By MICHAEL TAVOLIERO
In the 2018 Alaska gubernatorial race, Michael Dunleavy emerged as the guardian, vowing to shield Alaska’s Permanent Fund Dividend from encroaching threats. His campaign resonated with resolute promises: “Only one candidate has proven he will protect the PFD: Mike Dunleavy.” The slogans emphasized trust in the democratic process with “No change to the PFD without a vote of the people: Mike Dunleavy.”
I was there. I remember. Do you?
In the silence that followed the storm of the Left’s fervent pursuit to recall Gov. Dunleavy during his initial term, a subtle corrosion took hold. The echoes of discontent lingered, especially after the departure of his first chief of staff. Now, in his second term, the clamor for recall has subsided, replaced by a new tempest as the governor endeavors to fulfill the promise of disbursing the full PFD to eligible recipients.
The PFD remains a political football, carried downfield toward the goal since 2016 but stopped by opposition that believes the state bureaucracy is more important than the people.
For every political season since Gov. Walker, the PFD has been the central topic of legislative debate, with the money team funded to ensure the state bureaucracy is not cut, as well as the full dividend not paid.
And with every crisis, real or faked, comes an opportunity.
Against the backdrop of the winter of 2022, Alaska faced an economic frost, with fuel oil prices soaring to $5.03 per gallon in 85 unsubsidized communities, well above the national average of $3.60 per gallon. In the isolated expanses of Arctic Village, Hughes, and Alatna, where air cargo is the lifeline for fuel delivery, the cost reached alarming heights. Arctic Village, adapting to biomass for heating, signaled a community in transition.
In the annals of Alaskan tradition, the PFD served as a financial bulwark for families in these frigid landscapes, especially when economic pillars like subsistence, commercial fishing, and natural resource industries weathered the storm of pandemic realities.
Unbeknownst to many, the State of Alaska carries a debt to its citizens — every eligible PFD recipient from 2016 to the present is owed $13,820, totaling $55,280 for a family of four. In a state where the specter of government growth looms large, eroding the prospects of natural resource development, this owed income could suture the gaping wounds of financial distress.
Within the corridors of Alaska governance, the governor wields a constitutional tapestry of authority, as articulated in Article III, section 23. This executive authority weaves a narrative where the governor:
- – Exercises the Governor’s Authority: Initiates changes deemed indispensable for efficient administration.
- – Issues Executive Orders: Enunciates changes necessitating the force of law.
- – Allows Legislative Oversight: Affords the legislature a prescribed timeframe (sixty days) during sessions to challenge and disapprove these executive orders.
- – Determines the Effective Date: Mandates that, absent legislative disapproval through a majority resolution in joint session, the executive orders become effective at a later date designated by the governor.
This gubernatorial prerogative is both a shield and a sword, providing the flexibility for administrative course corrections while maintaining a crucial check by the legislative branch.
As the 2024 presidential election looms on the horizon, the political tapestry of Alaska reveals a mosaic — a symphony of 13 Democrats, 22 Republicans, 4 no-party independents, and 1 nonpartisan in the Alaska House of Representatives. All 40 seats are up for grabs. Meanwhile, in the Alaska Senate, the composition comprises 9 Democrats and 11 Republicans, with 9 Senate seats in contention.
Is it politically naive to consider any of the 40 of these House Candidates and any of the 9 of these Senate candidates disapproving through a majority resolution in the next joint session of the legislature during perhaps the most major election in the history of Alaska and the United States?
Timing is everything.
Gov. Dunleavy, entrenched in his second term and ineligible for re-election, stands at a juncture where the legacy he leaves hinges on the deployment of his constitutional authority. The adage holds true: when good men do nothing, evil flourishes.
The Governor has the singular reality of being in the best position to exercise the bully pulpit and spread the news across the state. The past due PFD amount of $13,820 is owed to eligible Alaskans.
In 2023, 61,000 Alaska’s children’s parents lack secure employment while in 2021 the Alaska Legislature’s Capitol complex is now spread over five blocks in Juneau, rather than move the Legislature out of Juneau to the road system allowing greater operational saving for the state.
In a past interview between Joe Rogan and Jordan Peterson, Peterson said, “Things get to terrible places one tiny step at a time. If I encroach on you and I’m sophisticated about it, I’m going to encroach two millimeters. I’m going to encroach right to the point where you start to protest, then I’m going to stop. I’m going to wait, then you’re going to calm down, then I’m going to encroach again. Right to the point where you protest, then I’m going to stop. I’m just going to do that forever, and before you know it, you’re going to be back three miles from where you started.”
This is the Left side of the Alaska Legislature’s strategy to subdue Alaska into its existing bureaucratic hegemony. We have one champion left.
Is it time for the governor to marshal his constitutional powers, ensuring the fulfillment of promises and the restoration of Alaska’s oil wealth to its deserving citizens? The answer to this question will sculpt the narrative of Alaska’s future, echoing through the corridors of governance and resonating in the hearts of its people.
Michael Tavoliero is a senior contributor to Must Read Alaska.
