Balance the Legislature, voters
On May 3, letter writers Ken Flynn, Paul Laverty and Ann Sugrue all commented on Sen. Kevin Meyer's "free lunch" and how "the voters might make him pay" in the next election. What most of you do not know is Meyer is not up for re-election because of the way our state Senate elections work. The 20 senators are elected in alternating years. It is not Meyer's turn, nor that of Sens. Pete Kelly, Mike Dunleavy, Anna MacKinnon, Mia Costello, or Peter Micciche. These Republicans have been able to waste time with policies like concealed guns on UA campuses, restricting sex education in the schools, attempting to spend $32 million for the Legislative Information Office building and suing Gov. Bill Walker for expanding Medicaid. But the one job they haven't done is the one they were elected to do: passing a fair and equitable budget. The closest they can get is to reduce PFDs so they can pay the oil companies energy credits.
Who are the senators up for re-election? Majority Senate Republicans like John Coghill, Charlie Higgins, Bill Stoltze, Lesil McGuire, Cathy Giessel, Gary Stevens and Bert Stedman will face our wrath at the voting booth this year unless some, like Stoltze and McGuire, decide not to run.
The rules are different for the House. Members are all up for re-election. For a list, go to elections.alaska.gov.
We need to establish a balance of members in the Alaska Legislature who are willing to work in our best interest. Voting is the best strategy to stop extreme and damaging policies. Please make a list of these names for election time and bring it to the voting booth because some Republicans are counting on us to forget what they have done.
— Joan Diamond
Anchorage
Hidden agendas peek out
How can so much time be spent on debating, adding health care for families of fallen police and firefighters to a prison reform bill, when a stand-alone bill would be much more appropriate. It's typical politics to add amendments that have nothing to do with the original intent of the bill.
It makes about as much sense as forcing a legislator to vote when he has asked to be recused due to a conflict of interest. Think there might be hidden agendas here.
— Greg Svendsen
Anchorage
Wolves more valuable alive and wild than dead and gone
As an Alaskan since 1962, I wholeheartedly agree with Rick Steiner (ADN, May 4) that the chance of spotting Denali wolves for tourists is more valuable to the state than the odd and impersonal wolf pelt for sale. I would like to add there are studies of these wolf families that have been seriously disrupted by trapping and hunting. Long-range knowledge about these remarkable animals is integral to understanding our Alaska ecosystem.
I find it heart-stopping that any adult with a working brain would think trapping is more important than this important knowledge — particularly at a time when we need all the information we can get about the natural world and what changes are likely to happen with the climate implications so obvious today. The trend is clearly toward a warming climate, and in order for us to deal with these changes, we need careful planning based on a scientific understanding of our surroundings, including animal behavior.
— Robyn Lauster
Anchorage
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