Opinions

Let’s restore respect to our House

We can be better. That much, I knew when I ran for reelection in the Alaska State Legislature. Last week, words spoken by a colleague of mine on the House floor reminded me of that.

Since then, the representative has apologized for his objectification of a female House member. He says he did not intend to cause harm, and I believe him.

Yet, the concession remains: We can be better.

For this reason, a core principle of the caucus I lead, the Alaska House Republicans, has been to restore respect and dignity in our state Legislature.

The first step towards that end is to affirm what type of legislative body we wish to be. That’s why my fellow member and friend, Rep. Sarah Vance, will ask for a Sense of the House today, calling for unanimous agreement “that no member should be objectified on the House floor.”

It’s also why no member from our caucus is calling for anyone to resign, nor are we calling for anyone to be censured.

As I watched some members on Wednesday morning try to bury our initial motion by sending it to a committee, I couldn’t help but think: If last week’s disrespectful remarks would have come from a Republican caucus member, would the response have been so restrained?

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Our caucus believes Alaskans and Americans nationwide are tired of watching leaders seize every opportunity that arrives to tear each other down. Censorship brings no one together. Canceling each other does not restore dignity, it removes it.

To be clear, our Sense of the House does not condemn or even name any member. It references only inappropriate remarks. We have no interest in pursuing censorship or expulsion, as has been pursued in the past few years, because of our commitment towards restoring respect in this Legislature.

It is our belief that unless behavior rises to a criminal level, it is not the Legislature’s job to determine who is worthy of sitting in these seats. We’ll leave that to Alaska’s voters.

As elected leaders, our treatment of each other should be the example for young Alaskans. How can we succeed if we do not apply equal treatment to all?

We can be better. We can raise the bar, and we do not need to cancel anyone to do so. Let us make our standards clear, aim higher and leave it at that. If all House members commit ourselves to that task, we will be one step closer to restoring dignity and respect in our legislature, and hopefully, we will be all the better positioned to do the work for which Alaskans elected us.

Rep. Cathy Tilton, R-Wasilla, is the Alaska Republican House Caucus Leader.

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Cathy Tilton

Rep. Cathy Tilton represents House District 12 which encompasses the communities of Butte, Chugiak, Eklutna, Fairview Loop and Peters Creek. She is a 30-year resident of the Mat-Su Valley and grew up fishing rivers near Chugiak with her grandparents.

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