Friday, October 26, 2012

What's the deal with Rep. Thomas?

Earlier this month we reported that a Southeast Alaska commercial fishing group was endorsing state Rep. Bill Thomas for another term, despite his "conflict of interest" in trying to influence state salmon fishery managers.

The suggestion of a conflict is rooted in two facts: Thomas himself is a commercial fisherman, and he holds considerable sway over the Department of Fish and Game budget as co-chair of the House Finance Committee.

The Haines Republican appears to be in quite a battle for re-election this year.

Since that initial report, Deckboss has acquired a raft of public records, including email and other documents, from Fish and Game that shed light on Thomas and his dealings with the department.

The records center on the state's management of the 2011 salmon fisheries in northern Southeast, the legislator's home region, and the rivalry between two gear groups — gillnetters and seiners.

Thomas, a gillnetter, appears to push managers for actions that would benefit the gillnetters.

As an example of the records we obtained, here is an internal memo known as a notification of legislative contact in which a Fish and Game supervisory biologist details a call from Thomas.

Thomas, according to the memo, complained that gillnetters had been restricted but not seiners.

He said he would take his concerns to the Fish and Game commissioner and the state Board of Fisheries.

He asserted he was the only commercial fisherman in the Legislature.

And he noted that he "had done a lot for ADF&G's budgets."

More instances of Thomas contacting department staff can be found in this string of documents. Note that some sections have been redacted.

The Petersburg Vessel Owners Association endorsed Thomas, but told him his in-season interactions with Fish and Game managers constituted a "conflict of interest."

"Salmon management and allocation issues should be addressed in the appropriate forums and through the proper channels, allowing due process to take its course," the group said.

Deckboss has not contacted Thomas regarding this issue. But certainly he is welcome to respond.

61 comments:

Anonymous said...

2011,early in the season gill netters in lower Lynn Canal had a 6" mesh size restriction and only 2 days a week on the Mab Island side, this was to help the Chilkoot sockeye escapement.
Gill netters gave up time & area and had a mesh restriction to help rebuild that run. Then they turn the seiners loose below us.
I'm sure Bill's phone was ringing off the hook getting calls from pissed off gill netters.
August 2011 was the worst sockeye fishing I have seen in 32 years,
would have been better off keeping the boat tied up.
I think fish&game deserves a good ass chewing now and then, they can't seem to rebuild or improve the natural runs but they all end up with a nice retirement.

Anonymous said...

Turn seiners loose below you? A couple 6 hour openings at Amalga Harbor in a postage stamp area? Whoa stand back were wiping out the area.

Anonymous said...

Amalga was this year, 2012.
Maybe you can read it again
and this time notice it says 2011.

Anonymous said...

I think the point is having the Co-Chairman of the House Finance Committee pressuring ADFG to change it's conservative management of a long established fishery for his personal gain and to the detriment of some of his constituents.

Anonymous said...

ADFG MANAGERS TAKE THE LOW ROAD MANY TIMES AND NEED A TALKING TOO ON OCCASION BY AN ADULT TO STAY TUNED UP.THIS IS NORMAL BUSINESS. NO BIG DEAL A WITCH HUNT.

Anonymous said...

After reading that string of documents, I really don't see any inappropriate behavior on the part of Bill Thomas. Apparently, some people believe being a legislator precludes Bill from questioning and asking for data about fisheries and fisheries management. I really don't think that is the case. It is certainly o.k. for John Peckam to e-mail and remind Kevin HOW to manage a fishery, so it should be fine for a gillnetter to ask why. Nobody can control how certain people react to actions taken. The biggest thing that came to light to me out of this is HOW OUR BIOLOGIST, IN THE MIDDLE OF THE SUMMER, WHEN THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE MANAGEING OUR SALMON, ARE OFF DIVING FOR SOME OTHER FISHERY. As we all know, timing for salmon is critical.
Not sure where you got this Lesley, but I would guess the department. It appears they are on board with Bobby T's character assassination of Bill Thomas. It makes sense that they would be, as he is in the majority and their budget has to go through him.
This whole string of events, from the PVOA critique, to these e-mails, and especially who is behind this attack on Bill, has me rooting for the guy.

