Socialists? Marxists? No – Republicans!
I want to be a Republican and I want a time machine. Oh, I’m not going all Lindsey Holmes on you; I need a time machine to find the Grand Old Party. I have to thank Mayor Dan Sullivan for starting me on this quest. A few weeks ago, at five minutes until closing time, the mayor announced a plan to roll back more than four decades of labor policy in Anchorage. It wasn’t the first shot in his war on working men and women in our town — but this was the nuclear option. I take it as a…
Tuesday Testimony for Ordinance 37?
Despite confusion from the Administration, Public Testimony on Anti-Worker Ordinance 37 is officially scheduled to start TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 26TH sometime after 6:00 pm. This ordinance would freeze Muni employee pay and benefits forever, gut collective bargaining rights, and sets up “managed competition,” in which city employees would bid against private contractors for work. There has been conflicting information circulating about when public testimony is supposed to begin. Assembly Chair, Ernie Hall announced to a Working Group held last Friday between the Assembly and the unions that the testimony would begin on Wednesday, February 27th. Mayor Sullivan repeated that same announcement…
Mayor Misrepresents Student Performance
I look forward each week to Sunday’s Alaska Ear column in the Anchorage Daily News, as penned by formerly-anonymous reporter Sheila Toomey. For many years I considered it purely entertainment, until I got involved with the fetid swamp known as Alaska politics. It was then that I discovered the accuracy of The Omnicient Oriface’s information. So it was with great interest that I read this tidbit from Sunday’s column: “. . A couple of weeks ago earwigs reported our new school superintendent, Jim Browder, walked out in protest while Mayor Sullivan made a presentation at some big public meeting. The…
Which Side Are You On? (VIDEO)
Here is an outstanding video of the protest against Ordinance 37, an ill-conceived measure that would drastically curtail city workers’ collective bargaining rights. Public testimony on the ordinance will be held on February 26. We will keep you updated with details. Until then, ask the Anchorage Assembly which side they’re on. Follow Alaska Workers’ Voice on Facebook, and Twitter, and bookmark their website for updates. Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan’s proposed ordinance to gut collective bargaining was introduced this past Tuesday. Disappointingly, Assembly Chair Ernie Hall was the ordinance’s sponsor. Mr. Hall has previously been endorsed by the Anchorage Central Labor…
Workers Put Mayor on Notice
“I don’t need a coat,” thought I as I headed out the door to the Anchorage Assembly meeting. “It’s up in the 20s, and I just have to get from the parking lot to the Assembly chambers, and then back.” I grabbed my thickest hoodie and hit the road. I broke the cardinal rule of Alaska – Be prepared for anything. And when you break the cardinal rule, you can pretty much be assured that that’s the time you wish you hadn’t. “What is with the traffic?” I kept thinking as I waited through three light changes from the Seward…
Rally at Tonight’s Assembly Meeting
At some point, Anchorage residents are going to believe Mayor Dan Sullivan when he tells them who he is. At five minutes before quitting time on Friday afternoon, Mr. Mayor decided he’d tell municipal employees that the very next Tuesday, the Anchorage Assembly was going to be taking a vote to freeze their pay and benefits. Forever. Yes, forever. Not only that, they’d be deciding whether to gut their collective bargaining rights. And guess when these employees who were notified at 4:55pm on Friday were told they could meet to learn all about these huge changes to their jobs? 8am…
Sullivan’s War on Unions
Inspired, no doubt, by the biggest asshat governor in the nation, Scott Walker of Wisconsin, our own smaller version, Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan has fired the first shot across the bow of the working men and women of Alaska. Alaska has the second highest union density of any state in the country, topped only by New York. But that seems to be irrelevant to Sullivan who may have his sights on a US Senate run in 2014. Sullivan trails Senator Mark Begich in a Public Policy Poll done at the end of January by only 6 points (47/41). If that’s…
Drummond. There Can Be Only One.
Well, this is a fine fix you’ve gotten us into, Harriet Drummond! One of our favorite Assembly members had the temerity to win the State House seat for her district. She also had the horrible lack of foresight to not stretch side to side until she divided like an amoeba in a spectacular display of binary fission, creating two Harriet Drumonds so both positions could be filled. More’s the pity. Now we have an issue – an empty Anchorage Assembly seat. By January 15, the first regular Assembly meeting of the new year, and until the next Municipal election (what…
Sully Goes Viral!
Well, look at that. Mayor Dan Sullivan’s decision to skip town and take his oath of office in Hawaii has, apparently, gone viral. None other than First Lady Lynette Sullivan has sprung to his defense. She piped up in the comment section of the Anchorage Daily News to quell the rumblings of Anchorage citizens who thought that the Mayor actually ought to put his official duties first, and his tropical vacation second. It’s worth reading, just to see if you can manage to keep your lunch down. My comments (as always) are in red. ********************* Hello Anchorage! This is First Lady…
Hawaii Gets Sullied!
Mayor Dan Sullivan, who got elected recently to a second term, will take his oath of office not in his city… not even in his STATE. No, Mayor Sullivan will be taking his oath of office in Honolulu, Hawaii on Monday. Kid you not. But the mayor won’t be too homesick. He’ll have his pal/Municipal Attorney Dennis Wheeler by his side. The oath, taken 3,000 miles away from Anchorage City Hall, apparently coincides with his annual vacation to visit the family of his much beleaguered wife. Sorry, Aloha State for the proverbial turd in your paradise punch bowl. Do feel…