I have never had more respect for anybody than I had for Frank Ameduri when he resigned as the spokesperson for the Alaska Senate Democratic Minority last week.
In resigning his position, Ameduri wrote a letter of resignation that will surely become legendary in legislative circles for generations to come.
What Ameduri wrote is courageous because he spoke the truth to power in a way that few have done before. It was clear by the way the letter was written he never intended for the letter to be made public, however, it is good that it did, because everything he said, needed to be heard -- not only by the legislators, but also by the Alaska electorate.
Quoting Sen. Johnny Ellis multiple times Ameduri said "The future belongs to the bold," reminding the senators that they were failing to live up to that slogan. Ameduri gave the following advice, "Do not 'punt.' Do not settle for the least controversial slogan you can concoct and then call that a communications plan. It's not."
He continued, "The 'vision statement' the group agreed upon in Juneau is not a vision statement, and it's most definitely not a communications plan. It's a slogan, and a pretty weak one at that."
Not only is Ameduri calling the senators' entire strategy soft, he's saying they don't really even have one. The Democrats already start from a position of weakness, being the minority party in both houses. Refusing to take on Sen. Ellis' challenge to be bold ensures they will never move beyond their feeble beginnings.
The biggest issue that Ameduri's letter brought up in my opinion was their complaining about the Republicans. He wrote:
"Much of our shtick the past few years revolves around griping about the Republicans. On the bright side most reporters actually like you, so they don't often call you on it. It still sounds whiny, and sooner or later your luck's going to run out."
Sadly, the issues exposed in Ameduri's letter are not exclusive to Democrats. They aren't the only feeble party in the Legislature -- that distinction is shared equally on both sides of the aisle. That's why we are in the mess we find ourselves now.
The Republicans have done nothing of any real value with their time in power -- which has been substantial. Sarah Palin was elected governor in 2006 alongside Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell. When she resigned Parnell became governor, and he remained in office until last December, when Gov. Bill Walker was sworn in as Alaska's second independent governor.
In that entire nine-year period, the Alaska State House has been in Republican hands; in fact, Rep. Mike Chenault, has been House speaker for more than six years. The Alaska Senate spent some of that time with a "bipartisan working group"; however, during that period they consistently had a Republican Senate president.
Despite the power entrusted to them by the electorate, the Republicans failed to take any bold measures as well. Knowing that our budget was unsustainable and that oil prices were unrealistically high, Republican-led legislatures continued to raise budgets and refused to create any semblance of a long-term fiscal plan.
"The future belongs to the bold."
"Bold" describes nobody in our current Legislature. The only person willing to be bold is a press person who was driven to resign by the inaction of his own caucus.
Ameduri also said of the legislators' seats, "The seat doesn't belong to you. People gave it to you so you could lead. If you're doing something other than lead with it ... well ... Think about that."
Could anybody honestly point to anything that has been done in the Legislature, by either party, that shows true leadership or that could be referred to as bold?
Everybody should read Frank Ameduri's letter, every man, woman and child in Alaska. Teachers should discuss it in schools, people should talk about it at the water cooler and every single legislator should have it sitting on their desk. It's that important.
It's time for legislators to take possession of the future in the name of Alaska by way of being bold. We have no time to waste, we can't keep losing visionaries and encouraging complacency. As Ameduri says, "The future belongs to the bold. And if that's not true, at least your seats should belong to the bold."
Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president who has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s. Email, michaeldingman@gmail.com.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary@alaskadispatch.com