Anonymous said...

I wish he would say something to them for letting the seiners fish five days a week in 2012 to supposedly target Kendrick chums.

Anonymous said...

Send Thomas money for re election.He has been advocating com fish in the legislature since he has been in. Another case of eating our own over trivial matters.

Anonymous said...

What a surprise, a state legislator poking his or her nose into fisheries policy and management. The legislature, because of fear of of having to make unpopular decisions turned over the policy of fish management to the Alaska Fish Board. Ever since, they have tried to influence allocation decisions left to the Board. Sometimes their meddling does not serve their careers very well. Remember a Senator named Tom Wagoner, who was a commercial fisherman. After continually trying to mess with policy on the Kenai to favor his commercial fishing friends the voters decided they had enough and he is history. It is very unseemly when a person like Thomas who can control the purse strings of the Dept. uses that position to get the Dept. to make decisions it might not otherwise make. Even PVOA, an organization that has never been known for its conservation stands said that Thomas has a conflict of interest. Deck Boss said they have asked Thomas to respond. Don't count on it.

Anonymous said...

I to have had issuses with fish management, however i dont call
My local politician to do my battles for me, sounds like this may have been a common theme in the gillnet fishery.

The fact that bill is in a tight political race at all against a virtual unknown is testimony to the point he has pissed plenty of people off. I have supported Bill in the past but dont support him throwing his political power around in
Fish management.
If he loses this political race he only has his own actions to blame.

Anonymous said...

Chilkat River does NOT meet minimum escapement goal in 2011, seiners
caught a lot of sockeyes in areas
12 & 14 and Bill Thomas doesn't
have the right to complain?
Chilkat is the big sockeye run in August on the North end.
A major sockeye producer does NOT get minimum escapement and no one
at Fish & Game is chastised or fired over their actions,,or inaction.??
This whole thing REEKS of BobbyT.

Anonymous said...

Go to the SEAS website and do a
little reading and it's hard not to come away with the impression that this kid from Sitka is going to owe
the seiners big time if he wins.
Careful kid, you are swimming
in the dirty end of the pool.

Anonymous said...

Bobbyt can't get Bill Thomas in his pocket so bobbyt is throwing a hissy fit.. In fact Bobbyt's got thrown out of Represenative Thomas's office and is no longer allowed.

Anonymous said...

Bill Thomas didn't complain he threatened and harassed he tried to used his co chair position for personal gain. F/g management didn't buckle, they did a great job in Lynn canal. So if any gillnetting org out there that condones Thomas's behavior please say so, also where's bill ??

Anonymous said...

Sounds like the real issue here is that there is not enough salmon to go around.How does ADF&G get away with poor management? They say it is allocative and turn it over to the BOF. Does anyone realize how political the BOF process is? So Thomas has not done enough to direct the Department into properly managing for the fisheries in my book. It is the lesser of two evils; better to have one that creates controversy because he is passionate for commercial fisheries or is it better to elect more Craig Johnson, Bill Stoltze, Lesil McGuire and other not so freindly to commercial fishermen politicos. Better yet, how about someone that is totaly inept when it comes to commercial fishing lifestyles and will raise the banner of conservation whenever the question of sustainability comes up. This must be the correct choice; less commercial fishermen and more sports and environmentalists. Here comes CCA and they are making their way to a legislature near you!Commercial fishermen truely "eat their own".

Anonymous said...

"threatened and harassed." And to what good? Hot air is all it was, since NOBODY GOT FIRED OR EVEN CHASTISED. No blood, no foul. Apparently, people feel if they work for ADF&G, they are above reproach or criticism. The idea that Bobby is throwing around that Bill Thomas impeded Or somehow affected the seine management in Chatham is ridiculous. Bill's push for DNA stock of origin testing for sockeyes in Chatham, NOW that may impede or restrict seining, and might be what this whole I HATE BILL campaign is all about.

Anonymous said...

What bill Thomas did was create a conflict of interest. Fishing is involved but shouldn't be the focus. If you are co chair of finance, you can't come out and say f/g do it my way or you won't get any monie next year, also the fact that it appears that he will never be able to be unbiased about the two gear groups. I agree with the poster above f/g did a wonderful job in 2011.

