Dear Jess,

Summer is underway and with it brings a brief break in Alaska Common Ground events on issues important to Alaskans. But this is a great time to catch up on our events from this spring like The Future of the PFD: Options and Choices, to check out our Renewable Energy Legislation Recap, and get ready for the upcoming elections. You’ll find information about all of these and more below. In the meantime, ACG will be gearing up for fall events on the upcoming ballot measures and kicking off a long overdue website redesign to improve its functionality and accessibility. We hope you enjoy our summer newsletter and look forward to seeing you in the fall.

Alaska Common Ground held its Annual Meeting on May 9 at King Street Brewery in Anchorage. Thank you to our members who were able to join us online and in person - in spite of the spring snow!

In addition to providing updates about our efforts from the past year and a look at the year ahead, we hosted a dialogue on public education funding featuring real time updates from Juneau, and moderated by Brendan Wilson, an Anchorage School District principal on Special Assignment.

We’re grateful to Senator Löki Tobin and Representative Justin Ruffridge for agreeing to share their perspectives on what was an evolving issue in the final days of the legislative session, as well as how we as individuals can get more engaged in the process. Unfortunately, Rep. Ruffridge was unable to participate as planned due to proceedings on the House floor, but we look forward to hearing from him in the future.

You can watch the Annual Meeting, including the dialogue on public education funding on our YouTube Page here. The discussion begins at approximately 18 minutes.

Alaska Common Ground hosted our first (and not last!) event in Palmer on April 11 at the Palmer Depot. It was a lively panel discussion on possible options and future choices for the Permanent Fund Dividend from divergent points of view.

Gunnar Knapp, Professor Emeritus of Economics at UAA, and Tom Hewitt, Opinion Editor for the Anchorage Daily News, moderated the dialogue. Alexei Painter of the Alaska Legislative Finance Division provided a brief history of the PFD and panelists Brad Keithley, Managing Director of Alaskans for Sustainable Budgets; Larry Persily, journalist; and Angela Rodell of Rodell Consulting provided the possible options and future choices. 

ACG wishes to thank our presenters for sharing their time and insights with us and everyone who participated online and in person. We appreciated this frank and thoughtful conversation around a topic so important to Alaska and Alaskans. The event was recorded and you can watch it here. 

Fall Elections

This summer is a great time to make sure you're registered to vote and to start thinking about upcoming elections. In addition to the Presidential election and voting for Alaska's US House representative, there are 10 State Senate and 40 State House seats up for election, along with judicial candidates and several potential ballot measures.

You can find a list of candidates who have filed to run here. The Primary Election is Tuesday, August 20, and the General Election is Tuesday, November 5. If you want to learn more about Ranked Choice Voting, or refresh yourself on how it works before you head to the polls, the State has some helpful resources.

Upcoming ACG Events

ACG anticipates hosting events on the ballot initiatives this fall. Look for announcements in our upcoming newsletters and on our social media channels. Meanwhile, your suggestions to inform future events and discussions are always valued at any time. Please send those to info@akcommonground.org.

Thank you, GCI!

Alaska Common Ground would like to extend heartfelt thanks to GCI for their financial support of our work this year. We appreciate their contribution to fostering an engaged Alaskan democracy!

Support ACG When you Shop

Did you know you can help Alaska Common Ground earn donations just by shopping with your Fred Meyer Rewards Card? Simply sign up for the Community Rewards program by linking your Rewards Card to ACG here. You can search for us by our name or by our non-profit number, HY670. If you don’t have a Rewards Card, they’re available at the Customer Service desk of any Fred Meyer store. If you already have a Rewards Card, you can make changes to the organization you choose as well! Find more information here. We’d be grateful for your support!

If you value Alaska Common Ground's efforts to provide respectful and relevant events and information on policy issues of importance for Alaskans, please become a member. Only together, will we advance an engaged Alaskan democracy. Please be sure to check out all the ways to support ACG here. As always, we are honored to receive your support!