I write regarding the inappropriate public conduct of Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, my representative on the Anchorage Assembly. A Jan. 23 article in right-wing propaganda outlet “Must Read Alaska” discussed a pair of vanity license plates owned by an area resident, and recent efforts to have the state Department of Motor Vehicles revoke the plates on the grounds that they were obvious references to Nazi watchwords — one said “3REICH” and the other said “FUHRER.”
In a social-media response to this article, Assemblywoman Allard made the following comment: “Führer means leader or guide in Deutsch, Reich is realm. If you speak the language fluently, you would know that the English definition of the word, the progressives have put a spin on it and created their own definition. Now, before you know it the German word Danke will be outlawed as it sounds to (sic) close to Donkey. Please leave taco out of this! Ban on foreign words? Do they know how idiotic they sound?”
Needless to say, this is entirely inaccurate, as was attested to by numerous fluent speakers of German, including at least one citizen of Germany. When asked to comment on the possible meaning of the “3” in “3REICH,” Assemblywoman Allard demonstrated the dismissiveness and lack of seriousness with which she takes the issue by responding, “Does it matter? Ban foreign words, Good grief.”
As if making such comments in public in her capacity as a private citizen wasn’t bad enough, and as if to illustrate beyond any doubt that her comments were made not in ignorance but with malice aforethought, Assemblywoman Allard doubled down on her defense of Nazi sentiment on her official Assembly Facebook page. She sarcastically suggested she would contact former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich to ask if “Reich” on a license plate was acceptable, and then proceeded to belittle constituents who pushed back on this ludicrous distortion of the issue at hand.
As a Jewish resident of Eagle River, I am appalled by my Assemblywoman’s defense of those who wish death upon me and my family; it makes me believe that she cannot adequately represent me in this Assembly. I hope that more citizens of Anchorage speak out against this behavior, and that the other members of the Assembly take action against this defense of white supremacy.
— Ivan Hodes
Eagle River
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