If all goes as Lisa Simpson expects, she will win the August primary for an Anchorage state House seat and be cleared of several felonies about the same time.
Simpson, a former aide to Anchorage Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux, is facing trial in August alongside her former boss. Both have been accused, as has Simpson’s son, of encouraging illegal votes in state legislative races in 2014 and 2018.
The trial is tentatively scheduled to take place at the same time as the state’s Aug. 16 primary election. Simpson has registered as a Republican candidate for House District 22, which covers northeast Anchorage north of DeBarr Road and east of Pine Street.
Two other candidates — Democrat Ted Eischeid and Republican Stanley Wright — have also registered for the race. But because Alaska’s election system permits up to four candidates to advance to the general election, Simpson, Eischeid and Wright will all appear on the November ballot.
“I’m hoping it will be resolved before November,” Simpson said of her legal struggle.
A trial call in Simpson’s case is scheduled for July 12, with a trial possible one month later. She said it’s “unusual, but it’s not unheard of,” for someone accused of a felony to run for state office.
The state is accusing Simpson, LeDoux and Simpson’s son of attempting to get voters to illegally participate in elections within LeDoux’s district.
Because the filing deadline for this year’s election was June 1, Simpson said she had to register before knowing the outcome of her trial.
“You know, you can’t jump in midstream, and I’ve been here in northeast Anchorage for quite a long time,” she said.
Simpson, formerly Lisa Vaught, worked for seven years as a legislative aide and has run for House twice before. Both attempts were unsuccessful.
The AlaskaBeacon.com is a donor-funded independent news organization in Alaska.
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