Which Senator has the Hummer?

from Bankrate.com

Dr. Charles Kenny, a psychologist and president of consumer psychology firm Kenny & Associates, has interpreted consumer buying behavior for GM, Toyota and Nissan. He notes that on its face, the purchase of a new car is almost always designed to fulfill emotional needs because, as a pure economic purchase, it's a bad investment. . .

Emotional needs filled by the purchase of an auto range from validation of sexuality to pure power.

"What's a bigger, more powerful, more intimidating vehicle than a Hummer?" asks Dr. Kenny. "With 99 percent certainty, when a person buys a Hummer, there's a strong power need to dominate others."

I was at Costco on DeBarr on Saturday and so was this vehicle with this license plate.


I called my State Senator's (Johnny Ellis) office, but his aide didn't know who had #3. He told me Ellis didn't use a Senate license plate. He suggested the Legislative Information Office. Mike at the LIO said he thought legislative license plates had the same privacy protection as other license plates, but would check. He called back and said the information wasn't public.

I called the DMV. Jody explained that I could come in, fill out a form, which had check boxes for my reason for wanting to know, and pay $10 to get the information. (There also are a number of websites that will get you reverse license plate information for a fee.) I also asked why Legislative licenses weren't listed on the DMV page with all the special licenses. Jody said that was because they no longer give out legislative license plates.

I found the form online on the DMV form page. (It's the Motor Vehicle Record form under Motor Vehicles and Trailers.) The form mentions AS AS 28.10.505 which says:

d) AS 28.10.505. Disclosure of Personal Information Contained in Motor Vehicle Records.
Personal information may be disclosed by the department upon proof of the identity of the person requesting a record and representation by the requesting person that the use of the personal information is strictly limited to one or more of the following uses:

(1) for use by a government agency, including a court or law enforcement agency, in carrying out its functions, or a private person or entity acting on behalf of a government agency in carrying out its functions;

(2) for use in the normal course of business by a legitimate business or an agent, employee, or contractor of the business, but only

(A) to verify the accuracy of personal information submitted by an individual to the business or an agent, employee, or contractor of the business; and

(B) if the information submitted is not correct, to obtain the correct information, but only for the purposes of preventing fraud by pursuing legal remedies against, or recovering on a debt or security interest against, an individual;

(3) for use in connection with a civil, criminal, administrative, or arbitration proceeding in a court or government agency or before a self-regulatory body, including service of process and the execution or enforcement of a judgment or court order;

(4) for use in research activities, or in producing statistical reports, if the personal information is not published, redisclosed, or used to contact an individual;

(5) for use by an insurer or insurance support organization, or by a self-insured entity, or an agent, employee, or contractor of an insurer, in connection with claims investigation activities, anti-fraud activities, rating, or underwriting;

(6) for use in providing notice to the owners of towed or impounded vehicles;

(7) for use by an employer or an agent or insurer of an employer to obtain or verify information relating to a holder of a commercial driver's license that is required under 49 U.S.C. 31101 - 31162 (Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act);

(8) for use in connection with the operation of private toll transportation facilities;

(9) for use in connection with a legitimate business operating under a contract with the department;

(10) for bulk distribution for surveys, marketing, or solicitations if the person who is the subject of the information has provided written consent to the release; and

(11) for any other purpose specifically authorized by law that is related to the operation of a motor vehicle or related to public safety.

(e) Personal information contained in an individual record may be disclosed, without regard to the intended use of the personal information, if the person who is the subject of the information has provided written consent to the release.

None of those apply to me, so I have to find other ways. By the way, although Jody said DMV no longer offers legislative plates, this section of the code was also still on line:

Sec. 28.10.181. Registration of unique and special vehicles and vehicles used for special purposes.


(f) Vehicles owned by elected state officials. The department shall issue special registration plates to each incumbent elected state official for display on noncommercial motor vehicles owned and driven by the official. The department shall number or design the plates so that registration by an elected state official is indicated upon the plates. The registration plates issued under this subsection remain with the owner of the vehicle only during the official's term of office.

So who's driving the hummer with State Senate plates?


We aren't talking about a lot of people here. There are 20 people in the State Senate. We can start with the people in the Anchorage area.

Senate-G Lyda Green (R)-Matanuska-Susitna
Senate-H Charlie Huggins (R)-Wasilla
Senate-I Fred Dyson (R)-Eagle River
Senate-J Bill Wielechowski(D)-Anchorage
Senate-K Bettye Davis (D)-Anchorage
Senate-L Johnny Ellis (D)-Anchorage
Senate-M Hollis French(D)- Anchorage
Senate-N Lesil McGuire (R)-Anchorage
Senate-O John Cowdery (R)-Anchorage
Senate-P Con Bunde (R)-Anchorage
Senate-Q Thomas Wagoner(R)-Kenai

So, I started calling offices. Now I was curious about who had plates on their cars and who didn't.

• Aides in the following offices said their Senator did NOT use the plate on the car:
• Ellis
• Dyson
• Davis
• Wielechowski (mother has it framed)
• [McGuire - staff member called back after the post]
  
  
• Aides in these offices said they did have the plates on their cars:
• Green - She's got number 1
  
• Cowdery - but didn't know the number and would call back
• Huggins - has it on his truck, but she didn't know the number
  

• Aides in these offices weren't sure and said they'd check and get back to me.
• French
• McGuire, [staff member called back several days later. She doesn't use her plates.]
  

• And no one answered the phone here so I left a message:
• Bunde
• Wagoner
  

While I was calling, a friend who has good sources called me about something else and said he'd check. He just called back. Number 3 is NOT an Anchorage area Senator. My source says that Number 3 is Lyman Hoffman of Bethel, a Democrat!

I haven't confirmed that through other sources, but my source is generally quite reliable. But if he's wrong, I hope someone will tell me. And if he's right, an independent confirmation would be nice.