As a 28-year police officer, supervisor and chief of police, I believe in personal responsibility and accountability. And I believe in opportunity for all, so people have a chance to succeed. These are reasons I've decided I can no longer sit by and accept my current legislator, Mike Hawker. He and I see these things very differently. I think it's time for a change.
I want those who are as young as I was when I came to Alaska 39 years ago to feel the optimism I felt when I arrived here. That's hard when the state is facing a second year in a row of $3 billion budget deficits. Young families shouldn't have to wonder what our schools are going to look like so they can decide whether or not to raise their children here. We can fix things so our future is bright again.
There has been a lot of press on the new Anchorage Legislative Information Office building, but that expensive new building is just symptomatic of the lack of responsibility we see in some of our legislators. In the smaller picture, when you know times are tight, you don't rebuild your own office space so rent and costs increase by 500 percent, from $685,000 to over $4 million a year. You should do better than vote along party lines, as did my legislator, to defeat proposals to save on those costs.
In the bigger picture, you have to prioritize so we can steer this state to a future of opportunity. That's harder today because of so many years of irresponsible spending on huge capital project budgets. In 2012 that budget increased by $700 million over the prior year to over $2.9 billion, and in 2013 it passed $3.6 billion. I disagree with my legislators' votes on this spending. We should have saved more for times like this.
Today we're paying the consequences. Last year the state passed a budget with a $3 billion deficit, and at this rate our savings account will only last another two years.
Education matters. Safe highways, roads and neighborhoods matter. Protecting an economy so business can grow matters. And fighting growing heroin and now "spice" epidemics isn't free. We have to prioritize, and not spend on everything.
I'd rather focus on the things that matter most to our seniors and children, and protect an economy that's threatened with recession. I'd like to offer what I've learned, in law enforcement, and in life, to help make things better.
My family of nine, and a strong upbringing, instilled in me a strong sense of faith, responsibility and work ethic. We lost the younger of my two older brothers in a tragic car crash. My father proudly served in World War II before he passed away at the young age of 45, leaving my mother to work even harder to raise five young girls. She persevered, working menial jobs to keep food on the table. When our family experienced the loss of my oldest brother to leukemia we grieved, and my siblings and I learned we all had a responsibility to help each other.
What I learned from family helped me in my 20-year career with the Anchorage Police Department, as a patrol officer, and eventually as a captain. While I encountered every type of crime, I was grateful for every opportunity to help good people in their greatest times of need.
Solutions can be found when we listen to the people we serve. In 1997, following my career with APD, I was appointed chief of police for the City of Soldotna. In that position I used a community survey to solicit public input. Listening to the public helped improve the efficiency and esteem of the department, enhanced our Community Watch program, safeguarded our schools and helped prevent crime.
I encourage you to share your ideas, by phone or as I knock on doors to listen. We all learn much in life, and I'd like to use what I've learned to work for you.
Shirley Coté is a Democrat running for State House in District 28, South Anchorage. She can be reached at 907-242-3065 or coteforhouse@yahoo.com.
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