Anonymous said...

Bill can certainly have questions about the fishery just like any other fishermen. But no other fishermen can talk about their influence on the ADF&G budget. Reminds me of Kookesh in Craig telling the council to support the Sealaska bill.

"I see you're going to have your 2020 capital project on the table here tonight. And who's it going to go to? It's going to go to me," Kookesh said during the meeting in Craig. Kookesh also noted that fellow Sealaska board member Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, would also play a role in the capital budget."

Anonymous said...

If Mr. Thomas were just Mr. Thomas the gillnetter and not Rep. Bill “your budget crosses my desk” Thomas then this discussion wouldn't be happening. It is unethical/illegal to use your office to pursue personal financial gain reguardless of the level success. It sure seems that gillnetters are blind to this. Why? Gillnets seem much more concerned with the possible results of bobbyt's efforts than the cause.

And why the constant bashing of the department? Without question it is the best resource management agency in the world. It manages Alaska's resource in a sustainable manner in a difficult political environment. What more should we expect. When ADFG staff work on other fisheries or go on vacation is irrelevant.

Anonymous said...

The seiners promised the gillnetters in their buyback scam that they would not mess with the gillnetters. However, when I posted the information that Rob Z. tried to screw the Puget Sound gillnetters, Seattle resident and Washington seiner Bobby T said it would never happen.

Well, here it has already started. Bobby T had State Senator Ben Stevens and US Senator Ted Stevens messing around in fishing on behalf of the seiners, asking questions, asking for records from NMFS, NOAA, ADFG, but it didn't bother him when it advanced his personal agenda. Rob Z & Trevor helped him quite a bit and anyone who pointed this out was personally attacked by Bobby T.

Bill Thomas helped Bobby T & the seiners for years, but now Bobby T seen someone new that he can manipulate since Thomas is a gillnetter.

Anonymous said...

Oh my god that is so off point, nobody is messing with gillneting, seiners didn't ask for this lyn canal Gillnet assoc did. They requested the info from f/g.
Bill abused his power which is different than a lobbyist pushing for a cause that he is payed to push for.
The question, why did lyn canal have to ask for it? Who was bill representing, did he harass on his own. We got f/g side
But bill Thomas's side he used his office, phone logs, emails, and anything else might help his cause right now, but we get nothing from that side, not even why lyn canal ask for it? Where's bill?

Anonymous said...

Check out all the outside money sent to Kreiss-Tomkins from the seine fleet outside district 34. Look closely and you can see where some was sent back because it came in a lump sum, then the seine fleet sent them back in individualy.

https://aws.state.ak.us/ApocReports/CampaignDisclosure/View.aspx?ID=2733

Anonymous said...

So what. Obviously, the seine fleet fishes in SE alaska so they have an interest in the election. Sealaska formed a PAC to elect Thomas. Do you think it is because he is a fishermen, or is it because he didn't give a crap if Sealaska logs in stream buffers?

Anonymous said...

What lump sum I didn't see that, also the contributions for bill and Jonathan look about the same from inside and out side the district. What a waste of time, bill's way up but that's because he's the incumbent. The line that say's do you have a Huge Conflict Of interest , or Ethics violation coming you're way isn't on the form, but should be!!!!

Anonymous said...

the only people i see distroying fishing streams are the people from the new reality tv program gold rush,right in bill's back yard!oh yeah bill please quit picking on the poor seiners they don't do any harm to any fisherie!hahahahahahaahha!

Anonymous said...

10:37 your are wrong. Petersburg and Seattle are not in district 34. The lump sum was listed aa a payout from Christ Tomkins because it exceeded out of state donation amount. Christ Tomkins talks about big oil money, but he to naive to figure out he also igoing deep with big bobt.

Anonymous said...

His name is Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. I'm not sure what, if anything, you are trying to accomplish by calling him Christ Tomkins.

staufen said...

