Dahlstrom will not certify Treg Taylor's nomination for governor

Treg Taylor's name will not advance to the November ballot for governor. Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom announced Monday that the Division of Elections will not certify his nomination.

"This is a difficult decision made under an extraordinarily tight timeline and in circumstances we have not faced before," Dahlstrom said. "The law, however, is not unclear. When a candidate has not complied with Alaska's financial disclosure requirements within the time required, the Lieutenant Governor may not certify that person's nomination."

The Alaska Public Offices Commission took up Taylor's financial disclosure on Aug. 26 and voted 4-1 that he had not substantially complied within the 30 days the law allows, a window that closed July 1. It recommended against certification the next day and issued its written order Aug. 28. The commission found his statement did not disclose required information about a significant source of income by the deadline.

The announcement does not say what becomes of the slot, and two provisions bear on it.

The statute Dahlstrom cites bars certification when compliance was not timely. Its next sentence says the nomination "shall be certified to the highest vote getter for that nomination for that office" who did comply. That would point to Click Bishop and Greta Schuerch, who trailed Taylor by 415 votes. The announcement does not address that sentence.

Governor and lieutenant governor also run as a joint ticket in Alaska, and when a governor candidate leaves, the running mate moves to the top and fills the second slot. Whether a refusal to certify works the same way, and whether Bernadette English could take Taylor's place, the announcement does not say.

Taylor was only on the ballot because someone else left it. Alaska's Aug. 18 open primary advanced the top four finishers, and Taylor finished fifth. He moved up after Tom Begich and Julia Hnilicka withdrew and endorsed first-place finishers Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Zac Johnson. Bernadette Wilson and Dave Bronson hold the other two certified slots.

Monday is also the state's candidate withdrawal deadline for the general election. The announcement came from the lieutenant governor's office and carries no response from Taylor.