Tag Archive for: elections

It’s Time to Shift the Power in 2024!

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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_layout_div _id=”4″ ][cs_element_text _id=”5″ ][cs_content_seo]Can you feel the energy? It’s time for a significant change – a shift in power!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_div][cs_element_gap _id=”6″ ][cs_element_button _id=”7″ ][cs_content_seo]Support Our Work – Donate!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”8″ ][cs_element_text _id=”9″ ][cs_content_seo]The concept of shifting power, whether in societal dynamics or energy generation, symbolizes a transformative journey with far-reaching effects. Socially, it means championing inclusivity, equitable decision-making, and elevating diverse voices for a fairer and more balanced society. In terms of electricity, power is the lifeblood of our modern existence. Technological progress has enabled us to harness and distribute energy like never before, but the methods of its generation often compromise our community’s well being and our planet’s future.
Together, let’s SHIFT THE POWER. Let’s redirect it towards individuals historically excluded from impactful decisions, and pivot away from energy sources that endanger our planet. Your support is crucial in this mission to Shift the Power!
This year at The Alaska Center, we set high goals: advocating for community solar legislation, safeguarding our cherished salmon, and protecting our democracy. Thanks to our generous donors, we achieved these goals and more. In collaboration with partners, we advanced climate policy initiatives, introduced community solar legislation, progressed in restoring salmon to the Eklutna River, and supported successful local candidates statewide.
In the Anchorage Assembly races, every candidate we endorsed won. In Fairbanks, we secured six essential seats in the Borough Assembly and School Board. Plus, our efforts in utility cooperatives resulted in electing two clean energy advocates to the Chugach Electric Association board.
Looking towards 2024, we’re energized and ready to harness this momentum. To Shift the Power, we need your continued support.
Your contribution will help us create a just, thriving, and sustainable Alaska. It will empower Alaskans who share our values to take meaningful action. With your help, we can make a significant impact in 2024!
It’s Time to Shift the Power – Support Us Today!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”10″ ][cs_element_button _id=”11″ ][cs_content_seo]Contribute Today & Power Our Work!\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”12″ ][cs_element_text _id=”13″ ][cs_content_seo]Thank you for being a part of this journey,Alison Lum, Development DirectorThe Alaska Center\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

Simple Steps for Salmon Protection

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When the legislation creating a Wild Salmon Day for Alaska was considered in the Alaska State Legislature, we knew it was an important bill. Even if it is mainly a symbolic gesture of our collective goodwill toward the salmon that swim through the life of our Alaskan society and culture, it was a good bill because it was a simple bill.

At the same time, in hindsight, there is nothing simple about our relationship with salmon. Those who have relied on salmon and protected them for millennia might see the designation of a calendar day in honor of salmon as cheap, considering that it is integral to the existence of their people. There is also nothing terribly simple about the economic impact of wild salmon. Sport and commercial fishers view the same wild salmon run on often sharply divergent terms, and the management of these fish can raise all sorts of claims of political bias.
Wild Salmon Day, if anything, provides us with a point of reflection, and for that, it is crucial. We, who are so blessed to experience, eat, watch, hook, net, paint, write about, and otherwise contemplate these salmon, also are called upon to protect them. When it comes to protection, there is also a level of complexity; the simple answers are there but none are a fix-all.

We had great runs this summer in Bristol Bay, partly due to global warming trends increasing the freshwater food for juvenile salmon. While the salmon were flooding into Bristol Bay, catastrophic low returns have beset the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. The trawl sector undoubtedly bears some responsibility for killing off thousands of Y/K bound salmon as bycatch. So too do the Area-M fishers. And beyond that, the causes are giant, terrifying, and vague: ocean warming, river warming, ocean acidification, competition from hatchery fish, ocean regime change? The answers to the questions on how we protect wild salmon should be clear, but they are manyfold.

We know these things: we need to keep voting the right people into office who value salmon and will push for policy to protect their habitat, ensuring that our salmon runs thrive in all parts of our state. We must respect Indigenous stewardship and sustainability practices as we work to protect our wild salmon from future harm. We must come together in community to celebrate and honor the resource.
We must work throughout the year to protect our salmon for future generations. It is that simple.

On August 10 in Anchorage and August 14 in Fairbanks, come together to celebrate Wild Salmon Day and learn about how you can use your voice in a multitude of ways to protect our salmon.

Now through August 16, you have the chance to vote for leadership that will protect our salmon. We have endorsed Mary Peltola in part because of her commitment to protecting our salmon. Learn more about our endorsements and how and where to vote this election.
Today until September 6 you have the opportunity to have your voice heard to ensure EPA protections and to Stop Pebble Mine once and for all.

The solutions to the myriad of salmon issues we face aren’t simple but the end goal is: Protecting our Salmon for generations to come.
The Alaska Center

The Primary, Special, and General Election Ahead

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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]Hi all,
I’m excited to share with you that The Alaska Center Board of Directors has wrapped up our endorsement process! 
As a part of this process, the Board considers a questionnaire that asks about our core issues, including climate, democracy, equity, Pebble Mine, records and voting history, and candidate code of conduct statements and actions. 
I’m thrilled to share The Alaska Center endorsements: 32 candidates for the state legislature, Mary Peltola for the special election for US Congress, and Pat Chesbro for US Senate (and, in case you missed it, our gubernatorial endorsement from the other week). In 5 legislative races, The Alaska Center recommends a ranking order for the general election, with the knowledge that our votes are most powerful when we rank our choices.\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”5″ ][cs_element_button _id=”6″ ][cs_content_seo]Check Out Our Endorsements Here\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][cs_element_layout_column _id=”7″ ][cs_element_text _id=”8″ ][cs_content_seo]We need leaders on every level who will stand up for our clean air and water, healthy communities, and strong democracy. And in this election, it is critical that we maintain and grow the bipartisan majority in the State House and build more power in the State Senate. 
These elections will determine the next two years of legislative advocacy, but the legislation that our leaders pass will determine our future decades from now. It’s past time that we pass the critical legislation. We need to establish a Renewable Portfolio Standard to help our state meet renewable goals, we must create a ballot-curing process for voters, and it’s far past time we pass more comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation. These candidates will decide whether we have to spend our time fighting off proposals from a hostile administration or devote more energy to creating the future we want to see.
Voting great leaders into office is essential to creating a thriving, just, and sustainable future. Make sure you’re ready to vote here!
Best,
Jenny-Marie Stryker
Political Director
The Alaska Center\n\n[/cs_content_seo][cs_element_gap _id=”9″ ][cs_element_button _id=”10″ ][cs_content_seo]More Of Our Blog\n\n[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

RANKED-CHOICE VOTING IS HERE!

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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]In 2020, Alaskans voted to approve a new voting system for statewide elections. Starting this year, we will use a system that combines an open primary with ranked-choice voting. This means that the four candidates with the most support will advance to the general election, regardless of their political party. Voters will then rank candidates in order of their preference, from first to last.

In the special election, the ranked-choice voting system will be used for the first time on August 16th, 2022, to fill former Rep. Don Young’s seat in the House of Representatives. The open primary in June narrowed the field of primary candidates down to four: Sarah Palin, Nick Begich, Mary Peltola, and Al Gross, who recently dropped out of the race. At the same time, they rank candidates for the special election, voters will also choose one primary candidate to advance to the general election for the permanent House position.

After voters make their choices on August 16th, their first-place choices will be tallied. If no candidate gets over 50% of the votes in the first round, the least popular candidate will be eliminated, and the votes for them reassigned to their voters’ second-choice picks. This process will continue until one candidate has over half of the votes. While it is not required to rank all four (or, in this case, three) candidates, it is recommended because it means that your voice can be heard throughout the entire election, not just in the first round.

While ranked-choice voting is brand new in Alaska, it’s been used successfully in states and cities throughout the country, including for federal elections in Maine and recently in the election for New York City mayor. Ranked-choice voting is just as secure and effective as more traditional voting forms. The new system means that our votes will go further, and our preferences will still be counted even if our first-choice candidate doesn’t win.

Because the August 16th election is a General Election for the Special Primary, and a Primary Election for the Regularly scheduled election, it will be conducted in person at local polling places, unlike recent Anchorage Municipal elections and primaries. Anyone who wishes to vote by mail for any reason must request an absentee ballot at least ten days before election day and make sure that their ballot is postmarked on or before election day to be counted.

The Alaska Center Education Fund is putting on a series of events this summer to help Alaskans learn about, and practice ranked-choice voting before putting it into practice in August. Join us on July 19th from 6-8 p.m. at Fairview Lions Park for free dinner and ranked-choice voting fun or check out our website or social media for more information on our events for this summer!
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Make a plan, register to vote, and get ready to ranked-choice vote!

Olivia was born and raised in Anchorage and is currently a Junior studying Political Science and Spanish Language and Literature with a minor in Peace and Justice Studies at Fordham University. She is passionate about civic engagement and is excited to continue her work empowering and educating voters as a Youth Civic Engagement Fellow with The Alaska Center Education Fund.

Originally published July 25, 2022 by Sol de Medianoche.\n\nPicturePicturePicture[/cs_content_seo][/cs_element_layout_column][/cs_element_layout_row][/cs_element_section][/cs_content]

The Governor’s Election Ahead – Our Endorsement

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After an in-depth process, The Alaska Center Board of Directors has unanimously voted to endorse the Les Gara and Jessica Cook Gubernatorial ticket and encourages voters to rank the Bill Walker and Heidi Drygas ticket second.

The Gara/Cook campaign stands by The Alaska Center values 100%. Les Gara has a strong track record of being a clean air and water champion, healthy communities, and a strong democracy. This campaign has a vision for Alaska we want to be in and the leadership skills to get the job done. This endorsement decision was not a difficult one.

In a ranked-choice voting environment, voters must rank multiple candidates to give us the best chance to defeat Governor Dunleavy in this election.

More On Our Endorsement

While Governor Walker may not share every policy goal of ours, we know that he would do right by Alaskans in restoring civil leadership to the administration that recognizes the urgency of the climate crisis. We encourage voters to rank the Walker/Drygas ticket second.

The stakes in this election are incredibly high: we need to oust Governor Dunleavy. Dunleavy has orchestrated a budget crisis that threatens our communities. He has been a puppet for Pebble Mine and supported conspiracy theories that sow doubts in our election system. He has even attempted to gut our Automatic Voter Registration and waste millions of dollars of our dwindling state resources in supporting countless frivolous lawsuits, sweetheart contracts, and more. It is time for Dunleavy to go.

Alaskans deserve leadership that has a vision for a thriving, just, and sustainable future. These candidates can bring our state back on track and can pave a new path forward to a sustainable, renewable, and viable Alaska that works for All Alaskans.

I hope you join me in ranking Les Gara and Jessica Cook first, and Governor Walker and Heidi Drygas second!