Readers write: Letters to the editor, November 24, 2016

Defending the Electoral College

Every four years comes the notion that the Electoral College should be abolished by constitutional amendment (usually advocated by the losing party). Then, after the inauguration, the issue is forgotten for another four years. The Constitution was not a simple document to craft. The framers adopted several great compromises in order to create our great Constitution. They also built in several areas of tension, such as the Senate versus the House of Representatives, and the Supreme Court as arbiter over the other two branches, to name but two. The Electoral College was also designed with built-in tensions, so that both big cities and rural areas would have a say in running the federal government.

But is the college still relevant today? I'm a Democrat, and I'm still stinging from the election results. Yet I submit that the Electoral College is still necessary because its built-in tensions force both parties (and any others) to address the needs not just of its core constituencies but also those of everybody else. The presidential candidates have to craft messages and platforms that can appeal to the widest potential benefit among all thee states, not just the red or blue ones. The original framers knew that compromise was the best solution to the nation's many problems. We need to remember that today. Compromise.

— Ed Panschar
Anchorage

Praise for bipartisan coalition

Thank you, Reps. Paul Seaton, Gabrielle LeDoux and Louise Stutes.

Thank you for joining this coalition in the House. It has been frustrating to watch our elected officials spend so much time and yet fail to come up with any solutions to our state's fiscal problems. Budget cuts are only a small part of the solution. Less popular solutions are needed and compromise will be required. It will take some courage to put forth a plan that calls for:

1. more tax, or less credit, for oil and gas;
2. state income taxes for not only residents but those non-residents who make good wages here and take their paychecks elsewhere;
3. a state sales tax; and
4. possibly reduced dividend payouts.

A combination of these measures can close this deficit and put the state back on track, but all the solutions have to be on the table for consideration. I have confidence that a bipartisan coalition has a better chance to accomplish this.

Otherwise, we will have another year with polarized attitudes, lots of arguments and no solutions, and have our dividends reduced again. This is effectively a $1,000 tax on all Alaskans regardless of income and I believe there are better solutions. Please work together to get this done.

— Maryann Freepartner
Kasilof

Many on Government Hill handled their own bear-proofing

The people of Government Hill got a bad rap in Rick Sinnott's article about the problem with bears getting into trash cans (We Alaskans, Nov. 20). Sinnott made much of the fact that many GH residents did not take advantage of the offer by Solid Waste Services to provide bear-proof containers.

The bear-proof cans were only offered to those who live along the bluff and near wooded areas where bears tend to roam. Many of those people did not take SWS up on the offer, which would eventually cost money, and opted instead to improve their trash container storage and management practices.

One strong indication of the success of that approach is that Government Hill did not have a bear problem in 2016. Several black bears came through the neighborhood from Elmendorf but found little to interest them here and kept on going.

One bear crossed Ship Creek and wound up downtown. A police officer took video of the bear darting across sidewalks and up alleys near major buildings. Somebody added a soundtrack playing the song "I fought the law and the law won," making for one of the most delightful viral Internet postings of the year.

—Tom Brennan
Anchorage

Thanks to committee that aided placement of foster children

November is National Adoption Month and a time to think about successes we have had in Alaska to find homes for children who need them. During fiscal year 2016, 273 former Alaska foster children achieved permanency through adoption with forever families.

I'm particularly grateful to the Heart Gallery Committee and its chair, Charity Carmody, president of Beacon Hill, for the amazing effort they invested to assist the Office of Children's Services (OCS) in this mission.

The committee planned and facilitated the pre-launch party to help prepare children and youths for listing with the Heart Gallery, facilitated an event in Anchorage and implemented a beautiful website that will continue to help children find their forever homes.

Their work to assist OCS in achieving timely permanency for children who cannot return to their family is greatly appreciated and makes a huge difference.
I'd like to thank the Beacon Hill staff, Alaska Center for Resource Families, Catholic Social Services of Anchorage, the Rasmuson Foundation, PIP printing, Heart of the City church, OCS staff and the many, many photographers, hair stylists and other volunteers who gave their time, energy and love to be part of this work. Thank you for partnering with us to improve the lives of Alaska's most precious resource, our children.

For more information on children waiting for families, visit http://heartgalleryak.com/.

— Christy Lawton
Director of the Office of Children's Services
Juneau

Long live the Electoral College

Mr. Wicks (letters, Nov. 19 and 21) and friends now want the Electoral College system to be replaced by a popular vote system … because we are a "democracy."
James Madison and Alexander Hamilton made it clear that we are not a democracy; rather we are a republic, titled the United States, with emphasis on states.

This is because, from the get-go, states' rights were important, recognizing that the culture and traditions varied among states and a few large states were not going to be allowed to control the wishes of the other states.

Do you really want California and the northern East Coast to tell you how you have to live? Yeah, I know, they already do — but it could be a lot worse.

— Jim Lieb
Palmer

State constitution change would make for better representation

Once again I am writing concerning our current state Senate selection system.

In Alaska, we have 40 House representatives selected from 40 districts that are based upon population ­— much the same as we select U.S. House representatives. The higher the population in a particular state, the higher the representation in the U.S. House of Representatives. The higher the concentration of population within an area of the state, the higher the state representation from that area. That's fair.

We also select U.S. senators, two per state regardless of population. These are basically senators-at-large within a state. In Alaska, we select one state senator for every two House districts. This means that our state Senate representation favors the high-density populated areas. That isn't fair.

I advocate changing our state constitution for state Senate selection to better reflect the vast geographic areas of Alaska.

This system would give equal voice to our diverse population by geographical region. I think that is what the framers of our U.S. Constitution intended; hence, equal representation in the U.S. Senate regardless of a state's population. Let's have equal representation within our state regardless of the population of a particular region.

Our current state Senate breakdown:

8 – Anchorage
3 – Fairbanks (I included North Pole)
2 – Wasilla
1 – Chugiak
1 – Soldotna
1 – Kodiak
1 – Juneau
1 – Sitka
1 – Bethel
1 – Nome

That breakdown reflects:

• 14 state senators from the Anchorage-Mat-Su area and Fairbanks.
• 4 state senators from the Southeast and Kenai Peninsula.
• 2 state senators from the north, Bethel and Nome.

— Michael Albertson
Fairbanks

See the person behind the badge

I recently found it necessary to call 911; an officer responded very quickly. Having always had a great deal of respect and gratitude for our first responders, this time I saw a person, not a badge or a uniform. I pictured a brokenhearted little boy standing solemnly and stoically by the flag-draped coffin of his fallen police officer father, Sgt. Allen Brandt. Husband and father of four small children, this hero officer put on that badge and uniform to keep his community safe.

I will never again look at a badge or a uniform without seeing a human being and the family behind that person.

— Jacqueline Fries
Anchorage

Post-election seething

It's frightening to witness the seething anger displayed by Democrats over the election of Donald Trump. The Democrats haven't been this angry since the Republicans abolished slavery.

— August Cisar
Seward

The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.