Parnell recklessly disregards truth and accuracy
Acting Governor Abandons Credibility in Closing Weeks of Campaign

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 22, 2010

Anchorage, AK –Ethan Berkowitz, Democratic candidate for Governor of Alaska, issued the following statement in response to recent unprofessional conduct from the flailing Parnell-Treadwell campaign: "Over the past several days, Sean Parnell, both directly and hiding behind surrogates, has stumbled through a series of dishonest, disingenuous, and distorting statements. Those statements dishonor the office he seeks."

Berkowitz cited three particularly troubling instances of Parnell's reckless disregard for truth and accuracy. They are as follows:

1) "Sean Parnell tried to suggest that my vote against the oil tax increase in 2006 somehow makes me a supporter of higher taxes. That is an odd way of looking at it. I'll remind Sean that was the vote on the PPT bill proposed by Frank Murkowski. That is the vote where I stood up on the House floor and called out the visible corruption that was going on in the Capitol building and on the floor of the House. I invite Sean Parnell and all Alaskans to go to my website, www.EthanBerkowitz.com, where you can hear the floor debate and my speech attacking the corruption that had invaded the Capitol.

"I am proud of my vote against that bill. That tax increase bill that Sean Parnell now apparently supports is what led to the arrest and conviction of several members of the Legislature by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It led to the fire-sale of Alaska's largest corrupt oil field services company, VECO, Inc. It led to the conviction and incarceration of several of the top fundraisers, lobbyists and executives in Alaska, including the top executives of VECO. Several cases coming out of that investigation remain pending today, and yet Parnell has the temerity to suggest I should have voted for that tainted and corrupt process? Of all the problems facing Alaska why would Sean raise this issue?

2) "Sean Parnell issued words today criticizing the idea I have discussed about allowing Alaskans to Own a Piece of the Pipe. Three weeks after our campaign put this idea back on the table - recall that it was originally proposed by our Congressional delegation in 2004 - Parnell condemns the idea by saying that he doesn't want people to invest their PFD checks 'on a pipeline project without a buyer, seller, shipper, or concrete plan.' That's an astounding admission. In spite of his protestations that the results of the open season will remain secret until after the election, Sean Parnell has just announced to the world that AGIA is now officially a failure. His statement confirms there is no buyer, seller, shipper or plan for his AGIA-borne boondoggle of a $500 million bailout for TransCanada and Exxon.

3) "Finally, as exposed in the recently published article in the Anchorage Daily News, Sean Parnell and his team were caught attempting to purposely misuse and misquote a UAA study and a UAA professor in a sad attempt to influence the public on issues as important as the PFD and the gas line. Sean Parnell was caught red handed and he should be ashamed of himself.

"This all gets back to the fundamental issues at hand. Sean Parnell has no plan and his credibility is ebbing away. He has no idea how to even put the beginning pieces of a plan together.

"Alaska is facing real problems: Declining oil production, a negative business climate, and the general feeling that state leaders have let Alaskans down.

"While Alaska's issues need real attention, Sean Parnell just offers the same tired politics that have pushed us to the brink. I remind him -- this is not a joke; this is not a game. Real leaders do not purposely mislead, they don't duck and run every time a real issue or a real question is raised. Real leaders know that the actions they take, the words they use affect real peoples' lives -- their dreams, their kids, their future.

"Look around the country right now. People are demanding a return to honest, ethical, moral government. A return to basic core values of honesty, decency and the ability to look someone in the eye and tell us the truth. Instead, Sean Parnell offers Alaskans more of the same political garbage.

"How is the public supposed to trust anything else Sean Parnell has to say from here on out? How will we know when they make a statement or cite a study that they have not purposely manipulated the data or left out key pieces of information? How can the press give any credence to their comments or statements? They have tainted the rest of the campaign. This is worse than 'Captain Zero', this is 'Captain Zero Credibility' and Alaskans need to ask themselves if this is who they want as their governor.

"These actions and these words confirm that we have closed the gap with Sean Parnell, that we
are going to win this race and Sean Parnell knows it. And now Alaskans know it."