An open letter to the members of the 33rd Legislature of the State of Alaska:
We wish to commend you for successfully organizing in a timely and creative manner to do the work of the people this year. It gives us great hope to watch our legislators engage in a manner that seeks to serve the people of Alaska.
Likewise, we wish to commend you for unanimously censuring Rep. David Eastman for his thoughtless and damaging comments regarding the “economic benefit” resultant from the death of abused children in the judiciary committee meeting on Monday, Feb. 20.
Unfortunately, such thoughtless and damaging commentary is not new for Eastman. You, his Republican and Democratic colleagues, have not welcomed him into either the majority or minority coalitions because of his past vitriolic tenor and tone.
While Eastman defended his comments by saying he was trying to highlight injustices around abortion, the fact remains he did so at the expense of the serious work of reducing and preventing instances of child abuse and neglect in our state. As people of faith, we recognize that if one claims to be “pro-life,” this extends beyond pregnancy and delivery to protecting our vulnerable from adverse childhood experiences that have lifelong consequences for the individual and our community.
We recognize you have sought to minimize Eastman’s hurtful actions by excluding him from both the majority and minority caucuses. We recognize you have sought to minimize Eastman’s vitriol by limiting his committee assignments. We recognize you have sought to hold Eastman accountable by censuring him, but now we ask that you recognize this only expresses disapproval without consequences.The time has come to stop Eastman’s willful and wanton damage. At a minimum, we would hope you would consider taking away his last and final committee assignment; however, we believe you are warranted in taking the extraordinary step of once and for all expelling him from the body.
God in the Bible makes it clear that we are to care for the vulnerable among us. This is a moral imperative shared by many faith traditions as well as many who hold no specific faith. Please hold Eastman to account for his verbal assault and inconsiderate actions.
— The Rev. Andy Bartel, Anchorage
Rabbi Abram Goodstein, Anchorage
The Rev. Matt Schultz, Anchorage
The Rev. Dan Wilcox, Wasilla
The Rev. Emily Carroll, Anchorage
Pastor Bertha Koweluk, Nome
The Rev. Autumn Krueger, Anchorage
The Rev. Karen Martin Tichenor, Soldotna
The Rev. Undra Parker, Anchorage
The Rev. Nico Reijns, Girdwood
The Rev. Joel Kiekinveld, Anchorage
Pastor David Owsley, Ketchikan
The Rev. Bob Smith, Anchorage
Pastor April Hall, Kenai
The Rev. Dr. Denise Sudbeck, Anchorage
Pastor Erin Day, Anchorage
The Rev. Duane Chase, Anchorage
The Rev. Criss Mitchell, Anchorage
Lonnie Brooks, Anchorage
Pastor Martine Robinson, Anchorage
Pastor Michael Bunton, Anchorage
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