Now that the municipal election results have been certified, its worth reflecting on a very troubling thing that occurred in the two races for Anchorage School Board.
I have followed local and state politics since I arrived in 1975. We have seen big Outside money before. The cruise ship industry spent millions against the citizen’s initiative. And most recently, big bucks from Texas gave us a governor.
But I never expected to see school board candidates David Nees and Kai Binkley Sims shamefully benefit from huge spending by a secretive group in Virginia. I was alarmed, because money is often pivotal in politics, so I did everything in my power to warn others.
Voters must be vigilant because outsiders with big checkbooks will surely try again. Congratulations to Starr Marsett and to the amazingly qualified Margo Bellamy. She is a worthy successor to my late friend and champion of public education, Bettye Davis.
— Johnny Ellis
Anchorage
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