our election system this past year,” Alaska Democratic Party Executive Director Jenny-Marie Stryker said in a statement. “You cannot tell a court one thing, tell candidates another, and then expect voters to trust whatever answer comes next. This inconsistency is embarrassing and a poor example of public service.”
The Alaska Democratic Party is asking a judge to order the Division of Elections to remove Tagle from the ballot, or, if ballots have already been printed, to prevent him from taking office if he wins. Tagle trailed Eischeid, the Democratic incumbent, by 28 points in a two-way race in the August primary.
The party is asking for a ruling as soon as possible ahead of a Sept. 18 deadline to begin mailing ballots.
The Department of Law did not respond to a request for comment on the filing.
Democrats did not ask the judge to remove Taylor from the ballot. The filing came in a case that sought to disqualify Tagle, and a party spokesperson said in a statement the party was simply “finishing what’s in front of us.”
