Friday's Mat-Su Democratic Party Egan Dinner Will Feature Ethan Berkowitz

(Mara Kimmel with husband Ethan Berkowitz at Elmendorf AFB last week, meeting President Obama)

Here's the bulletin from the Mat-Su Democrats:

November Egan Dinner

This coming Friday November 20th at 6:00 p.m. we will be meeting once again at the Glacier Canyon Grill in the Grandview Inn, 2900 E. Parks Highway in Wasilla.

Welcome Back Ethan!

I. Guest Speaker: Continuing our round of presentations by Democratic Party candidates for the office of Alaska Governor will be Ethan Berkowitz, former Minority Leader of The Alaska House of Representatives.

Ethan came closer than anyone in more than a generation to beating Rep. Don Young in 2008. He hopes to bring his past experience in governmental leadership, bipartisan ethics reform and energy development - both mineral and renewable - to the governor's office.

His campaign's energy platform is far-reaching:

* Lower the cost of energy and promote energy independence for Alaskans.
* Develop Alaska's oil and natural gas.
* Encouraging development of local renewable energy resources.

Here, in this resource-rich land, something isn't right. Alaska produces a considerable quantity of America's oil, and yet we pay the highest energy prices in the country. We have great abundance of untapped gas and renewables but look at your utility bill. Check out the price of gas at the pump. Remember how much it costs to heat your home. And the financial burden on Alaskans doesn't stop there. Because of high energy costs, consumer goods get more expensive. Food prices go up. As those high prices squeeze us tighter, it's harder and harder to pay mortgages or student loans, or to make car payments.

It doesn't have to be this way. With vision, and political will and strategic thinking, we can ease the financial burden on Alaska's families. As a state legislator, I led the call for a statewide energy plan and advocated for developing local energy resources. I fought hard to develop Alaska's gas on Alaska's terms, and to make sure we got full value for our oil resources. In the private sector, I worked to develop renewable energy resources across the state.

As governor, I will continue my fight to bring Alaska gas to Alaskan homes and businesses. I'll continue working to build the infrastructure we need to harness renewable resources like wind, geothermal and tidal.

II. We will be discussing ways you can help the Mat-Su Democrats organize for victory in 2010.

III. Please bring any remaining 2008 campaign signs to the dinner for pickup by candidates.

IV. Here's a note from Deborah Williams, Executive Director of the Alaska Democratic Party:

The Alaska Democratic Party is launching a new website today (Monday,
November 16): Say nO to Sarah (SOS) (www.sarahwatch.org). We would greatly
appreciate your assistance in getting the word out.

The main focus of the website, in addition to providing the public with the truth, is to raise the necessary funds to obtain public records pertaining to Sarah Palin and any legal challenges that may arise in doing so. (We have also set up an ActBlue link for this purpose (http://www.actblue.com/page/sarahwatch).

As you know, the Palin and Parnell Administrations have stonewalled the release of the emails and threatened to levy huge fees if they ever are released - up to $500,000. Five different attorney generals or acting attorney generals have now settled into a routine of granting meritless extensions on a regular basis. It has been over a year!

The Alaska Democratic Party is committed to working with you and others to uncover the entire truth about Sarah Palin's aborted tenure as governor of Alaska and other activities. Any feedback or additional information you are able to provide would be welcome at any time.

Phil Munger
Mat-Su Democrats Secretary

(image by AK Muckraker)