Monday, September 7 will mark the 127th celebration of Labor Day in the United States. It’s history, according to Wikipedia, is rooted in the violent reaction to a late 19th century labor strike:
This post will include a couple new features rarely seen on this site. First, a politician admitting his error and, second, a really, really bad pun. Regarding the former, Mr. Hall sent me an e-mail Thursday asking to meet for a few minutes and reminded me we were introduced last summer when I joined several fire fighters for a helicopter tour of Anchorage’s high-risk wildfire areas. I’d forgotten meeting him and primarily recall that a fire along the Campbell Creek greenbelt broke out shortly after I’d disembarked (good timing on my part).
As you’ve likely read in the local paper, Anchorage has been without a fire chief since the mayor nudged Craig Goodrich into retirement last month. When police chief Rob Huen resigned a few weeks later the administration set up a search committee to seek a replacement. Not so with the fire department as the mayor apparently had a successor in mind. And you’d be forgiven for asking who because, other than the name, I have no idea who Mark Hall is. What I do know is that last week the administration submitted an ordinance that would waive two sections of Anchorage Municipal Code in order to clear the way for Mr. Hall to assume the post of fire chief.
As an Assembly member I receive quite a few e-mails that may, or may not, be relevant to the job. One group that tends to fall into the latter category includes announcement of various city job openings. Those dropped off considerably after July 1, when Mayor Sullivan announced a hiring freeze during his inaugural speech.
The new administration stubbed its toe last week by announcing, or perhaps leaking, that it found another $9 million shortfall prior to advising any Assembly members. Indeed, I first heard about it when a KTUU reporter asked me, on camera, at the conclusion of an interview on a completely different subject. Apparently administration officials hadn’t read my post about the importance of the mayor and the Assembly working collaboratively, and somehow forgot that surprising your colleagues in this manner is a nifty way to gain a quick dose of enmity.
As promised, I prepared a new draft of the equal rights ordinance and submitted it to the Clerk‘s office for introduction and distribution. I haven’t seen it on that web site yet but KTUU did a story and posted a copy you can find here.
Update: the Clerk’s office has posted both the new version and the amendment.
Alaska political theory holds that summer is the quiet time of year. The legislature isn’t in session (unless there’s a “special” one), any campaigning is usually pretty quiet, and Alaskans tend to pursue other activities like fishing, hiking and gardening. While that theory may hold true in other years it certainly isn’t the case during this one! So, in addition to all the other things I’ve written about or you’ve seen in the local media, here’s a few more items percolating away: (more…)
I’m slated to have my first “official” meeting with the new mayor next week – I believe he’s scheduling appointments with each of the Assembly members – and I’m curious if readers have any topics they’d suggest we discuss? We’re only slated for 30 minutes, so world peace is off the list, but feel free to post other ideas and I’ll try to get to them. The meeting takes place on Tuesday, July 14, so please make your posts by the end of the day Monday.
As I look forward to my first Assembly meeting with our new mayor, I’ve begun work on yet another version of the equal rights ordinance. Once I have a draft I’m happy with I’ll try to post it but, in a nutshell, I’m trying to write something a little simpler than the three versions offered thus far and clarify exemptions for religious institutions. There’s one aspect I’m considering, however, about which I could use a little feedback.
If you’re interested in participating in my poll gauging community sentiment towards the new Sullivan administration I’d suggest doing so before reading the remainder of this post. I’d hate for anyone to suggest I’m running push polls!
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