There has been inexorable pressure from some quarters to open our Alaska Constitution to changes. Strangely enough, there have been few plainly stated reasons why changes are needed — just a few mumbled suggestions that we should “make it better.”
Be very, very careful, good people, when you vote on Ballot Measure 1. No matter what reasons advocates may give you, they have nothing to do with what may actually be changed during any revision of our constitution. A favorite reason is “to straighten out the Permanent Fund Dividend mess.” Another may be to change the judicial system to politically appointed judges, “to better represent the people of the state.” (Or, more accurately, to owe allegiance to the governor who appointed them.) Or to reapportion natural resources to more fairly benefit the citizens of a particular region. Maybe to restrict or open certain areas to hunting.
It doesn’t matter! Once the constitution is opened to change by passage of Ballot Measure 1, anyone or any power group can jump in and push for changes to any part of the constitution; anyone from pro-lifers to PFD strippers, to political manipulators, can try to ram through any changes in our state government they have been hankering for through the years.
The Alaska Constitution is noted nationwide for its fairness and its just treatment of the people it was meant to serve. I cannot say it isn’t capable of improvement, but I strongly doubt that the individuals who would try to do so now would recognize an improvement if they tripped and fell into a pile of it.
— Don Neal
Anchorage
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