Alaska Sea Party charges anti-Measure 2 group with campaign disclosure violations

The group behind a ballot measure to restore Alaska’s Coastal Management Program says initiative opponents are violating state campaign disclosure law.

The Alaska Sea Party points to the “Vote No on 2” campaign’s TV ads, which feature outdated information about the group’s top three contributors, and don’t audibly name those donors as required by the law.

At the time the ads were produced No on 2’s top three financial backers were the Alaska Miners Association, Shell Oil Company, and the Alaska Oil and Gas Association. Since then, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips have displaced Shell and AOGA on the group’s website, but not in the ads.

Sea Party Policy Director Lisa Weissler want the ads changed or taken off the air.

“The ads should stop. It’s a very clear violation of the law, and so it should stop or they should do it right. And they should have penalties assessed,” Weissler says.

She says the Sea Party filed a complaint about the ads with the Alaska Public Offices Commission Friday.

It’s the second APOC complaint the Sea Party has filed against the anti-Measure 2 group. In July, the Sea Party took issue with the “Vote No on 2” moniker, saying it violates a state requirement that a group’s name reflect an issue or the goal, and not simply express opposition or support of a particular measure.

The Sea Party touts itself as a grassroots organization. Its top three contributors are the North Slope Borough, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, and the Alaska Conference of Mayors.

No on 2 spokesman Willis Lyford could not be reached for immediate comment.

The federal Coastal Zone Management Act allows states that adopt an approved coastal management program to have greater input into development decisions along their coastlines. It also streamlines the regulatory process of various local, state, and federal agencies.

Alaska had a program for more than 30 years. But the legislature and Parnell administration failed to reach a deal to reauthorize it in 2011.

Measure 2 will be on the August 28th primary ballot.

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