Sarah Palin, Alaska Republicans targetted by Auto Dealership cuts

David and Linda Hutchings are big Alaska Republican Party donors. Now, they're long standing GM Dealership, a business that has received numerous awards for service and sales, is being forced to convert itself into a used car lot. The Obama administration informed General Motors that they needed to scale back dealerships nationwide. GM just informed the Soldotna dealership that they were on the list.

From the Anchorage Daily News (ADN):

"Hutchings Chevrolet in Soldotna did decide to terminate its General Motors franchise agreements. But it’s not closing.

“We’re terminating our GM franchise but we’re going to remain open for parts and service and used car sales,” General Manager Shawn Hutchings (sic) said when I called him about it....

...We had made the decision… but the Obama administration made a recommendation to GM that if they wanted to get any of their funding or loans moving forward that they would need to scale back their dealer body. And we did receive a letter on Friday saying that we were one of the dealerships they would be cutting."

A summary of an FEC report for Southeast Alaska political contributions shows:

MR. DAVID HUTCHINGS (HUTCHINGS CHEVROLET-CADILLAC INC./P), (Zip code: 99669) $1000 to JOHN MCCAIN 2008 INC. on 04/17/08

Additionally, since 2005, David and Linda Hutchings have made numerous $200 to $500 donations to the Republican Congressional Committee. And specific donations by the Hutchings include Senator Ted Stevens, and Katherine Harris, Republican for US Senate in Florida.

Shea Hutchings (photo) is also listed as a significant contributor to the GOP. He is Sales Manager of the Dealership.

Meg Stapleton, SarahPAC spokesperson had this to say:

Soldotna lost a new car dealership as part of the federal intervention. 44 local jobs were terminated. Over a million dollars in annual payroll was lost. The net effect to Soldotna is substantial. Obama's actions have directly impacted Alaska and Soldotna.

Side Note - Both Linda Hutchings and Shea Hutchings are active politically in Soldotna. Linda Hutchings serves on the Parks Advisory Board. Shea Hutchings is an elected City Council member.

Interestingly, the ADN failed to mention Shea Hutchings as a City Council member in their article, and did not mention the Republican affiliations of the Hutchings family.