Gara deserves thanks for dedicated service

Rep. Les Gara built a career on standing up for what's right. As he's said, the Pledge of Allegiance means something when it calls for "liberty and justice for all." Les has stood tall for children, seniors, and those trying to find success. I mention children first because no politician has worked as hard as Les to put children first. He knows and has said repeatedly that Alaska belongs to all of us, not just the most powerful and privileged.

Rep. Gara recently announced his retirement after 16 years of service in the House of Representatives, and dozens of voters in this district have told me how much they appreciate his public service, his effectiveness, and his faithfulness to our values.

He has voted to help us hire more law enforcement in Anchorage, around the state and in the many rural villages that have no police protection all when someone is in danger. Clearly, we need stronger law enforcement to fight back against the crime wave.

When families' testimonials and empirical data showed that Alaska's children were falling behind due to a lack of early childhood education, Rep. Gara worked with then-Gov. Sarah Palin to win a needed, long-overdue increase in pre-kindergarten education funding, and he and others have fought, successfully, to expand effective voluntary pre-K to more families since then.

When foster children and families suffered from an overstressed, overwhelmed foster care system, he worked across party lines to pass a comprehensive bill to improve lives. He fought against spending our savings on a $1.5 – $2 billion Knik Arm Bridge (and a connecting tunnel and new highways to connect the bridge to the road system). He opposed the $6 billion Susitna Dam that many say could endanger wild fish and our savings.

With that mindset, it's no surprise that Rep. Gara also was a leading opponent of spending on the unaffordable new glass legislative building in downtown Anchorage. He took wrath from some Republican leaders who stood with former Rep. Mike Hawker and refused to let go of that house of privilege for many years. Ultimately, Rep. Hawker and his cadre of allies lost power. Alaskans, and an increasing number of legislators across the aisle, sided with Rep. Gara's call for sanity over legislative luxury.

With a major fiscal gap, even after years of budget cutting ($3.5 billion in cuts since 2013), both basic math and fairness take you to the same conclusion: If we are going to be asked to chip in to help, the wealthiest shouldn't be subsidized. That means the oil companies given a sweetheart deal by Gov. Sean Parnell in 2012, with current tax rates the past few years much lower than in other major American oil-producing states, should chip in a fair share of their profits.

Last year, Rep. Gara and 20 other Bipartisan House Majority Coalition members voted for a fair oil reform bill to tax a modest 25 percent on oil company profits. It passed the House. It was blocked by Senate Republicans and opposed by the House Republican minority. It would have brought in, at today's oil prices, more than $600 million in needed revenue to pay for police, schools, basic road maintenance and snow removal without damaging oil production. A fair tax on oil companies when they are profitable makes sense and lessens the burden on the rest of us.

Rep. Gara believes in good, clean government. With former Sen. Hollis French and others, he forced big-money donors to reveal their identities so we know who is behind those expensive election year attack ads. He voted to limit lobbyist election donations and the amount wealthy donors could spend on elections.

Les has shown a dogged determination to do what's right, and to not give up when others would. Along the way, he helped countless other Alaskans. Alaska is better off as a result of his service.

Zack Fields is a Democrat running for House District 20, and has been endorsed by Rep. Les Gara.

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