Ugly Affair

Geane Bradley's family is in crisis. The independent little old lady who insists on taking her walker along Seward streets recently closed Alaska's most endearing video store because of health reasons. Her son, Brad Snowden, has been fighting health problems of a different nature. The tragic death of his beloved Marsha has set him into a tailspin that has left him incapable of running the New Seward Hotel and Saloon. Her grandson, Paul, bravely stepped up to the plate determined to do all that he can to preserve his family's business assets.

This family is our friend and neighbor. Like most families, they have weathered their fair share of conflict and tragedy. They deserve our compassion, prayers, good will, and any assistance we can render them during this time of need. That is how Alaskans operate.

The legacy of this Seward family was significantly undermined at Monday night's City Council meeting by a decision that was both arbitrary and capricious. The Council voted 4-3 to only allow the Seward Saloon to operate if the business is moved to a location where it is physically attached to the New Seward Hotel. The pretense for this extraordinary effort was that if they were physically together it would allow for better management of a business concern with a checkered past.

It is a novel theory. The Windsong Lodge and the Breeze Inn have both run a bar that isn't physically attached to their hotel without incident. In fact, I cannot think of a single hotel in the Seward area that has a bar inside of it. All agreed that transferring the liquor license from Brad to Paul Snowden should get rid of the management problems that were associated with the compliance issues at the Seward Saloon.

Council's decision had nothing to do with the transfer of a liquor license, or concerns about noise at the bar. I firmly believe that the real motive behind this effort was a rather transparent catering by the Council to specific private interests who have a considerable amount to gain should Paul Snowden not be able to pull a rabbit out of the hat under this ridiculous scenario, and end up losing the auspiciously located property.

Council didn't even offer the pretense of process. There was no public hearing on the matter, or time affording Paul Snowden the opportunity to answer questions or defend his position, as was suggested by the City Attorney. All they were interested in was setting up a family business that has run for generations in Seward for failure. Sabotaging our neighbor so we can profit at his loss is not the value structure of this community. The sorted affair is repugnant and shameful.