Article 3, Section 15 of the Alaska Constitution refers to compensation for the governor and Secretary of State. There is no other reference in the constitution obligating the Legislature to fund operations of the governor’s office. Perhaps, in line with the current governor’s fixation on reducing government expenditures, the Legislature should consider eliminating all funding of the governor’s office except those two positions. There is no real need to fund exorbitant salaries for a chief of staff, a director of management and budget or all the deputies and assistants to the above mentioned. The current governor is a big boy, surely able to carry out the functions of a governor by himself. This would be a savings of more than $10 million.
— Caleb Stewart
Juneau
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