Constituent meeting turns campaign stop as Sen. Yundt promotes Treg Taylor for governor

By SUZANNE DOWNING

A constituent meeting hosted Thursday by Sen. Rob Yundt at the Chop House in Wasilla has raised questions about the use of public resources and compliance with state ethics and campaign laws after the gathering shifted from legislative outreach to repeated promotion of a gubernatorial candidate.

According to attendees, the event was billed as a constituent meeting ahead of the upcoming legislative session in Juneau. Food and nonalcoholic beverages were paid for out of Sen. Yundt’s own pocket (corrected material here). Neither the flier advertising the meeting nor a text message invitation included a campaign disclaimer.

“Short notice but I’m having a pre session policy discussion event Thursday evening at The Chophouse. Food & drinks on me. 6-8 PM downstairs.  My goal is to head off to session with a true pulse on what our community prioritizes that way as legislation gets shaped & voted on I’ll know exactly where we all stand.  Bring anyone you want but please text me a total head count, that way I can plan accordingly for the food with The Chophouse.”

Once the meeting began, however, Sen. Yundt introduced Treg Taylor, a prominent Republican candidate for governor. Over the course of the event, Yundt repeatedly promoted Taylor as the only choice for governor, doing so at least six times. He also invited Taylor to respond to a question from the audience involving taxes.

Taylor spoke to the issue without clarifying whether he was addressing the question as a candidate or in his former role as attorney general.

Ethics concerns center on the use of a (removed word) constituent meeting to advocate for a political candidate. (Removed sentence).

Criticism of Taylor’s campaign practices is not new. In recent weeks, he was faulted by some Mat-Su Republicans for what they described as “hijacking” a party “unity” event that many attendees said appeared to be, in effect, a Taylor-for-governor rally. Taylor has also faced scrutiny for a series of statewide appearances last spring and summer, while he was still attorney general, that many have characterized as soft-launch campaign events paid for with government resources. Taylor resigned from the attorney general’s office in August and formally announced his gubernatorial run afterward.

This latest episode reflects a recurring pattern in which the boundary between official duties and campaign activity is tested. At the same time, the responsibility does not rest with the candidate alone. By repeatedly endorsing Taylor during a constituent meeting, Sen. Yundt crossed ethical boundaries from legislative outreach into campaign advocacy.

This article has been corrected to reflect that Yundt paid for the constituent meeting out of his own pocket.