The Expel Eastman Edition

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[cs_content][cs_element_section _id=”1″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”2″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”3″ ][cs_element_text _id=”4″ ][cs_content_seo]At The Alaska Center, we believe a true Democracy is one in which everyone feels safe, respected, and able to participate in public discourse. We entrust our elected leaders to uphold these values, and be accountable to the principles of truth, justice, and equality. They should follow the Alaska Constitution, the fundamental governing document of the State of Alaska.
Oath Keeper Representative David Eastman has clearly violated these principles and duties of his office, and should be expelled from the State House. His organization, The Oath Keepers, took part in the seditious and deadly activities of January 6th, 2021 – a date none of us should ever forget as it is a milestone of domestic terrorism and an assault on our Democracy. Allowing a member of an organization involved in sedition to serve in the Legislature normalizes the member’s activities and that must not occur.
Article XII Section 4 of Alaska’s Constitution is clear:
No person who advocates, or who aids or belongs to any party or organization or association which advocates, the overthrow by force or violence of the government of the United States or of the State shall be qualified to hold any public office of trust or profit under this Constitution.”

The plain reading of our Constitution applies directly to Eastman: he has admitted to being a life member of an organization that sought to overthrow our democracy on January 6th. He was at the rally that led to the deadly violence in our nation’s capital. Allowing him to remain in the Legislature sends a message that violent and racist insurrections are “legitimate political discourse.”
In November of 2021 a large group of fellow West Point Alumni penned a letter to Eastman telling him to resign. Their message was clear:
“You were present in Washington, D.C. on January 6, protesting this fair and free election. You falsely blamed the day’s violence on “Antifa,” but it is clear the criminal acts were carried out by right-wing insurrectionists… What moved us to public comment was the revelation that you are a life member of one such insurrectionist group: the Oath Keepers, one of the largest far right anti-government groups in the United States. More than a dozen Oath Keepers have been charged with crimes for their role on January 6… You have stated that you “will always consider it a privilege” to belong to Oath Keepers. Membership in the Oath Keepers, or any other organization—left or right—calling for violence against our Constitutional system of government, is wildly at odds with the bedrock values of West Point, as well as with the legal oath you swore when you became a member of the Alaska Legislature.”

The message of the Alaska State House of Representatives should also be clear: Eastman is unfit by his actions, and by our state’s Constitution to continue to bear the honor and responsibility of Representative. The defense of Eastman by members of the House minority so far has been disturbing, especially after so many other racist and reprehensible offenses by him that led to his earlier censure. But if the House does not take action in this moment to denounce Eastman, they are being complicit in undermining our Democracy.  There will be a hearing on the Oath Keepers today in the House Military and Veterans Affairs Committee today at 1:00 p.m (tune in below). 

While a hearing is fine, we already know that The Oath Keeper organization is unambiguously dangerous to our American Democracy.  Oath Keeper David Eastman, who advocates for the violent overthrow of Democracy, is not fit to be a representative in this Democracy and must be expelled. Contact your legislator today and tell them that in Alaska our values include protecting Democracy.

The Alaska Center

\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][cs_element_section _id=”5″ ][cs_element_layout_row _id=”6″ ][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_button _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]Tune In To The Hearing Here\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”9″ ][cs_element_button _id=”10″ ][cs_content_seo]Contact Your State Legislator\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

State of State Predictions

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The Governor’s State of The State Address is next week (7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 25). It is sure to contain grievances about the Federal Government, excitement about mineral resource development projects in Alaska, and a dash of “Election Integrity” talk. It will maybe/probably contain a few lines about renewable energy, fisheries, Alaska’s strategic economic and military location, and “greatest resource is the people of AK” platitudes, etc., to put a bow on it.

It is becoming clear through various releases of information that the Governor is actively lying about his role in the firing of the Permanent Fund E.D. and that the firing was political retribution as Ms. Rodell did not grant the Governor’s cherished overdraw of the Permanent Fund earnings reserve money – we expect that this will not be a part of the State of the State, and hey, it might cause the Gov. to not throw jabs during the speech at the Legislature on the issue of the big PFD never being approved by lawmakers.

With the new Ranked Choice Voting law in place, the Governor is free to pick a suitable running mate and facing at least two known challenges from the far-right flank in his bid for Re-election. Dunleavy made the choice to dump Lt. Governor Kevin Meyer from the ticket despite his faithful dealings with this evolving fiasco of an administration. There is a slight, outside, chance that the Governor will say some nice things about the Lt. Governor, but we would not hold our breath. After all, the Lt. Gov has defended the 2020 election in Alaska, which the far-right know with great certainty was “stolen.”

