Greetings!
Alaska Common Ground always looks forward to our end of year newsletter. It’s a time to share our efforts from the past year, the work ahead, and our tremendous gratitude for you - our members, supporters, volunteers, guest speakers, moderators, sponsors, partners, as well as everyone who attended an event! Thank you for believing in and helping us advance our vision of an engaged Alaskan democracy. It may sound cliche, but it’s heartfelt - we can’t achieve this without you.
Now please find a special tribute to Vic Fischer, our 2023 Year in Review, many thanks, and more below! We wish you a joyful, healthy, and peaceful New Year and look forward to seeing you - virtually and in person - again soon!
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Paying Tribute to Vic Fisher |
This fall, Alaskans said goodbye to one of our most beloved and visionary champions - Vic Fischer. Like so many around the state, Alaska Common Ground lost a dear friend and north star. Vic was a stalwart defender of democracy and a just and free society. As he told the 2009 graduates from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, he demanded generous participation in our communities and state. We were honored to count him as a longtime and former board member, and an ACG member until his final days. He embodied our vision of an engaged Alaskan democracy.
At the time of Vic’s passing, he was the last living delegate to Alaska’s 1955 Constitutional Convention and an influential one at that - having helped lead the successful citizens’ effort for Alaska to become a state. Every contribution he made in his many consequential roles - from state legislator to the first Director of the University of Alaska's Institute of Social and Economic Research - was infused with his deeply held convictions. What shaped these can best be explained in this outstanding documentary by Magnetic North Productions. We encourage everyone reading this to watch it – it’s impossible not to be inspired by his extraordinary, impactful, and hopeful life.
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2023 Year in Review
It's been another busy year for Alaska Common Ground, presenting both in person and virtual events focused on fiscal policy and renewable energy legislation, as well as moving our operations forward. To follow are a few highlights! In 2023, ACG…
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Completed our 2023 - 2025 Strategic Plan which includes an even greater emphasis on “encouraging engagement” in more concrete ways.
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Evaluated a competitive candidate pool to replace our irreplaceable long time Coordinator, Kari Gardey. We are thrilled Jess Braunlich joined our team.
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Held Legislative Update: Budget Negotiations and a FIscal Plan? in April with Senate Majority Leader Cathy Giessel and House Minority Leader Calvin Schrage who described major pending legislation and the outlook for the remainder of the 2023 legislative session. View the event here.
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Hosted our Annual Meeting in May that included Progress Towards a Sustainable Alaska Fiscal Plan moderated by Gunnar Knapp (former Director of the UAA Institute of Social and Economic Research) with guests Tim Bradner (Publisher of the Alaska Legislative Digest), Larry Persily (Publisher of the Wrangell Sentinel) and Nat Herz (Publisher of the Northern Journal). This was a lively dialogue about the budget and fiscal crisis, the incremental progress achieved during the previous legislative session and anticipated future developments. View the event here.
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Held an event in September Bring the Future Back North to learn from Senator Cathy Giessel and Fate Putman (consultant for the Alaska Public Employees Association) about proposed retirement reforms to address problems with recruiting and retaining teachers, police officers, and many other types of public employees. View the event here.
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Hosted Renewable Energy Legislation in Alaska in December - a discussion moderated by Nat Herz with Senators James Kaufman and Loki Tobin and Representatives Genevieve Mina and Calvin Schrage about what bills passed last legislative session and what’s on the horizon for the 2024 session. View the event here.
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Closing the Gap: Can we Finally do it in 2024? |
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As many of us well know, multiple Alaska Legislatures and Governors have failed to pass, or even develop, budgets that provide long-term financial stability for Alaska since the time when oil revenues to the State dropped and became insufficient to pay for most state expenses. Despite making significant cuts to state expenses, the annual budget was balanced for a number of years only by making billion-dollar withdrawals from two special reserve funds, to the point that those accounts are now depleted or significantly reduced. Without reserves to spend, state budgets must now balance income with expenses.
Faced with that stark reality, some limited progress has been made in recent years to address this issue. Besides reducing state expenditures, withdrawals from the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve are now limited to a percent of its market value (POMV), Permanent Fund Dividend payouts have been reduced, there’s discussion in the Legislature of passing new or increasing current forms of taxes, and this year’s state budget balanced income and expenditures without dipping into Permanent Fund reserves.
