Contributed by Rep. David Eastman
This past week, I sent the following message to each candidate running for the Alaska Legislature:
A Call To All Legislative Candidates to Stand Against Bullying and Any Attempt to Enforce A Binding Caucus Vote on Fellow Legislators
As a candidate for the Alaska Legislature, you aspire to a position of great responsibility.
As a legislator, you carry the vote of your entire district, and that vote should be accorded the respect due to the thousands of Alaskans on whose behalf you carry it.
In 2018, there is no place for outdated arrangements that rely on intimidation and threats, and which leave the Alaska Legislature far behind the legislatures of forty-nine other states.
The notion that legislators, even before arriving in Juneau, would be asked to pledge their district's vote to a caucus, in advance of knowing what that vote is and what it entails, is utterly foreign to the majority of legislators in the United States today.
I have described the attempts to compel binding caucus votes in Alaska to legislators in a wide variety of other states, and the response has always been the same: disbelief that legislators in 2018 would permit such a regressive practice to exist.
I invite you to join with other candidates and legislators in supporting:
A CALL TO ELIMINATE THE ALASKA LEGISLATURE’S BINDING CAUCUS RULE
Very respectfully,
Rep. David Eastman
A CALL TO ELIMINATE THE ALASKA LEGISLATURE’S BINDING CAUCUS RULE
Whereas, the Alaska Legislature’s Binding Caucus Rule obligates legislators to vote with the majority caucus on certain votes regardless of what their constituents want, or suffer a loss of capacity in representing their constituents;
Whereas, in the last legislature, the senator from District F chose to vote against the caucus' proposed budget in concert with the overwhelming majority of her constituents; and as a result, lost important staff and committee assignments reducing her ability to represent those who elected her;
Whereas, the elected senator from District E, the appointed senator from District E, the house representative from District 14 and numerous others, have, in voting according to the wishes of their constituents, each experienced a loss in their ability to represent those who elected them because they voted against the wishes of the caucus; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, that the Binding Caucus Rule should be immediately and permanently eliminated, permitting each member of the legislature to vote as their constituents request; and be it further
Resolved, that the right of every duly elected legislator to vote in accordance with their conscience and the will of their constituents on any matter shall be preserved, without fear of reprisal or sanction from their fellow legislators.
Would you like to join others in being listed as a signatory on this resolution?
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Since I sent the above invitation to each of the candidates, I have received positive responses from the following candidates (and as a candidate for re-election myself, I am proud to include my name on this list as well):
Ronald D “Ron” Gillham
Kenny “Karl” Skaflestad
Bekah Halat
Shawn A. Butler
Andy E. Cizek
Craig J. Christenson
Ceezar X. Martinson
Dennis P. Harris
Donald W. Jones
Forrest J. McDonald
William W. Weatherby
Greg Madden
Sarah L. Vance
Henry F. “Hank” Kroll
Pamela Goode
John R. Cox
Michael K. “Mike” Shower
David Eastman
These are the candidates who have had the courage to stand for ending this abhorrent practice in the legislature even before winning their first election.
To this list, I would add the legislators who have recently stood on behalf of their constituents and been openly attacked by the fraternity in Juneau:
Sen. Shelley Hughes
Sen. Mike Dunleavy
Rep. Lora Reinbold
And while I believe that every candidate for the legislature should make clear that they stand with the candidates above, there are some candidates who have offered no support for reform and will continue to oppose this change unless they hear from you. Please let them know how important it is that we stand against bullying and any attempt to enforce a binding caucus vote on fellow legislators:
Rep. Chuck Kopp (koppforhouse@gmail.com; 907-952-0189)
Rep. Chris Birch (chris@chrisbirch.com; 907-280-7537)
Rep. Dan Saddler (dan@dansaddler.com; 907-277-8484)
Sen. Pete Kelly (perrilynn@msn.com; 907-452-2654)
Rep. Jim Colver (jim.colver.statehouse@gmail.com; 907-746-5300)
Now is the time to end this terrible practice. Now is when the candidates are listening to the public. We can end this terrible practice in 2018, if you raise your voice and make sure these candidates hear it.
Rep. David Eastman, CaucusReform.com; Legislator representing the Mat-Su Valley since 2017