"One of us for all of us!" - Russ Millette Is Running For Governor

This sign caught my attention the other day:

What exactly did it mean?  What party is Russ Millette?   It says Tea Party supporter, but  that's not an official party in Alaska. 

His website says (in an undated press release there):

He will be running under the auspices of the Alaska Republican Assembly.  Millette has entered under the Republican Assembly banner because of the corruption in the Alaska Republican Party and the ARP’s leadership’s refusal to be financially accountable to the rank and file membership. Millette sees this election in Alaska as the fight for the soul of the Alaska GOP.

I didn't know what the Alaska Republican Assembly was - as opposed to the Alaska Republican Party.  (The link wasn't as obvious on the website.)

So I checked to see if it is an actual party in Alaska.  Here's the list of gubernatorial candidates from the State Division of Elections page:

Governor

• Carolyn F. "Care" Clift (Libertarian)
  6402 Hampton Dr.
  Anchorage, AK 99504
  Phone: (907) 337-9679
  email: info@carecliftcampaign.com
  Candidate's web site: http://www.carecliftcampaign.com
  

• Hollis S. French (Democrat) - Withdrew
  2640 Telequana Drive
  Anchorage, AK 99517
  Phone: (907) 243-0569
  

• Gerald L. "Tap" Heikes (Republican)
  16170 E. Smith Rd.
  Palmer, AK 99645
  Phone: (907) 745-1139
  

• Byron I. Mallott (Democrat)
  P.O. Box 22387
  Juneau, AK 99801
  Phone: (907) 586-6937
  

• Russ Millette (Republican)
  3705 Arctic Blvd #798
  Anchorage, AK 99503
  Phone: (907) 330-9070
  

• Sean R. Parnell (Republican)
  P.O. Box 100719
  Anchorage, AK 99510
  Phone: (907) 929-2014
  

• Brad Snowden (Republican)
  P.O. Box 670
  Seward, AK 99664
  Phone: (907) 491-0427

• Phil G. Stoddard (Democrat)
  3307 Boniface #153
  Anchorage, AK 99504
  Phone: (907) 338-1776

So, he's actually running as a Republican.  No Alaska Republican Assembly. But when I copied the quote above, the link was obvious so I went there.  The link takes us to the NFRA website.  It says:

The National Federation of Republican Assemblies is a grassroots movement to take back the Republican Party for the vast and disenfranchised majority of its members:  Reagan conservatives, who believe in small government, lower taxes, free market capitalism, a strong defense, the right to life, and a decent America.
In short, we are the Republican Wing of the Republican Party.

It turns out Millette is the guy who got elected chair of the Republican Party when all the Ron Paul supporters came out and outsmarted the Republican regulars.  Only to have the regulars lock up the bank and eventually get them turned out.  

So, who is Russ Millette?  Here's what the website tells us:

About Russ

• Russ is married to Tish Millette and they live in Anchorage, AK.

• 28 year resident of Alaska.

• The father of 8 children and 14 grandchildren.

• A small business owner and entrepreneur (who has had to meet weekly payrolls.)  [Not too specific, but there's more on this below.]

• Former History teacher and school principal. [Where?  For how long?]

• College administrator and football coach.  [More below]

• Youth minister

• Retired corporate manager.  [Is this different from business owner and entrepreneur?]

• Public speaker and trainer.

• General Telephone Directories Hall of Fame.  [Tried to find something about this online.  Couldn't find anything.]

• Dually elected Chairman of the Alaska Republican Party per April 2012 State Convention.  [Dually elected?  To two different positions?  Or did he mean 'duly'?  I don't mean to quibble, but this is on his website and he was a teacher and college administrator after all.  'Per' used this way always grates on me, but that's my own personal issue.]

For 28 years I have been privileged to live and work in Alaska. I arrived in Alaska in September of 1975. Over the years I have lived in Sitka, Ketchikan. Eagle River, Hatcher Pass and Anchorage.  [Let's see, I got to Alaska in 1978 and I figure I've been here for 37 years.  So if he got here three years before I did, how come he's only been here 28 years?  It's possible he left the state and came back and he's being scrupulously accurate, but the way he's written it looks like he has trouble with math as well as spelling.  And, remember, he was a history teacher who should be able to figure out dates and time lines.]

[UPDATE July 14, 2014 - talked to Russ today about the defacing of his signs and so I asked him about the time he was in Alaska.  It turns out my first possibility - that he came, then left, then came back - was the correct one and so his math is correct.]

