I am a 69-year resident of Alaska. I and all 50-some of my children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren still live here. I founded Penair more than 60 years ago and am now retired, with my future secure for the rest of my life. I want to see our children have the best future possible here, which requires stable, conservative government.
So I urge you to support Mead Treadwell for governor in the upcoming election. Mead has the political experience and background to do the job, preserving your full dividend, as well as balancing our budget and paying our bills.
In the past three years, more than $14 billion has been wasted by past administrations. The Legislature has been much to blame, particularly the Senate Republican Majority caucus, which has adamantly refused to consider forms of new revenue, while cutting essential services.
My life has revolved around commercial fisheries. Mead helped Sen. Ted Stevens create the Magnuson-Stevens act, which created the 200-mile limit to aid our fishermen. He helped draw up the Stevens federal CDQ program, which guarantees many Western Alaska communities a share of the Bering Sea bottom-fish production, a direct financial benefit to so many.
Mead's opponent in the Aug. 21 primary is Mike Dunleavy. Mike has a history of leaving a job to benefit himself — he resigned from the Northwest Arctic Borough school district eight months into a three-year contract, and resigned from the state Senate early to run for governor. Does this remind you of a recent governor who resigned halfway through her term? We don't need more people who are only looking out for personal gain!
Dunleavy says he will cut the budget more, thus depriving us of more needed government services, and find new revenue sources. Not once has he ever said specifically where those cuts or revenue increases would come from. In 2016, he did sponsor SB 198, which would have imposed a 12.5 percent royalty on all commercial fish operations. Is that his answer to solve our problem — just put it on the backs of commercial fishermen?
Please support Mead Treadwell for governor.
— Orin Seybert
Anchorage
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