By Edward Martin, Jr.
For years, Alaskans have been told that corruption, unequal treatment, and statutory non-enforcement are “complex,” “political,” or “out of our control.” They are not. The Alaska Constitution already provides the answers. What has been missing is the will to obey it.
If the Legislature is serious about restoring public trust, the following common-sense reforms are not optional— they are constitutionally required:
- Restore the People’s Grand Jury Power
The Constitution says the power of grand juries shall never be suspended. Citizens must be able to submit lawful presentments without executive or judicial gatekeepers deciding what the people are allowed to question.
- Enforce Public Official Bonding Laws
When statutes require officials to be bonded, those bonds must exist before authority is exercised. No bond means no lawful assumption of risk, no indemnification, and no public protection.
- End Judicial Secrecy and Self-Policing
Judicial independence does not mean immunity from transparency. Oversight bodies must allow public participation, publish meaningful findings, and prohibit conflicts of interest within the system.
- Reassert Separation of Powers
No branch of government should investigate, excuse, or shield itself. Structural conflicts, especially between executive enforcement and judicial oversight, must be prohibited by law.
- Fix Public Records Enforcement
Records belong to the people. Delays, blanket privilege claims, and constructive denials are not lawful governance. They are obstruction. The law must have teeth.
- Clarify Fiduciary Duties Over Public Funds
Trustees and officers managing public assets must be held to enforceable fiduciary standards, backed by bonding and personal accountability. Public money is not discretionary power.
- Stop Court Rules from Nullifying Rights
Procedure cannot be used to erase constitutional guarantees. Court rules must serve rights, not suspend them.
- Protect Citizens and Whistleblowers
Alaskans who lawfully report wrongdoing must not face retaliation through licensing, permitting, or selective enforcement. Truth-telling should not require courage.
- Require Equal Tax Assessment in Unorganized Boroughs
Uniform taxation means uniform standards. If the State acts as the borough, it must meet the same assessment, appeal, and transparency rules it imposes elsewhere.
This is not radical reform. It is constitutional maintenance. None of these proposals invent new rights. They restore existing ones. None target individuals. They correct systems. And none require rewriting the Constitution, only obeying it.
The real question before the Legislature is simple: Will Alaska be governed by law or by convenience?
That answer will not come from press releases or promises. It will come from whether these common-sense reforms are enacted or quietly ignored once again.
Ed Martin, Jr. is a retired 50+ year IUOE, General Contractor and long-time Alaskan with a strong belief in the National and State Constitutions and the inherent rights of citizens. He devotes his retirement to investigating Constitutional violation(s) in hopes of protecting the eternal rights of liberty. “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” — 2 Corinthians 3:17.
Excellent article! Too bad we haven’t had a governor or legislature in decades that had the backbone and ethics to embrace these commonsense tenets!
Ditto👍
If we end up with another lawyer for governor, kiss Alaska and permanent fund goodbye
Generalizing
good, commonsense commentary! I’m with you. Thanks
Ditto
Well, this was a waste of space and bandwidth.
Not because the checklist is incorrect, in fact it is the opposite, it is something we should demand.
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But, the legislature is the enemy of the common people. The “representatives” we elect to the legislature are not there to make the State better for everyone. They are there to make it into their own image, to push for their personal agenda, and to support their causes. And, they are there to ensure they can get re-elected.
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None of that overlaps with actually making government work for the masses. Oh, sure… a politician may get elected running on a platform that espouses these concepts, but when in office, they will spend your money as fast… no actually faster than they can collect it. And, it will be spent on things you do not want, nor support.
I don’t disagree with your diagnosis of how the Legislature often behaves. In fact, that skepticism is earned. But the conclusion shouldn’t be withdrawal—it should be accountability. If the Legislature becomes the “enemy of the common people,” it is only because citizens stop insisting that constitutional limits be enforced. The checklist wasn’t written because legislators are virtuous; it was written because they are bound—by oath, by statute, and by the Constitution. History shows reforms don’t come from trusting politicians; they come from informed citizens making it politically and legally impossible to ignore the law. Cynicism explains the problem. Civic pressure is how it gets fixed. Please keep the pressure on those you can influence with your help and those of your family the tide has to change for all are sake! Thank you call again ! Liberty Ed “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.”
If you can find a way to get the average citizen interested in local/state politics, fantastic. Too bad voters only seem to show up for Presidential elections, and too many of them just vote the party line for… reasons.
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As to your checklist. It will become reality until citizens realize how bad the legislature screws them over every day. The job of legislature should not… no cannot be a career. Two motiving factors are human existence are greed and power. What job has both of them? Elected politician. So… what type of person is attracted to that kind of job? Right… the ones we do not want in the position.
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Your checklist is a dream, and will always be a dream while we insist on paying our “representatives” to represent. And, then giving them control of the purse stings so they can enrich themselves and their friends.
Cynical, but aren’t we all becoming so?
“If the Legislature is serious about restoring public trust….”
It’s not; neither is the Judiciary. While this is a good and common sense article, I’m not hopeful that I’ll live long enough to see any of it taken up.
Cynical, but aren’t we all becoming so?
Hope.com
Spreading the news is a start. When more people are in the know this house of cards will fall which will make it possible for change to happen.