A classic case of a Fall from Access (29th 0908 hrs gets it right). It's probably getting tough to look out the window of the Calhoun Building at the increasingly friendless Capitol these days. If you'd get together and dry up the flow of rents going in that blue door, before long UFA could buy the place at fire-sale prices. -- be a groundswell.

Anonymous said...

we call him JKT for short.

Anonymous said...

Well Jesus Christ, that's cute JKT, from Yale. like BTJ to Jail?

Unknown said...

Thank you deckboss for posting these memo's. I read through all of them and attended the gillnet task force meeting last year where Representative Thomas questioned area manager Kevin Monagle (deceased now) extensively about his gillnet and seine management of Lynn Canal and Icy Strait.
I did not and do not see anything illegal in Representative Thomas's behavior. What I did see was a lot of passionate advocacy for his personal and gear group interest.
If you are a gillnetter in northern SE Thomas has your back. If you are an oil company in Alaska Thomas has your back. If you are Governor Parnell you can count on Thomas to support your policies and appointments.
I am not a gillnetter, I believe Parnell's oil tax reform, supported by Thomas was extremely bad legislation for Alaska.
So, while I respect Thomas, gillnetters who are supporting him, and understand the oil companies donating to his campaign, I am going to support JKT, the most talented, hardworking, and tough minded candidate for an Alaska House seat I have ever met.

Anonymous said...

If elected, JKT is bound to get choice committee assignments in the House. Like the Co-Chair of Finance.

That will obviously be the reward for being the most talented, hardworking, tough-minded candidate in the history of Alaska.

Anonymous said...

And who propganda committee are you on, SEAS?

Anonymous said...

ZUANICH
DENKINGER
RIGGS

On BILL THOMAS APOC LIST

Anonymous said...

Word on the street is that Rep Thomas under ethics investigation- someone at adfg squealed. Stay tuned

Anonymous said...

What a soap opera-- looks like DENKINGER Zuanich and Riggs gave to Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins just as much so does that make them stupid smart or what? And so they are afraid of Kreiss-Tomkins or Thomas retribution? Looks like a 3 time loser for the guys on eight way Santa-shock will soon be legal in Washington
For the guy or gal who turned Thomas in to the authorities let's give him a Daniel Webster cigar

Anonymous said...

You malcontent's all loose,JKT knows nothing about fishermen and SE will loose another advocate in the Capital period! While the Department continues to make huge mistakes. That is OK, we could use the money that you used to suck up in SE here in the Mat-Su. That's right, we just grabbed one of your Representatives. I love when so-called fishermen scrap over the bones.It leaves the meat for us in Anchorage.

Anonymous said...

Well the fare unbiased represention, that we strive to reach in our government, is now thrown out the window it's all about the money. The departments that are managing our natural resources are subject to what the people that hold the purse strings tell them to do. With that approach we could save a lot of money and contract out the government to the sealaska board as long as they don't vote in those pesky term limits.

I know we could talk bill into that, but I don't know about jkt, He's still into that right and wrong thing!

Anonymous said...

You can talk to Bill He gave out his cell phone number on a Sitka radio show. 907 723 2365. Tell him how you want your fishery managed and he'll get right on it.

Anonymous said...

Fair unbiased representation is hard to buy, it's actually free. Like access to any government office, waters, or natural resources. Where's Bill Egan when you need him, as if it's bought and sold on the futures market. Like bottled water!

Art. 1, § 1. Inherent Rights
This constitution is dedicated to the principles that all persons have a natural right to life, liberty, the pursuit of happiness, and the enjoyment of the rewards of their own industry; that all persons are equal and entitled to equal rights, opportunities, and protection under the law; and that all persons have corresponding obligations to the people and to the State.

And § 14. Access to Navigable Waters
Free access to the navigable or public waters of the State, as defined by the legislature, shall not be denied any citizen of the United States or resident of the State, except that the legislature may by general law regulate and limit such access for other beneficial uses or public purposes.

Anonymous said...

Yeah

Tell him to shut down that Chatham fishery so we can all drive south to fish with the Sitka Craig klawock metkakatla and Hydaburg and kake seiners

It was so crowded down south this summer
It will be like that every summer if bill Thomas gets re elected

Anonymous said...