State Medical officer Dr. Anne Zink, also ever faithful in her dealings with the Dunleavy Administration, is under attack by supporters of Dunleavy and his challenger, political nobody Rep. Chris Kurka who has the firing of Dr. Zink as part of his campaign platform. If the Governor wanted to appear that he has a backbone, he would go strong in defense of Dr. Zink in his speech. To date, his defense has been very muted and wimpy as her credibility is attacked and she is personally threatened.

While he is defending Alaskans from attack by other Alaskans (seemingly something a Governor should do), he might include in his speech an apology to the former Assistant Attorney General, Elizabeth Bakalar. She was targeted with toxic animus and threats of all varieties from far-right Dunleavy supporters after she took legal action against her illegal firing by Dunleavy. Bakalar won on most grounds in federal court this past week. The state will be on the hook for damages. The action by the administration was wrong and will cost the state. Now that the case is settled, it is time to clear the air and address the cost to the state and (former) state workers like Bakalar in the State of the State.

Federal spending on Infrastructure will cushion the reality of our state’s structural budget deficit. Federal COVID relief has and will continue to protect vulnerable Alaskans and help prop up the economy. We hope the Governor does not adopt a posture of holding his hand out while flipping the bird to the Feds with his other hand. However, this is likely, since this particular brand of complaint has been refined and reworked in speeches since statehood and before.

We anticipate that there will be few surprises and many missed opportunities in Tuesday night’s address. We remain open to the possibility of shock, reflection, reconciliation, and rejuvenation. Wouldn’t that be something?

Yours,
The Alaska Center Team

A Look to What is Looming: Legislative Update

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The second round of pre-filed bills was released today at approximately 9:32 a.m. There are not many bills compared to historical releases (in 2012, there were 27-second session, second release pre-filed bills – in 2022 there are a mere 13.) A sage observer noted that this might reflect the sense that not a lot of bills are going to move forward in the current legislative environment. It is an election year, after all, and absent a budget stalemate; our weary legislators will be eager to get out of Juneau and get on with their lives (and election campaigns if they want to remain in office).

A light schedule is taking shape for the first week of the session – though there are some points of interest to be sure. For one thing, the Legislative Budget and Audit Committee will be meeting on Martin Luther King Jr. Day to hold a hearing on the firing of the Permanent Fund Director by the Dunleavy-aligned PF Board of Trustees. Questions on rationale are outstanding, and the judgment of the Trustees and the Governor in removing an ED who oversaw the greatest increase in fund value since the inception of the fund needs to be seriously examined.

There are ominous rumblings that in addition to raiding the fund to pay out gigantic permanent fund dividends, the Dunleavy Administration wants to turn the fund itself into an in-state investment bank – an AIDEA* on steroids and growth hormones – pumped like the incredible hulk or a vengeful Nordic god to unleash a wrath of destruction and boondoggle projects across the state.
Oversight is good. Conservative theatrics around election integrity, not so much. However, theatrics are on the plate for the first week of session in Senator Mike Shower’s committee, where they will hear from an array of republican affiliated think tanks, likely teeing up another “Republicans must win every election forever or else the election was illegitimate” bill from Governor Dunleavy.
With so much BS in the world, the word “resilient” strikes a special note. It is about taking the long view, it is about bending, not breaking, caring for our communities in crisis now, and it is about HB 227 from the unflappable Rep. Calvin Schrage. HB 227 seeks to include climate resiliency improvements as eligible for financing under the new Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (CPACE) program. CPACE allows commercial property owners to finance clean energy and energy efficiency projects and repay the improvement loan on their property tax bills. It is an innovative program that must be adopted by ordinance in a local government, and so far, Anchorage is the first town to adopt CPACE. However, Juneau and the Mat-Su are also considering adoption.

Climate resilience is an essential consideration as we have seen a raft of disaster declarations this past month from communities impacted by winter storms. Considering what science tells us about our warming planet and its unpredictable weather, our buildings are going to need stronger roofs, fireproofing, better air conditioning, backup renewable energy, battery storage, floodwater management systems, and the list goes on. HB 227 would allow such projects to be financed under the CPACE mechanism. It is a good bill, and it will be heard in the House Energy Committee on Thursday at 10:15 a.m. The future is looking interesting this session. We hear that, as of now, the capitol is open to visitors. We will keep an eye on things and will report back every Friday.

Yours,
The Alaska Center
*AIDEA = Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority