On July 24th a dedicated group of volunteers surveyed people attending the annual Soldotna Progress Days fair to gauge public perception on several important Alaskan issues dealt with in recent legislative sessions.

It was a beautiful warm afternoon with blue skies and a light breeze, when 123 people took surveys.  The questions asked and the results are shown below.

 Survey Questions and Results:

1.  Are you in favor of a constitutional amendment that requires open meetings for ALL elected officials including legislators?

          Yes:  77%          No:  11%          Don’t Know:  12%

2.  Did you agree with elimination of the Senior Citizens Longevity Bonus Program to pay for oil company tax breaks?

          Yes:  12%          No:  82%          Don’t Know:  6%

3.  Do you believe that Permanent Fund earnings should be protected in the constitution for future generations?

          Yes:  88%          No:  8%          Don’t Know:  4%

4.  Should government employees get better benefits and retirement programs than the average citizen?

          Yes:  10%          No:  83%          Don’t Know:  7%

5.  Are you aware that the 23rd Alaska State Legislature authorized the Alaska Housing Finance Corporation (AHFC) and the Alaska Student Loan Corporation to bond (go into debt) with the proceeds being spent for capital (SB 283) projects?

          Yes:  9%          No:  78%          Don’t Know:  13%

6.  Are you registered to vote in Alaska?

          Yes:  96%          No:  4%          Don’t Know:  0%

Results of previous public opinion surveys and other examples of legislative disconnect can be found on the Statistics page: http://www.akvoters.org/statistics.htm   Feel free to share these survey results with every legislator in Alaska, media (newspapers, radio, TV) statewide, and the governor!  Don’t forget to tell your friends, family, and neighbors too!