Chugiak-Eagle River Assemblywoman Jamie Allard was greeted at the Assembly Chambers on Tuesday with a vase of yellow roses, some red, white, and blue bunting, and people holding laminated signs with photo of her on them. It would be her last full Assembly meeting since she was elected to the body in in 2020.
Her supporters were there by the dozens to wish her well, and she took a moment of personal privilege to say goodbye to the Assembly as she launches into being a State representative for her conservative district in the Alaska Legislature. She noted that while she has disagreed with the Assembly liberal majority on many occasions, her work on the Assembly has helped her gain a better understanding of opposing points of view. And she expressed her love and appreciation to the community that has shown her such strong support during the numerous attacks on her by the Left over the past three years.
Allard read her resignation letter aloud:
“Thank you for being here this evening.
“As I begin serving my community in the Alaska Legislature in my upcoming role as a state representative for Eagle River, I must tender my resignation to this body, effective Jan. 17, 2023.
“It has been a great honor and privilege to serve the people of our community and to be the voice of Chugiak-Eagle River on the Assembly. I have learned much about the public process, and have grown as a lawmaker. Being a minority voice on the Assembly has been challenging, yet has expanded my ability to understand opposing points of view. This has been a wonderful honor and experience.
“I especially want to thank the community of Eagle River, Anchorage for their participation at Assembly meetings during the past many years. The public comment has been productive, informative, and earnest.
“Anchorage can be proud that the public cares so much about the future of this community that so many have given hundreds of hours of their time either attending meetings in person or watching them online. I understand it can be discouraging, especially when people’s opinions are unfairly cut short, called out as irrelevant, or when the clock runs out before they have had allotted time.
“I was proud to have stood for the values of individual liberty and responsibility, and to support the U.S. Constitution, even through the criticism I received at times for defending people’s constitutional rights, regardless of their political views.
“I have not always agreed with the direction the Assembly has taken, but I will continue to pray the Assembly becomes a more balanced body. I hope the Assembly will hear and listen to the residents of our great communities. The Assembly needs to get back to being a body in which we are respected and not disappointed in by so many.
“Most of all, I want to thank the people of Chugiak-Eagle River for their confidence in me, their support for me during tough debates or when I’ve been attacked, and how deeply they care about this community, all the way from Girdwood to the Knik River Bridge. I am devoted to listening to their concerns and making the best decisions that represent the people of my district.
“As I leave to take the oath of office in Juneau, I hope to continue to work with the Assembly to further what is good, what is responsible, and what is productive for our community and our great state. To my Assembly colleagues who will continue on, I wish for the wisdom, compassion, and common sense, in all the right portions to do this very difficult job.
“And to my beloved community, I want to say this: Government is where the disputes in our republic get sorted out so we can all live in peace and freedom, under the rule of law. We must remain engaged and informed. We must insist on transparency and limits on government.
“For in the words of Thomas Jefferson in his letter to Richard Price on Jan. 8, 1789: “‘Whenever the people are well informed, they can be trusted with their own government; that whenever things get so far wrong as to attract their notice, they may be relied on to set them to rights.'”
Yes. The whole world may find out that all of our institutions have been diminished in the last three years of pandemic pogroms. Thank you Jamie Allard for resolutely allowing the people to have their own solliloquies though denied to them by resolute others reaching out to mandate their own unqualified “medical mandates” in lieu of private, licensed care of respiratory diseases in private.
The assembly members sure think a lot of themselves, like they are all-important intellectuals that lord over us.
Lipstick on pigs to the Politburo. They don’t tell you anything because you’re serfs beneath them.
What Jaime should have said:
“Being a minority SANE, non-Marxist voice on the assembly has been challenging at times …”
Ms. Allard may be disappointed. The Leftists on the Assembly and many residents know virtually nothing about Thomas Jefferson. (In contrast, many could quote Ibram X. Kendi line-for-line). To the Left, it is all about grabbing and maintaining power, rewarding themselves and their friends and punishing those that oppose them. By any means necessary.
Jamie, you couldn’t have had a more challenging time (which it became shortly after you took the seat) to represent us. We were all impressed when you went against overwhelming odds to continue to represent us, despite the hardships and criticism that was imposed on you. Your constituents always felt that they had a voice and support never wavered. This was further evidenced when efforts to recall you by someone not in our district tried to have you removed. They were basically laughed out of town, without enough signatures to have a Tupperware party. What is really apparent is that those who have chosen to live out here do so because we don’t share the same core beliefs that the voting populous of Anchorage holds. We do love Alaska, but commuting to work from the valley takes away too much family time. Being part of the municipality, until recent years, never was a big deal. They basically left us alone and allowed our community councils to govern us. You didn’t have to beg the government for permission to improve your property and could rely on your neighbors to help out during an emergency, instead of a government agency. And if you didn’t like the way your neighbors decorated their yards, you would approach them or the community council , not the distant Municipality of Anchorage through the anonymous reporting system that was adopted. We have a great volunteer fire department that never used to charge you for needing their services, until the municipality got involved. Most of the main roads are maintained and plowed by the State of Alaska. Our parks were installed thru donated land and volunteers until the municipality took them over and installed gates and fees to use them. And of course rules that you need a lawyer to interpret. So much for the family or neighborhood ball game. The first schools were built by the community, there were no bonds. And the structures are still sound but are not being used for schools any longer. There’s no better time to separate from the poisonous municipality while they use their power to ensure that Jamie will be replaced by one of the assembly’s puppets. And come election time, massive dirty money and a tainted election system will be in place to ensure that we will never again have a true representation in government. And nobody inside to expose the crooked ways of the assembly majority. If Anchorage desires to be ruled by this group, fine. But we need to draw the line and become our own community once again. Our home and property values will increase as we become a more desired community, and we won’t be over taxed on them to support the assembly’s self serving agenda. Bonus, we will feel safe to send our children to school, not worrying about what they are being taught outside of academics. ASD has become an extension of the Assembly, the reason that anyone with the means have chosen private schools or home schooling. People without the financial means or ability should be given an option as well. We have a large community center, not owned by Anchorage (our old schools) that could be used for before and after school programs for working parents. It could be made available without large expense and now sits vacant. If Eagle River isn’t ready for a change, then maybe Chugiak is. Let’s put it up for a fair community vote, without the help of Anchorage. We represent too much tax revenue to them.
LOL, extolling transparency in this story while desperately wishing the Bronson-Demboski affair had been handled internally. Pretty rich stuff.
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