A nominee for the Alaska Public Offices Commission withdrew after racial comments he made about Alaska Natives surfaced.

David Eichler, a dentist, was a Republican nominee for the commission. Alaska Natives opposed him because he suggested that their culture accepted poor oral health.

"Any culture that allows such disease will soon disappear and rightfully so," Eichler wrote in a discussion forum in 2006, The Anchorage Daily News. He also called for the end of federal assistance to Native Americans in order to "allow their integration into American society as dignified citizens," the paper reported.

Eichler apologized for the "offensive and insensitive" comments, which came while he was chairman of the Alaska Dental Society. The group opposed the use of dental therapists in Alaska Native villages.

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Commission nominee withdraws after racism accusation revived (The Anchorage Daily News 4/5)