Shift how power works in the 49th State
Jeff Merkel, Fairbanks
Published Friday, August 22, 2008, Fairbanks Daily News-Miner, Letter to the Editor
When I saw a TV program a year ago about publicly funded elections, I was transfixed. "Regular" people in states like Arizona and Maine were going out to their friends and neighbors, talking about their hopes, making promises and collecting signatures and commitments of $5 in order to qualify for "clean" funding from the community to run their successful campaigns to serve in political office. They didn't have to mortgage their houses, their ethics or be political junkies. This is what America needs, I thought, but it will never happen here.
But now it can! I'm very excited about the Alaska Clean Elections initiative, Ballot Measure 3, coming up in a week. This could begin to shift how power works in the 49th State. One thing I love about living in Fairbanks is how "local" things can be, but it's discouraging that we have come to expect the worst from elected officials who so quickly stray from what is sensible and important in our common life together in this town and this state.
I am confident that enacting publicly funded elections will send a message to our public servants that we are willing to help them resist giving in to special interests. We want to hear their ideas. We will sign up and commit public money to get this done. And the people who don't represent a significant group of voters don't get to use public funding. Simple. It levels the playing field so people who are truly gifted and motivated can compete and win, and serve, and change the face of Alaska politics.