Metcalfe Suspends Campaign

(Anchorage)  – Today, Alaska Congressional Candidate Jake Metcalfe released the following statement:

Good afternoon.

Many questions have arisen in the last two weeks about the role my former campaign consultant may have played in engineering the redirection of Ethan Berkowitz domain names to websites intended to harm his candidacy. 

I want to clarify, once and for all: I did not order or ask anyone to buy the sites.  I did not ask anyone to redirect the sites.  And I did not know until recently that anyone associated with my campaign had done so.  It appears that a former campaign worker was involved in these acts, and I condemn them.  The buck stops here.  I take responsibility for these acts.  I made a mistake by not taking these allegations more seriously from the beginning, and I called Ethan Berkowitz today to apologize to him for any harm this may have caused.  I regret that Alaskans have been distracted from the real task at hand – replacing Don Young.

I’ve always been proud to be a Democrat.  I share the values of pioneer statesmen like Bill Egan, Ernest Gruening, and Bob Bartlett: I am a moderate, pro-development, union Democrat. 

But this race has never been about me. It’s always been about good jobs, health care for all and taking care of those who have served our country—our veterans. It’s been about setting a higher standard for the way we do politics in this state—and about who represents us in D.C. 

It’s always been about what’s good for Alaska. That’s what this campaign has tried to focus on—that’s what we all need to focus on if we’re going to win in November and that’s why I’m withdrawing my bid for U.S. Congress today.  This is one of the hardest decisions I’ve made, and I do not take it lightly. 

I have been honored to have the support of many Alaskans in my bid for Congress.  Hundreds of individual donors, volunteers, and advisors have pledged their resources to my campaign. I have enjoyed traveling the state, meeting Alaskans, and hearing their honest suggestions for how we can make this nation a better place. 

It’s because we need to keep our eyes on the prize and it is because I care so deeply about the future of our state; that I have decided to step aside.  In a few months, my wife Moira and I will welcome a new baby into our family.  It will be wonderful to spend more time with my boys and the precious little girl whose about to join the large Metcalfe clan.

It is now time for me, for all of us, to look forward again and to rally around a Democrat who can defeat Don Young in November.

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I’ve appointed Chris Tuck - a member of the Anchorage School Board as well as a rising star in the Democratic Party - to be my Anchorage Campaign Chair.

Chris is a welcome edition to Team Jake!

I faxed Governor Palin a letter yesterday afternoon requesting immediate action on the Juneau energy crisis. Governor Palin’s Disaster Policy Cabinet has discussed the issue, but tabled the issue until next week.

Last week, an avalanche took out the Snettisham power line that supplies Juneau with electricity.  As a result, Juneau residents are faced with an almost quintuple increase in  the cost of per-kilowatt hour for power.

Juneau needs help.  Now.

A day doesn’t go by now without more bad news for Alaska and Don Young. Yesterday’s headline read, Young’s legal fees surpass $1 million. Tonight’s ten o’clock news led with Congress takes aim at Don Young.

When will it stop? Alaska can’t take it anymore. For Alaska, Don Young needs to come clean, or find a new job.

Part of me wants Don Young to remain the wounded bear, easy pickings for November. But that’s bad for Alaska. We need a new Congressman, now. Our state’s reputation and credibility are too important to drag through the mud anymore.

Alaska Democrats offer voters hope and change. In order to win this seat, we must lead by example and not behave like Don Young. It is time we show Alaska voters we are open, honest and transparent.

That’s why I released my tax returns last week and called on my fellow Democrats to do the same thing. I want voters to know who I am. I work, I pay a mortgage, and I pay too much in taxes. Unlike Ethan Berkowitz, I’m not afraid to open my books, nor will I ever engage in in elite parsing of language to hide my income.

For me, change and victory are simple. Democrats will win if we open our books, remain honest and forthright, and show transparency and pride about who we are.

Mark Begich, Mayor of Anchorage and (hopefully) the next US Senator from Alaska , endorsed Jake’s sunshine policy of Democrats disclosing their tax records. In a press statement today Begich said, “I believe in full disclosure. If I become a candidate for the Senate, I will release my past income tax statements to Alaska voters. I think a candidate’s personal finances should be part of the public record.”

Meanwhile, Jake’s latest ad, “Sunshine Disinfects“, ran a full half page in today’s Juneau Empire. In the ad, Jake exhorts Diane Benson and Ethan Berkowitz to release their IRS tax returns. Jake’s are already available for download: where are Ethan’s? Diane’s?