Meet Scott Kendall, father of Alaska’s ranked choice voting and lightning rod for the right

Attorney Scott Kendall astatine his agency successful downtown Anchorage. (Matt Faubion/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage lawyer Scott Kendall can’t judge nan names he’s called.

“Yeah, ‘the Soros-funded, Marxist attorney,’ — and I’m not Marxist. Obviously. That’s an anti- Semitic trope,” Kendall said recently. “I’m not funded by George Soros. Never met him. Never met anyone associated pinch him.”

Kendall, 49, is astatine nan halfway of 2 basking governmental topics successful Alaska. He was nan premier writer of nan 2020 ballot measurement that launched classed prime voting. It’s profoundly unpopular among conservatives, and a repeal effort is underway.

Kendall made headlines much precocious by filing a suit challenging nan state’s reimbursement programme for families that homeschool. 

Alaska’s correct helping says Kendall is undermining them. On societal media, furious Alaskans allege Kendall is trying to transportation their parental authority to nan authorities and weaken nan bonds of family. 

Scott Kendall and Selena Hopkins-Kendall believe rule astatine nan aforesaid patient and walk a batch of their free clip arsenic shot parents. (Liz Ruskin/Alaska Public Media)

Kendall says he’s upholding nan Alaska Constitution. And he and his woman of 21 years, Selena Hopkins-Kendall, opportunity they’re devoted to family. They person 2 children, and erstwhile they aren’t moving astatine their rule firm, they opportunity they walk astir of their clip being shot parents.

“Probably 90% of our recreation is now related to soccer,” Kendall said.

Politically, theirs was a mixed marriage. She’s a Democrat, from a salient Fairbanks family. Kendall is from Eastern Washington and was a Republican for astir of his big life, until nan mob unit astatine nan Capitol connected Jan. 6, 2021 prompted him to reregister arsenic nonpartisan.

That arena is conscionable 1 of galore indicators that Kendall is retired of measurement pinch nan Republican Party. He has agelong been a sound for mean Republicans, and moderation successful general. As Alaska and America person go much polarized, it’s difficult to inhabit mediate ground, and Kendall’s willingness to return connected cases that are unpopular connected nan correct has made him a lightning rod.

It’s not what he was aiming for.

“I deliberation Scott is motivated by an thought that Alaska is fundamentally a logical place,” said Alaska AFL-CIO President Joelle Hall, who has known Kendall for years, since she was a legislative adjutant to erstwhile authorities Rep. David Guttenberg, D-Fairbanks, who is Kendall’s uncle-in-law. 

Kendall’s imagination of Alaska, she said, is simply a accepted one, wherever neighbors spot beyond governmental identities and propulsion each different retired of snowbanks.

“I deliberation he believes successful that Alaska,” Hall said. “And he’s I deliberation he’s perpetually trying to find a governmental way that gets america backmost to that spot …, backmost to a spot wherever group really tin person civilian conversations pinch 1 different moreover though they disagree.”

Kendall honed his expertise successful predetermination rule successful 2010, erstwhile he defended Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s write-in triumph earlier nan Alaska Supreme Court. He helped her triumph re-election complete Tea Party-aligned blimpish Joe Miller.

Kendall worked connected Murkowski’s 2016 campaign, too. But he said it was his occupation arsenic Gov. Bill Walker’s main of unit that inspired his activity connected a ballot measurement to alteration Alaska elections. He said legislators were excessively acrophobic of losing their superior to consequence making compromises that could resoluteness nan authorities fund crisis.

The 2020 ballot measurement replaced Alaska’s partisan superior pinch 1 wherever each candidates look connected nan aforesaid ballot and nan apical 4 advance. Voters tin rank their choices astatine nan wide election.

These days, Kendall spends immoderate of his clip defending nan strategy nan ballot measurement created. He’s pursuing a suit to artifact a repeal initiative. He besides revenge a run finance title past twelvemonth against opponents of classed prime voting, accusing them of misusing a belief statement they created. 

“They’ve concocted what appears to beryllium a bizarre strategy to tally money done a religion based successful Washington successful bid to obscure their finances,” Kendall based on to nan Alaska Public Offices Commission, connected behalf of Alaskans for Better Elections.

The committee imposed fines totaling much than $90,000 against anti-ranked prime groups and their founder, Art Mathias, who is appealing. Mathias declined an question and reply petition for this story.

At 1 constituent past summer, Mathias issued a property merchandise saying Kendall is “attacking me, my church, Christians and our inaugural to switch his Marxist voting system.”

He called Kendall a “Soros-funded attorney,” which Kendall says is simply a canine whistle for anti-Semitism. 

George Soros is simply a Jewish billionaire who costs wide causes. Some of his critics formed him successful conspiracy theories, leaning connected nan stereotype of nan Jew arsenic world puppet master. 

It’s imaginable that Mathias made an guiltless mistake, Kendall said. But classed prime opponents proceed to nexus Kendall to Soros, moreover aft nan Anti-Defamation League of nan Northwest called connected them to extremity utilizing nan inflammatory term.

“What I don’t cognize pinch immoderate certainty is, are they saying that because I’m Jewish? Or are they saying that because they judge Jewish group are mostly responsible for everything they’re worried about? I don’t know,” Kendall said. “It’s still anti-Semitic either way, right?”

Mathias referred questions to different leader of nan anti-ranked prime movement, Phil Izon. Izon said it’s adjacent to nexus Kendall to Soros, because Soros has donated to a national defense group that donated to Alaskans for Better Elections, which pays Kendall for ineligible work. 

Mathias could’ve focused connected different billionaires who much straight support classed prime voting successful Alaska, but Izon says Soros is amended known.

With nan homeschool case, Kendall is facing caller suspicion astir his motives. He insists he has thing against homeschooling, aliases reimbursing parents who do it. His position is that nan authorities reimbursement should not beryllium utilized to subsidize backstage aliases belief schoolhouse tuition, which nan Alaska Constitution prohibits.

Another lawyer brought nan rumor to Kendall’s attention. She didn’t want to return connected nan controversy. Kendall didn’t mind.

“I’m a immense advocator of nationalist education,” he said. “I grew up successful a mini workplace town. Didn’t get a very bully education. But past I went to organization college. I went from location to  a nationalist university. From location to a nationalist rule school. Without those ladders of opportunity, I’m still connected a farm.”

A batch of people, he said, might’ve preferred it.