At The Clean Elections Campaign Kickoff

Looking around the crowd that had showed up at APU's Carr-Gottstein Center on the Alaska Pacific University campus, it was gratifying to see Wally Hickel, the man most responsible for that university's present existence, sitting near the entrance to the main conference room. He left before I got a chance to talk with him or take a picture of the man who decided - with good staff advice - to choose Prudhoe Bay for state land, back during his first term as Alaska's governor.

I got to talk to, but didn't photograph Alaska historian Steve Haycox. Earlier in the day, I had not read Steve's fine Anchorage Daily News column on the depth of change our political process in undergoing. He concentrates on the 2008 presidential race, and the paradigm shift of a woman and a black man being the two finalists for presidential power in the Democratic Party.

Steve made a point in his column that is illustrative of why he and I were there at APU. He writes, "American politics today are as dynamic and energizing as at any time since the conservative revolution of 1980, when Ronald Reagan stopped postwar liberalism's political agenda in its tracks. As then, Americans today seem to want policy changes in economic, race and foreign policy."

Some of the economic aspects of our political process - the power of lobbyists, the tremendous amounts of money candidates must raise to be contenders in most contests, the favors candidates are made to feel obliged to repay to large corporate and PAC donors - are why the Clean Elections Initiative has resonated so far with Alaskans. And, in the time leading up to the August 26 primary, we will see more examples (a Federal Grand Jury convenes in Anchorage on Tuesday, Vic Kohring gets sentenced Thursday) of how broken the present system is. But, even if voters accept the election initiative, it will take years for its effects to work on through our state's political systems.

Tim June, Chair of Alaskans for Clean Elections, explained that in states that have accepted the "clean elections" model, incumbents - especially in two-year cycle seats - are having more time to respond to the needs of their constituents, real issues are becoming more important in debates and forums, and voter turnout is increasing. But he cautioned that the time between states passing such initiatives as we'll be voting upon, and their showing solid effects that benefit citizens, is working out to be about a five-year process.

It was good to see so many folks from all across our quirky Alaskan political spectrum there, laughing, arguing, and sharing stories. My longtime friend, ex-Anchorage assemblywoman, Pamela Jennings was there, filming with her husband. Vic Fisher was there. He's a wise man.

The only candidate up for local office who was there was Anchorage mayoral candidate Eric Croft. I saw one person wearing a "I'm a YOUNG Person" button. None of the candidates for Federal office were there. Diane Benson had hoped to come, but had to be elsewhere, which was probably the case with others. Her campaign director, Riche Zamor, and finance director, Boris Mamlyuk, were there.

Political iconoclasts Ray Metcalfe and Jim Sykes - the chief spokesperson for the Green Party of Alaska - were there. I got to find out from Jim that Myrl Thompson, a key person in the signature gathering drive, has been appointed to the Mat-Su School District board. And I got to talk a lot with Anchorage assemblywoman Sheila Selkregg about how important this initiative is for drawing young people into the political process and into the polling booth.

I regarded the event as historical, and was happy to be able to be there. The person to whom we owe the utmost respect in this is Michelle Meyer, the campaign coordinator for Alaskans for Clean Elections.

The only scary thing for me was realizing how many of these peoples' parents I worked with in politics here when I was a fresh Alaskan: Cliff Groh, Chancy Croft, Lydia Selkregg, and so on. I must be getting older. But being there was very refreshing, and made me feel a breath of young, clean air.

images - from top to bottom:

Eric Croft and Vic Fisher
Ray Metcalfe
Boris Mamlyuk and Riche Zamor
Phil, Jim Sykes and Judy Youngquist
Michelle Meyer