2010 Borough Election Assesments

This post originaly posted by me on a different blog in Oct. 2010. It has since been removed from that blog and put here.

For the 2Nov2010 Unoffical voter guide go to: http://interioralaskavoterguides.blogspot.com/

This Tuesday Oct. 5th is a city/borough vote. As I am not in either city areas I am only sending out information I’ve gathered about the borough vote. I hope my hours of research thru original documents and interviews with candidates will benefit you and help you be a informed voter. Thomas Jefferson said, “Every government degenerates when trusted to the rulers of the people alone. The people themselves are its only safe depositories.” We must be informed voters. I know many say, “I vote for the important vote (usually meaning the President of the USA, Senators, and Representatives)”. In truth, this vote is more important as it more immediately impacts you.

ASSEMBLY (SEAT B)

Diane Hutchison: My impression is that she is more liberal in her political views although not as arrogant as some other candidates. Spoke with her briefly, she is supported by the NEA and some other unions. She answered 3 questions I asked her about federal funding, PM 2.5, and energy on her facebook page Diane borough assembly Facebook page

*Eric Donald Grabber: Spoke with him 40 minutes. He is conservative, thinks the PM 2.5 science is wrong and will vote Yes on Proposition A, pro-2nd Amendment and property rights. He is an entrepreneur and is against trucking in gas (thinks there are better solutions). He does not have a web site, blog, or facebook page. His number is 488-3850.

Joshua Bennett: Constitutional conservative. For smaller government and people’s rights over bureaucracy. We spoke briefly and he addressed several of my questions on his facebook page in the discussion area Bennets For Borough Facebook page


ASSEMBLY (SEAT C)

**Natalie Howard: I saw her at a recent Road Service meeting and she had good input to share there. She was open and listened and did not have an attitude of she knows best. She has a website: nataliehoward.us She is for:
• Transparent and Accountable Borough Government
• Responsible Fiscal Policies
• Limited Government that Respects Individuals
• Respect for Individual Property Rights
• Air Quality

Kelly E. Brown: was also at the Road Service meeting I attended and had an attitude toward us as being ignorant people who didn’t understand the government. I was unable to get a hold of her or even leave a message. In regards to the PM 2.5/Proposition A issue she said, “It needs to fail. Part of our [Borough] control plan needs to have some restriction, or we’ll lose local control.” Home: 452-5870 Cell: 590-9106

ASSEMBLY (SEAT D)
I didn’t do as much research here as I have listened to Michael Dukes on the radio many times and know his views on issues are in line with mine. Both Michaels are conservative and more for limited government.

Richard E. Tallant: I heard Richard Tallant at a forum last night. He appears to be conservative also. Home: 490-4811 Cell: 347-9898

*Michael Dukes: It appears three conservatives are running against one more liberal (Bartos) candidate. In all honesty I think Dukes has the best chance to win of the conservative candidates due to better name recognition. Home: 490-2434 Cell: 378-8499

Michael Palembas: I will say that I listened to some forums and Michael Palembas also sounded in line with conservative views. Cell: 347-4807

Hank Bartos: You can glean some information from an old website of his http://www.hankformayor.com/ This was all I found. Home: 488-3366 Cell: 347-4498


ASSEMBLY (SEAT I)

*Guy Sattley: Don’t know much about him and did not yet try to contact him. Eric Grabber (Seat B candidate) indicated he is more conservative then Kassel but less so then the Bennet brothers. 457-4149 Cell: 347-0384

Frank W. Turney: I don’t think he is serious about geting a seat. During one forum he kept answering with a bit about how Alaska needs to become the Hemp Hub and it can be used for fuel, fiber, etc. Home: 457-2333 Cell: 799-2156

Karl Kassel: I found these two websites for info on him, I noticed he is supported by several unions: http://kasselforassembly.com/ and http://politics.kosmix.com/topic/Karl_Kassel


*Aaron Bennett: Joshua’s brother. Constitutional conservative. For smaller government and people’s rights over bureaucracy. His views are in line with his brothers. Bennets For Borough Facebook page


SCHOOL BOARD (SEAT C)

Sue Hull: Knew her from church, you can glean information from this site: http://vote-ak.org/Intro.aspx?State=AK&Id=AKHullSue Home: 479-5729 Cell: 378-7139

Dean Ash: All I know about him I learned from Eric Grabber. He is a homeschooling dad and is conservative. He did not return my call Cell: 750-9902

SCHOOL BOARD (SEAT D)

Kristina Brophy: Spoke briefly; she does not have any website, blog, or facebook page. As far as I can tell from forum answers she has an “experts and experienced people know best” mentality. Home: 457-1178 Cell: 314-800-8477

**Michael D. Ames: Know him personally and fully endorse him. He has a blog: http://michaelamesforschoolboard.blogspot.com/ Cell: 388-1588


Proposition A:

Basically this is to say, “The borough shall not ban, prohibit, or fine residents for the use of home heating devices.” As it stands now with PM 2.5 or Ordinance No. 2010-28 the borough can fine $30-$50 per infraction. They will employ Air Quality Control Officers who will visually determine if a household is in compliance or not by watching the “smoke” plume emanating from a home. If the opacity level is greater than 50% for more than 15 minutes per hour (except a 20 minute startup from cold unit) the household is in violation. Only first time violations will be warned, subsequent violations will have no requirement of warning. Also the ordinance states, “C. PM2.5 Emissions Crossing Property Lines. No person shall cause or permit emissions from a solid fuel combustion appliance to impact the resident(s) of an adjacent property through the creation of an emissions plume that:
crosses the adjacent property line” . Get that?! Your smoke plume cannot cross property lines or you will be in violation. Also, “It shall be unlawful to install or fail to remove a solid fuel burning appliance installed in violation of this section.” Finally, the last section sounds contradictory to me. It states, “… shall have only prospective application” Prospective means, “relating to or effective in the future” which implies to me the concept of grandfather rights. But then the section immediately states, “meaning no provision shall apply to any act, including installation or purchase of a solid fuel appliance completed prior to the effective date.” This statement seems to negate the grandfathering rights concept.

**Vote Yes: http://www.northstarlandowners.com/ Borough Assemble members running now who voted noes on the Ordinance No. 2010-28 and subsequently support this Proposition are: Natalie Howard and Guy Sattley

Vote No: http://cleanairfairbanks.wordpress.com/ Borough Assemble members running now who voted Ayes on the Ordinance No. 2010-28 and subsequently do not support this Proposition are: Kelly Brown and Hank Bartos. Though they have no power in the Assembly, School Board candidates who are in line with this position are: Sue Hull and Kristina Brophy.

Proposition B:

This is to reenact a tax cap. The people have to get signatures to put the Proposition up for a vote to maintain the tax cap requirement on the Borough every two years. It’s been going on a long time. No other information.

*Yes
No