Readers of the Anchorage Daily News who relied on its coverage of my State of the State speech and its Sunday editorial didn’t get the full story. The editorial board attempted to discredit my statements about the Biden administration’s increasing dependence on foreign sources of oil by calling them not “particularly realistic.”
The board was apparently not aware we are now importing more crude and crude oil products from Russia than we are from Saudi Arabia, and did so in every month of 2021. This increasing reliance on Russian oil comes at a time when the Biden administration is trying to exert leverage on President Putin over Ukraine. That is the reality. The board also inexplicably mentioned imports from China when we haven’t bought a barrel of crude oil from there since 2013.
On our significant drop in crime rates since the repeal of SB 91 in 2019, the board tried to discount our progress by claiming it was because of the COVID-19 pandemic. There was no mention of skyrocketing crime rates in the Lower 48 that occurred in 2020 and 2021, also during the pandemic, but by now it is clear the board’s goal was to downplay the results my administration has achieved in public safety.
The People First initiative is part of my public safety policy, yet the board said it is “too soon to tell” if the plan is “meaningful” or an election-year “platitude.” Given the ADN’s attention to these issues over the past two years, perhaps the board lacks information, because none of ADN’s reporters have inquired about People First to learn more about it since we announced it on Dec. 7.
One final point regarding the missing context we have come to expect from the ADN: The board credited the “oil price fairy” for our improved budget situation while failing to inform readers that I gave the main credit for our budget surplus to the fact we are producing about 500,000 barrels per day compared to the forecast of just 340,000 made 10 years ago.
Once again, I’m calling on the ADN and its editorial board to provide a fair service to readers by giving the full facts of the story rather than omitting information and context to advance their preferred narrative.
— Gov. Mike Dunleavy
Juneau
Have something on your mind? Send to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Letters under 200 words have the best chance of being published. Writers should disclose any personal or professional connections with the subjects of their letters. Letters are edited for accuracy, clarity and length.