My Turn: Legislature should stay in Juneau
Rep. Kevin Meyer, R-Anchorage, and co-chairman of the House Finance Committee, has pre-filed a bill in the House to move the Alaska Legislature out of Juneau.
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Once again, Juneau residents get to listen to move-the-capital/Legislature rationalizations: a) The capital is too far away, and transportation costs for legislators are too high; b) the capital is too far away, and Alaskans have little personal access to their legislators; c) the capital is too far away, and Alaskans want to be present when the Legislature meets; d) unwary legislators are more likely to be tempted when they are not under scrutiny in a major population center.
I, for one, find these arguments tiresome, empty and deceptive.
1) Alaska is a big state and was so when we or our ancestors chose to live here. Therefore, travel in Alaska can be expensive. Get over it.
2) I live in Juneau. My constituents in the 4th District live perhaps 12 miles away. I hear from them often. They phone, e-mail and write me. That's the modern way. Perhaps 2 percent of all my in-office contacts with them are in person.
3) Packed galleries: Judging from the sparse numbers of residents attending last year's special session, I doubt a change in the regular meeting place will make much of a difference.
4) Crime and corruption: For 270 days each year, 57 of our legislators work out of their offices outside Juneau, but we are asked to believe they are tempted only when they come to Juneau - tempted by lobbyists who travel from Anchorage.
Tiresome, empty and deceptive. We, in Juneau, know the real motive behind this bill. Its supporters want both economic and political power to reside in the same location. It is that simple.
What is more deceptive is the quiet but steady movement of state jobs out of Juneau, like supervisory jobs that trigger the move of supporting staff. Meyer wants to move the Legislature and keep only the "capital star" in Juneau, a vacant legislative building with state offices following in time.
The effective date of the bill is 2010, a gubernatorial election year. Will the governor boast of her accomplishment?
I urge Alaska patriots, including all my fellow legislators, to care about, invest in and support the economic well-being of all its regions. As a constituent said to me a few days ago, "The state is like a human body; you have to care for all of its parts." Yes.
I ask the governor to denounce this bill and speak out for all of her citizens.
• Rep. Andrea Doll is a District 4 Democrat and Juneau resident.