But more progress needs to be made to achieve long-term financial stability for Alaska, which is why Alaska Common Ground is again planning to host events in 2024 to help Alaskans better understand the State’s fiscal issues and how to participate in achieving sound solutions. The Governor recently announced his FY2025 budget proposal and the 33rd legislative session is set to begin January 16th. It's critical in this election year that we encourage our legislators to look out for the long term health and prosperity of Alaska.
One way we can start to engage now is by participating in Commonwealth North’s Alaska Budget Choices 2.0 project. This is an interactive online budget tool that allows participants to construct their ideas of what a balanced State of Alaska budget should contain. ACG’s Fiscal Policy work group was pleased to support this effort and we encourage you to try it at akbudget.com!
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Engaging with Alaska's Legislators
The Alaska Legislature is back in session on January 16th. Our opinions are important to those we elect to represent us. Yet, a number of legislators have told us they receive few comments from constituents on pending legislation and that public comments can influence their positions. So, Alaska Common Ground has compiled some helpful information and a few tips on how to contact our legislators.
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Find Information about Legislation: There is a wealth of information for constituents on the Alaska Legislature’s website.
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Find your State Legislators: To determine who your Senator and Representative(s) are, submit your street address and city in the “WHO REPRESENTS ME?” link on the lower right-hand corner of the Legislature’s homepage.
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Track Legislation: To find the status of specific legislation, use the search box at the top of the Legislature’s homepage. For Senate Bills, type in SB and the bill number. For House Bills, type in HB and the bill number. Here are some links to find information about pending legislation: Legislation by Subject or Legislation by Sponsor
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Find Committee Meeting Schedules: Committees are where legislation is reviewed and amended and where the public can provide testimony. Meeting schedules for the following week’s committee hearings are released on Thursday evenings.
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Prepare your Comments: When contacting your legislators to either voice an opinion or weigh in on legislation, be clear at the start of your message what you are advocating for, such as “please support …” or “please vote yes/no on [insert name or number of bill].” Include a short explanation as to why you oppose or support it. Keep your message short and to the point, but elaborate if you have personal or professional knowledge of the subject. Be polite.
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Send Public Opinion Messages: You can send 50-word messages to any or all legislators, or to all members of a committee through the Alaska State Public Opinion Message System. This is an especially useful tool to reach committee members late in the session when things are hectic and legislators are extremely busy.
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Welcome New Board Member Likka McCauley |
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Alaska Common Ground is delighted to welcome Likka McCauley to the board! Likka joins us with extensive experience in public education. After two decades as a teacher and then principal, she now serves as a Director of Federal Programs.
Likka is already thoughtfully informing our board discussions on this critically important issue for our state. She tells us why she values ACG’s mission: I value Alaska Common Ground because I believe collaboration, discourse, and informed decision making are foundational to democracy. Learning from representative and inclusive perspectives holds great potential to benefit our entire community.
We are thrilled Likka joined our board and look forward to you meeting her at upcoming events.
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2024 will be another consequential year for Alaskans. ACG anticipates hosting or co-hosting events on the state’s fiscal situation, upcoming ballot measures, how Alaska is addressing the climate crisis, and more. Look for announcements in our upcoming newsletters and on our social media channels. And note, ACG is now on LinkedIn!
Meanwhile, your suggestions to inform the planning of these events are always valued. Please send those to [email protected].
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Upcoming Items of Interest |
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Scalia/Ginsburg
February 2, 3, & 4
A look at Ruth Bader Ginsberg and judicial opponent Antonin Scalia, through the lens of their great friendship. This comedy is inspired by the real-life words and relationship of two ideologically different US Supreme Court Justices. Details here.
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Thank you to the following businesses that supported our efforts in 2023. |
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Help Advance an Engaged Alaskan Democracy |
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If you value ACG’s efforts to provide respectful and relevant events and information on policy issues of importance for Alaskans, please become a member or make a one-time year end donation today. Only together can 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!
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When you apply for your 2024 PFD starting on January 1, please consider supporting ACG when you Pick.Click.Give. Donating through this program is a great way to support an engaged Alaskan democracy.
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