Go to www.seiners.net

Click on news for the entire story

This records search was instigated by none other than the Lynn Canal Gillnetters Association

Anonymous said...

Btw
Seiners let 10 million pinks swim by while hawk inlet was closed from July 19 to august 2 in 2011

Anonymous said...

Well, Facebook, survey says #1

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/whore-most-liked-alaska-state-house-candidates-facebook

Anonymous said...

Fair and unbiased? What planet do you live on, oh you can't be the landlord of the purple monstrocity, you must be the idealist that thinks the guy from the blue nose schools of the east can better figure it out then a native Alaskan, or maybe it is just Scandanavians pull the noose (purse) tighter. Whatever! I like to see you commie guys fight, it leaves more for my out of state sporty folks. They bring more money into the economy anyway and the gave better hedge money to my campaign than you slimey types. The only group I hate worse is the free loading locals who think they have a priority over my right as a non resident to catch my fist, wait that's right, about half of you are out of state'rs anyway.

Anonymous said...

Lets find a lawmaker to get a "Bill" on the table to address this "conflict of interest" issue statewide as soon as possible.

We are governed by a Constitution that guarantees fair and equal representation for all stakeholders. Our state is being runned by Bullies and it's no wonder we have the problem in many of our institutions for the youth. It's becoming a Civil War between the Haves and the Have Nots especialling in the Fisheries arena.

Anonymous said...

If Bobby T. has his axle all wrapped up over Bill Thomas, then why has Rob Z, Troy Denkinger, and Rich Riggs of Silver Bay each donated $500 (for a total of $1,500) to Bill Thomas' re-election campaign? I see a donation from a UFA member of $500 as well.

Anonymous said...

They also donated equal amounts to the kid too. Seems like they're covering their asses well

Anonymous said...

Not well at all. Thomas probably told them he'd use a wrecking ball on their plants in Craig and Sitka if he squeaked out a win. What is the old adage, no honor among ------s

Note that the older,wiser processors, Trident, AGS, NPPI and OBSI are on the sidelines on this one. Icicle was too close with Kito as their lobbyist and Noroscz as their Government affair. So SBS and ISI meet on the same team at last.

The amazing thing is that Kreiss-Tomkins raised so much money from so many individuals. And so little corporate money. Thomas had $40,000 leftover from the last 2 campaigns, so he had a $40,000 head start. Might as well just keep it this weekend and use it for his transition back to lobbying.

His own pollsters have him at a dead heat. And now the mayor of Angoon and the majority of the Kookesh family is against him, as is the CEO of Kootznawoo. Thomas must have pissed off alot of natives as well as non-natives. And not just seiners. Folks back home never forgave him for selling out the clan artifacts to the New York museum. Just missed jail on that one too.

He is on the record saying that if he had to run against Munoz that he was just going back to lobbying. Too bad he'll have to wait 12 months and too bad he's not a USAG member. They could use a good lobbyist.

Anonymous said...

The other item not mentioned on this blog much as it is a fish blog, is that this district isn't all that keen on the $2 billion giveaway that Thomas voted in for exxon, BP, et. al.

Stedman was the champion on this one. Even Kookesh was on the right side of history on this one.

Looks like a Stedman-Kreiss-Tomkins team. The money from the norweigan and the brains from the new guy. Not that norweigans don't have brains, but Stedmans got so much money to spread around that it's hard to get past that to the fact that he's really a pretty smart guy.

2 politicians from Sitka that couldn't be much more different. But then the district has all bases covered. And Thomas couldn't get around the district because his knees hurt and he had to attend too many funerals according to his own testimony. As if Thomas went door to door in his younger days!!


The best part is Thomas saying in the debates that he had to raise all the oil money and special interest money because the folks back home in Haines were too poor to contribute to his campaign.

Anonymous said...

oh well if mr thomas doesn't get reellected he can sit on the board of sealaska for the next 40 years like his good buddy byron mallot and friends milking the shareholders for all there worth!i think this approach would be a lot more profitable with a lot less oversight wink wink!!!!!

Anonymous said...

