Andrew Halcro

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Andrew Halcro
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birth_date = September 20, 1964
birth_place = San Francisco, California
residence = Anchorage, Alaska
death_date =
death_place =
other_names =
known_for =
occupation = Car rental business owner, former politician

Andrew Halcro (born September 20, 1964) is an American politician from Anchorage, Alaska. Formerly a Republican member of the Alaska Legislature, he ran for Governor of Alaska as an Independent candidate in the 2006 election, running third with 9.46% of the vote.

Early life

Halcro was born in San Francisco, California to the owners of a car rental agency in Anchorage, Alaska. He attended East Anchorage High School and received degrees from Willamette University and the University of Alaska Anchorage before taking over the family business, which is now an affiliate of Avis.

Political career

In 1998, he ran for the Alaska House of Representatives as a Republican, winning both the primary and the general election. In 2000, he won the Republican primary by a two-to-one margin and was unopposed in the general election. During his term in office, he earned a reputation as a maverick who sometimes put his foot in his mouth, as when his comments on what he saw as Bush Alaska's dependency on government funding earned him criticism from across the political spectrum. On another occasion, he publicly criticized other Republican legislators for taking too many junkets at taxpayer expense, which resulted in the loss of his position as chair of the House Transportation Committee.

In 2002, he chose not to seek re-election. He returned to Anchorage to run his company and serve on Democratic Mayor Mark Begich's transition team.

Gubernatorial race

Halcro announced his candidacy for the 2006 Alaska gubernatorial election on January 24, 2006. Although he was a registered, lifelong Republican, he ran as an Independent because he did not believe that he could win a party nomination in the Alaska Republican Party's closed primary system given his prior demotion in the Republican Party at the national level and his closer associations with the state Democratic Party since 2002.

His platform included fiscal responsibility, cutting legislators' salaries, increasing the number of trade agreements between Alaska and foreign nations, constructing a pipeline for natural gas, enacting strict campaign finance reform laws, and enacting "equitable taxation."

Although he had originally selected former Republican state legislator and Soldotna mayor Ken Lancaster as his running mate, Lancaster left the race in mid-September, citing health issues. He was replaced with former Anchorage Assemblywoman Fay Von Gemmingen. Halcro's slogan was "ThinkHalcroGovernor", and he aired television advertisements that used humor to emphasize what he said was the presumably nonpartisan nature of his candidacy (although he generally [went] easier on the former Democratic governor Tony Knowles as reported in the Anchorage Press), his availability to ordinary Alaskans, and his stances on the issues. He was, at first, widely regarded as the winner of the several debates in which he participated with Republican Sarah Palin and Knowles.Fact|date=December 2007

On Election Day, Halcro received 22,443 votes, or about 10% of the total. Palin won the election with 114,697 votes, or about 48%.

ubsequent career

Since losing his gubernatorial bid, Halcro has used his blog site to discuss Alaska political issues, including the Governor's administration, the State Legislature, and election issues.

In a blog post titled "Why Walt Monegan got fired: Palin's abuse of power", Halcro criticized Palin for firing the state's Public Safety Commissioner, Walt Monegan, after Monegan declined a position as executive director of the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board. [cite web| last = Halcro| first = Andrew| authorlink = Andrew Halcro| title = Why Walt Monegan got fired: Palin's abuse of power| work = Blog post| date = 2008-07-18|url = http://www.andrewhalcro.com/why_walt_monegan_got_fired| accessdate = 2008-08-31] He reported that Palin had dismissed Monegan, after Monegan refused to fire Mike Wooten, a state trooper reprimanded for violating nearly a dozen laws and departmental policies since December 2001 (as reported in the Associated Press) and most recently who was involved in a custody battle with Palin's sister. Monegan has subsequently told Anchorage Daily News that he was never directly told by Palin or any one else to fire Wooten. Halcro was the first person to suggest the connection between the firing and Palin's ex-brother-in-law. [Citation| last = Demer| first = Lisa| title = 'Troopergate' inquiry hangs over campaign| newspaper = Anchorage Daily News| year = 2008| date = August 30, 2008 | url = http://www.adn.com/sarahpalin/story/510080.html] This Alaska Public Safety Commissioner dismissal became a major political challenge for Palin when the Alaska Legislature voted to hire an independent investigator to determine whether she had abused her power when she fired Monegan. Palin initially pledged full cooperation and said she welcomed the investigation. However, she attempted to stop it after she joined John McCain's presidential ticket. [Citation| last = Schwartz| first = Emma| last2 = Rood | first2 = Justin| title = Palin Calling For An End To Investigation She Requested| periodical = ABC News| year = 2008| date = September 17, 2008 | url = http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=5827023&page=1]

References

External links

* [http://www.andrewhalcro.com/ Official site]