During my tenure with Sheldon Jackson College in Sitka I had the privileged of visiting every high school in Alaska as Director of Admissions. [Getting to every high school shows he was able to access a very healthy travel budget out of Sitka.  But I want to know what those trips accomplished.  Did he get enough students enrolled at the college to at least cover the travel budget?  Did those students stay and graduate?  I'd note that lots of people besides Millette might write something like that and think it's important.  What's important to me though is what he accomplished with all those trips.] After 25 years in the Telephone Book publishing business I retired in 2008 and live with my wife Tish in Anchorage. [These are the people that leave all those unwanted tomes on your doorstep and then you have to take them to the recycling center.]  Together we have 8 children and 14 grandchildren.

[UPDATE July 14, 2014  - since I had him on the phone, I also asked about this.  He said when he got to Sheldon Jackson in the 1970s they had 200 students and when he left (maybe a year or two later, I don't recall exactly) they had 230 - a 15% increase.  That's quite a big increase.]

I was born in Long Beach, California and have lived in California, Hawaii, Texas, Georgia, Virginia and traveled to England, Germany, Italy, Yugoslavia, Japan, Mexico and Canada. Of all those wonderful places I would rather
live in Alaska than anywhere I've been.

I googled a bit and found another bio in the May 11, 2012 Seward City News:

Russ Millette, the Alaska Republican Party Chairman Elect, will be in Seward this coming Saturday.

Mr. Millette, 67, is a retired Advertising Executive for GTE Directories and The Berry Company. He has a broad background in advertising and direct mail and was twice inducted into the GTE Hall of Fame.

[I couldn't find anything on the GTE Hall of Fame.  I'm guessing it's a company award.  I don't know how many people get in or why they get in.  The Berry Company seems to be related and is involved in helping businesses do their marketing.  I did find a Yelp review but Millette says he retired in 2008, five years before the review.  So I won't include it.  Just want you to know I looked.] 

A former Private School Teacher and Administrator, Public Speaker, and Historian, Russ holds a BA in History from Masters College in Newhall, California. His passion is engaging young people in dialogue about the issues. His vision is to ensure that the common man has a voice in American politics and restore the Republican Party to its legacy. Mr. Millette and his wife, Tish, reside in Anchorage.

Masters College?  Here's its mission:

The mission of The Master's College is to empower students for a life of enduring commitment to Christ, biblical fidelity, moral integrity, intellectual growth and lasting contribution to the Kingdom of God.
Commitment to Christ, as evidenced by:

• Acceptance and acknowledgment of Christ as Lord and Savior
• Unreserved worship of God
• Pursuit of Christlikeness in word, deed and attitude

Biblical Fidelity, as evidenced by:

• Devotion to the study and application of the Scriptures
• Willingness to defend the inerrancy, authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures . . .

"Christlikeness" could be a very positive thing if one copied Christ's warmth and tolerance of all people and one recognized Christ's distinction between Caesar's realm and God's. But there are also Christians who think 'inerrancy, authority and sufficiency of the Scriptures' means things like the earth is 6,000 years old.  I don't know how Millette interprets 'Christlikeness.' 

So I think it would be reasonable to assume his private school was a Christian school. 

So, what exactly does he stand for?  I think you (and he) would agree that he's even more conservative than our current governor, against whom Millette is running in the Republican primary.  From the Millette website:  (This is also the page that says, "One of us for all of us!" whatever that means.)

Platform of Russ Millette

• Balance the Alaska State Budget within first year through line item veto.
• Protect 2nd Amendment rights so they will never be infringed in Alaska.

• Take an advisory vote from Alaska’s voters to distribute ½ of the Alaska Permanent Fund.
• Get the 1,000,000 acres of land that the state of Alaska holds (for the people) distributed to the citizens of Alaska.
• Get mineral and land rights to all land owners.

• Vigorously resist (including veto) any attempt to implement a state income tax or sales tax. The state has shown it can live within its revenue stream.
• Nullify Obama Care and Common Core within Alaska.
• Nullify the EPA and BLM.

• Drill in ANWAR NOW!!! Drill baby, Drill. Just do it!
• Deregulate the oil patch so small oil drilling companies can compete and get more oil in the pipeline which results in more revenue for the Alaska.
• Get mineral and land rights to property owners.

• Establish Sheriff’s in each Alaska Borough. The highest elected law enforcement officer in the Borough protecting the Boroughs citizens from State and Federal tyranny and responsible to only the residents of the Borough.

• Local School Board control and supervision over its respective school districts. 

So if you want to nullify Obama Care and the EPA and BLM, I was going to say, vote for Millette.  But I suspect that's not too far different from Parnell.