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Spotlight on Juneau Hello Fellow Taxpayers: Chaos and partisan bickering dominated the 22nd Legislature. It finally came to an end May 21st after months of political posturing, closed door meetings, an extended session, a special session, and loads of back room deal making. In the following weeks Alaska Voters will sort out what actually happened, who was responsible for what, and how much it will cost us. The results will be posted on our web site for everyone to use during the fall campaign season. We recently added a new feature to our web site Statistics page, called " The Larry Lunchbox & Susie Homemaker guide to Alaska's budget crisis ". In this section you will see some very informative and thought provoking graphs. Other graphs will be added once the dust has settled in Juneau. A big "Thank You" goes out to everyone writing those letters, POM's, and editorials that helped provide support for Legislators trying to hold the line on spending, and stern admonishment for those attempting to give our money away. Along with the phone calls, faxes, and email messages our contact with the legislature did make a difference this year. Constituent presence will be even more critical next year as the Constitutional Budget Reserve continues the plunge into extinction. Once the CBR is gone there will only be three choices left to balance the budget; Taxes, Permanent Fund, or CUTS. For this reason it will be more important than ever who we send to Juneau this coming January. During the summer, Alaska Voters need to continue educating our friends and neighbors about the situation in Juneau. The more we can expose the truth, the harder it will be for special interest legislation and excessive spending bills to pass. We must attend political campaign rallies, participate in radio talk shows, and continue writing our letters to the editor. We must ask the difficult questions and demand explicit answers of those wishing to represent us. There are loads of questions located on the Alerts and Watchdog pages that can and should be asked of everyone seeking statewide office this fall. To further inform the public we would like to have a float in every parade, and informational booths at every fair in Alaska this summer. This will require a lot of help in the form of volunteer time and/or monetary contributions. With members statewide anything is now possible. We will need suggestions for campaign opportunities in your area (i.e. parades, festivals, fairs, other public events), and ideas about how Alaska Voters can become involved. Please call or write with your suggestions today. We plan to kick off our summer campaign this weekend at the Lion's Club gun show in Soldotna. Members of our board will have a table at the show handing out information and talking with our fellow Alaskans. If you are in Soldotna May 25th or 26th, please stop by the Sports Center and meet some of the Alaska Voters Organization volunteers. To date they have collectively contributed thousands of hours toward this effort, and paid all expenses out of pocket. We would like to hear your comments and suggestions for improving the political process and for dealing with the impending budget deficit fiasco. What's next? What made you mad or happy
with the legislature? What are the major problems facing Alaska
today, and what are the solutions to those problems? Please take a
few minutes to answer the following 16 question survey. Your
answers will help us determine future direction for this
organization. Feel free to comment on any question listed. The
more detail you provide the easier it will be for us to incorporate
your ideas into our future plans. Survey results will be printed in
next week's newsletter. Post 22nd Legislature Survey To answer questions hit the "Reply button" on your browser, strip out the unwanted answers, and write in your comments if applicable. Push the "Send" button once the survey has been completed. 1. Do you think the budget deficit crisis is real? a. Yes 2. If you answered yes to question 1, what would be your solution to the budget crisis? a. Tax (which one (s) do you
favor)? 3. Would you support a constitutional amendment that requires all state generated revenues (currently only 25% of oil revenue, and 0% of other revenue) be deposited directly into the permanent fund? a. Yes 4. If you selected yes to question 3, would you also support a constitutional amendment that allows voters to set a state spending limit and pay government cost from earnings of the permanent fund? a. Yes 5. If you selected yes to question 4, what would the you recommend this spending limit be? a. Higher than current
levels? 6. Would you support a constitutional amendment that limits legislative sessions to 60 days, and extensions or special sessions would be done without any legislative compensation (i. e. pay, per diem, travel etc.)? a. Yes 7. Would you support a constitutional amendment that eliminates the primary election? a. Yes 8. Would you support legislation that sets all state, borough and municipal elections on the same date? a. Yes 9. Would you support a constitutional amendment that creates a non-partisan unicameral legislature (no party/one body) with 40 members total (would replace our current partisan two body legislature with 60 members) statewide? a. Yes 10. Would you support moving the legislative sessions to Anchorage? a. Yes 11. Would you support legislation that requires all bills be introduced by an individual (this would eliminate the current practice of introducing controversial legislation by committee)? a. Yes 12. Are you a registered voter? a. Yes 13. If the August Governor's primary election was held today, whom would you vote for? a. John Glotfelty 14. If the August Lt. Governors primary election was held today, whom would you vote for? a. Scott Heyworth 15. Would you support the Alaska Voters Organization educational efforts by volunteering time or financial contribution? a. Yes 16. If you answered yes to question 15, how much time and or money could you contribute? Thank you for completing our survey. Please forward this to concerned family members, friends, neighbors, and business associates. Ask them to also complete the survey. Stay tuned for the results! Everyone is welcome to join , and will automatically receive future issues of the " Spotlight on Juneau ". If you no longer wish to receive this newsletter, send an email with QUIT written in the message box. Make sure the "reply to" address on your message is the one you want removed from our files.
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