Mark Ewing
Mark Ewing was a 2012 Republican candidate for District 9 of the Alaska House of Representatives.
Campaign themes
2012
Ewing's campaign website listed the following issues:[1]
- All Alaskan Gas Pipeline
- Excerpt: "Article VIII, Sections 1 and 2 of Alaska's Constitution mandate that Alaska's resources are to be developed to the maximum use and benefit of its people. We should be aggressively assisting in the opening of an All Alaskan gas pipeline."
- State Funding
- Excerpt: "When the state of Alaska has available funding (revenue sharing) then our Valley should receive it’s fair share of those funds. We need better maintained roads, services for the elderly and disabled, and our joint use recreational property maintained."
- Education
- Excerpt: "Put parents back in charge, the teachers can’t do this alone! We need to insure that educational choice and diversity continues and it is done so in a fashion that benefits our students and this community. Work toward creating high paid job opportunities for our students after graduation."
- Oil Company Tax Break
- Excerpt: "The Valley has been my home for over 42 years. I carried the torch of common sense on the Wasilla city council, Mat Su Borough assembly and Borough planning commission. "
Elections
2012
Ewing ran in the 2012 election for Alaska House of Representatives District 9. He was defeated by Lynn Gattis in the Republican primary on August 28, 2012.[2][3]
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes |
|---|---|---|
 Lynn Gattis |
61.4% | 1,224 |
| Mark Ewing | 38.6% | 771 |
| Total Votes | 1,995 | |
Noteworthy events
Ewing reportedly received harsh criticism after making a series of statements in late July and early August starting with the following: "We are spending millions and millions of dollars educating children that have a hard time making their wheelchair move and, I'm sorry, but you've got to say, 'no' somewhere. We need to educate our children, but there are certain individuals that are just not going to benefit from an education."[4]
Referring to the backlash received from the previous statement, he then said, "Actually, you know, that was a response that isn't politically correct. But I'm going to use a quote from Jack Nicholson and that is, 'most people can't handle the truth.'"[5]
Ewing later apologized for the above statements, saying " I know now that what I meant to say and what I said were completely different and after reading comments from a broad parental base that all children can learn regardless of their handicap I am not against teaching special needs children and clearly not trying to hurt any students or parents that have a child in that situation. This election is not worth my creditably or using a bone headed remarks that may hurt others..."[6]
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Mark + Ewing + Alaska + House"
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Campaign website, Issues
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "2012 Primary Candidate List," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Alaska Division of Elections, "Official 2012 Primary Results," accessed March 12, 2014
- ↑ Frontiersman, "August 2, 2012
- ↑ Frontiersman, "Can you handle the truth?" August 6, 2012
- ↑ Huffington Post, " Mega-Gaffes From Another Wasilla Republican," August 16, 2012