Oversight is the key for progressivim in any entity serving people. Stop the winking and start demanding accountability especially if there are Federal tax dollars involved. The cronyism in Fisheries related agencies is exclusive and discriminatory. It hurts a lot of poor people. If we can't hold our leaders accountable then we have to move them aside and move on.

Anonymous said...

Looks like Thomas & Kookesh will remain Sealaska Board members but may not be members of the Alaska State Legislature.

As for members of Silver Bay donating to both JKT & Thomas, they could have saved themselves $3K and just sat on the sidelines without spending any money.

Thomas historically receives a lot of cruise ship money & it is now rolling in. He even got $500 from DCCED Commissioner Susan Bell, who has worked with the cruise ship industry.

Anonymous said...

Oh, you mean Ms. Susan "Confllict of Interest" Bell herself?



Anonymous said...

Seems like we hit a nerve here, so Santa does come from Washington State and he is bald with a pot belly. History has it that fisheries in OUR state were controlled by outsiders and that is one reason why we banned trap nets. Things never change, out of state interests still are controlling instate issues and elections. You forgot 'brown nose' on your list of probascus, to which most of you appendages out of staters are very good at. Let's see, Federal intervention a must for you outlanders. You fish in State waters but want Federal control to protect your out of state interest. You ever heard of the Alaska Act and State sovereignty? How about Federalism? Why don't you foreigners just do your buy out of non residents and go back to Washington State. They love commercial fishermen there, oh that's right, the new governors that share the Columbia want to get rid of gillnets, more exclusive fisheries for non-commercial fishermen. Oh,I see, you have to be a seine commie. There the only ones that should survive. They are like the scurge of the sea, they takes volumes of herring and strip the sea of forage fish that are essential for a multitude of salmon. You can take that Carlson list and see who really is raping the Alaskan waters, leaving us locals to deal with your mess as you travel back to wherever. We stay behind and pay for all the essentials and the infrastructure. Limited entry has failed in that it did not require more of a community quota for local participants only.How much money do your outside fishing groups really put into local elections. You think you have the right to question ethics? Really?

Anonymous said...

2 Billion, nobody gets more steak than you guys in Southeast. You couldn't survive without the breast of mother Alaska. Your ferries,contract subsidies with Alaksa Air, your services, your dwindling population. It is lucky that you have native money still building essential services through resource development. It is time that SE pays it's own way. No more ports and harbor give a ways to you guys and money for ghost ship processing facilities. If the Capital were moved to my valley you guys would end up homeless, hey, that might get rid of you transients, maybe you could move your millions of dollars of seine boats to Canada, oh, thats right, they limit the commie guys down there to sustainable levels.

Anonymous said...

Canada
Limits
Where farmed salmon exceed wild by 4-1 on average

This is one area even bill Thomas is right

He supports our approach to commercial fisheries in general

Just has a 'conflict of interest' he cannot let go

We all have conflicts of interest

But we aren't all endowed with being the 5 th most powerful politician in alaska

Anonymous said...

But of course when your a outsider, it could be confusing #5.

The Fifth Amendment (Amendment V) to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to Magna Carta in 1215. For instance, grand juries and the phrase due process (also found in the 14th Amendment) both trace their origin to Magna Carta.

Anonymous said...

You must have aquired your legal history from a Norweigan version taught in Petersburg.Common law is case law based on precedence.The Public Trust Doctrine is as old as Greek law and it is what the SOA by common law agreed to. The rest I will not waste my time on the other ignorance,just that I beleive to what you are referring to is that you cannot be convicted of a crime without a trial of your peers, something that you cannot possibly understand as you have been the judge, jury and hangman for Representative Bill Thomas who is innocent until proven guilty. It is your false accusations and inuendo that make me question your true motivations and your candidates morality. Is this the position of JKT? Are you and others like you supportive of public condemnation for your own person
and financial gain? If so I find you disgusting and no differnet than the swine you so readily use as and example! Self expression is healthy, for you a simple oink tells it all.

Anonymous said...

Google Poc and bill Thomas

The state does not oink

Bill Thomas Oinks


Also google bill Thomas conflict of interest
Interesting reading on the ultimate oinker

Anonymous said...

Google APOC and bill Thomas