State board chairman demoted over 'beer' comment

Monday, March 5, 2007  

The chairman of the Alaska Board of Game has been demoted after he said Alaska Natives missed a meeting because they were making a "run on free beer."

Ron Somerville made the comments at a meeting last October. "There must have been a run on free beer or something,", he said after Alaska Natives who were slated to give comments didn't come to the microphone.

When an Alaska Native woman took her turn, he said: "Don't like beer, Donna?"

Gov. Sarah Palin (R) asked Somerville to resign from the board but he refused twice. He finally agreed to step aside as chairman, though he remains a member of the board.

"He's still in a position to do damage to our area either verbally or by his actions on the game board, so we're not too happy he's sticking around," Ken Johns, the president of the regional corporation Ahtna, told The Anchorage Daily News.

Somerville's term is up in March 2008. He was appointed by former governor Frank Murkowski (R), who lost his bid for re-election.

Get the Story:
Demotion offer accepted (The Anchorage Daily News 3/3)
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