As a former resident of Moose Pass, I urge Kenai Peninsula voters to reelect Sen. Jesse Bjorkman.
Bjorkman has been an outspoken advocate for school funding and has worked across the aisle to solve important state issues and help his district.
When the Moose Pass Library, like many small rural libraries, was shocked by a sharp cutback in state funding, the community appealed to Sen. Bjorkman for help and avoided his opponent, Rep. Ben Carpenter.
This was unsurprising, as Carpenter, shortly after his initial election to the House, worked against the community’s hard-fought battle to keep its beloved school open. Carpenter has proven to be a hard-right politician, and he hired as a staff member Donna Arduin, who was the chief architect of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s disastrous first budget, which sparked an effort to recall the governor.
Bjorkman has sponsored many bills aimed at fixing local problems.
A favorite of mine was SB 82, which would have created a voluntary buyback program to retire set net permits on the east side of Cook Inlet. The interception of Kenai River king salmon by set netters has been a major point of controversy since I was a teenager. I spent many summers as a child at a family-owned set net site at Clam Gulch.
Sen. Bjorkman will work hard for his district. Please support him.
— Rodger Painter
Douglas
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