The Native People’s Action, Alaskans for Fair Redistricting, and Alaska Public Interest Research Group, all surrogate groups for Democrats, is training people today on how to testify about the new redistricting maps now under consideration.
The political maps will redraw all the state House boundaries, an exercise that takes place every time there in a U.S. Census. Public testimony is important because when the Democrats sue over the final map, as they usually do, the courts take into account public testimony.
No such training and organizing effort appears to be underway on behalf of Republican Party interests in what is a political exercise to create fair boundaries that, as much as possible, keep districts compact, contiguous, and socio-economically related, while apportioning the same basic number of people to each district.
The Democrats who testify during the upcoming meetings of the Redistricting Board will have prearranged and coordinated statements they will get advice on at today’s training in order to enhance the power of the Democratic Party in Alaska, which has about 79,000 registered members. Republicans number over 144,000 registered voters. But district lines can be drawn in a way — called gerrymandering — that gives one side an unusual and unfair political advantage in elections.
The maps under consideration can be found at this link.
The Alaska Redistricting Board has announced its next meeting for Friday, Sept. 17, at 9 am, during which the public may attend in-person, via livestream, or by teleconference.
Meeting location:
– Anchorage Legislative Information Office
– 1500 W Benson Blvd, Anchorage, AK 99503
– Denali Conference Room, 1st Floor
The livestream will be available at www.akl.tv.
The public may listen or testify via the Legislative Teleconference System by dialing:
– Anchorage 563-9085
– Juneau 586-9085
– Other 844-586-9085
When available, the agenda and board packet will be posted to the public notice listing: http://notice.alaska.gov.
Democrats will demand a House majority even though they represent a tiny minority of Alaskans
For being a red state, we sure have set the bar low on the quality of republican legislators. Some have proven to be lying corrupt democrats or just unethical incompetent people.
Can re-redistricting maps really change the electoral representation that much? I think more importantly is a re-set of our collective political mind-set. Will we continue to slide further into socialism? Will there be a re-birth of private entrepeneurism (free-enterprise)? Alaska’s economy will continue to recede as many businesses are no longer viable. Vast quantities of commercial real estate will go vacant. Notwithstanding the current pandemic, Alaska’s economy has been declining since the decline in oil price and production began in 2015. The decline in State spending has also contributed to a “smaller” economy. The Dividend is going to have to become a more modest luxury in our economy as well.
Not all is lost. We are very close as a state to achieving stability in our annual budgeting. We can actually even afford a $525 Dividend this year without further raiding of savings accounts. However we have debts to the CBR and Oil Tax Credits which are not being counted.
We are incredibly fortunate to have a Permanent Fund which can sustainably fund government (including Dividends) without onerous taxes on the People. I think that the lack of income/sales tax is a just reward for Alaska workers and families. I think it is something that even Dividend-promoters should appreciate.
Let’s cut the BS over the Dividend, pay our debts, and allow the Permanent Fund Earnings to grow and fund a better use of that earned income.
And yes, when we do finally get our act together, it will be time to examine the equity of our oil taxation policy.
Hey Chris-
1) In order to shift the electoral representation dramatically you’d have to draw some pretty insane districts that would not survive court challenges IMO. Most of the fight will be over how the Anchorage Districts are drawn as you can shift 3-4 seats in one direction or the other depending on how you carve out the areas surrounding downtown etc. They will also want to carve out large swaths of Fairbanks NSB and throw them into Rural districts in order to preserve seats there
2) There is no reason to have the CBR or ever repay the obligation too it if the state is going to spend money out of the ERA on State Services. Money sat in the CBR earning less than the rate of inflation for years. If it has been simply invested into the PF Corp it would have generated another 1B in returns. The same is true mind you for all these crazy separate investment funds the state has each of which have radically different much lower rates of return when compared to the PFCorp or ARMF.
There are a lot of structural reforms that are desperately needed IMO before the State melts down into the death spiral that will end with whole sale raids on the pension funds and massive income and sales taxes
Chris, the topic on this one is redistricting, and the lack of Republican effort to organize and lobby. The PFD is not part of this discussion. I was with you until you brought your thieving ideas about the PFD into it.
Isn’t John Binkley from a Conservative Republican background? Strong family roots in business and politics. His dad was a Republican legislator in the 1960’s. Mom active in Republican Party. How did the grandkids get so Left-wing? Is the Democrat Party really so good at mind controlling the young generation?
Its not just the Binkley kids. In the 60’s and 70’s a bunch of acid-dropping stoners adopted Marxism, Castro, and a bloodthirsty killer Che Guevara as their personal heroes. These stoners went on to achieve high political office and have effectively destroyed the capitalist system – in which they take great delight. The kids are simply suffering the results of their parents propaganda and programming. So don’t be too hard on them.
I’ll tell you how, $$$$!
They’ve sold their souls to the devil.
They have proven they’re willing to compromise their character if the price is right!
That’s what happens when you give your children everything and they do not have to work their way through life. They end up looking for easy ways out no matter what the compromise is.
Is there any point to the GOP anymore?
There is no GOP anymore. Not really. The real, intellectual conservatives have left the party as it sinks into mindless populism. I was listening to Sean Hannity today, at the risk of losing brain cells while doing so, and he was complaining about all the Never-Trumpers and Lincoln Project folks not being conservatives, and I was just laughing…. those people are the ONLY conservatives left.
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