Note from Rep. Gara: Attempting a 99 Yard Touchdown Pass- Time to Push a Constitutional Amendment To $top Unlimited Campaign Contribution$ By Corporation$ & Billionaire$
This election season has been dominated by millions of dollars from unregulated “Super-PACS” – funded by billionaires and corporations because, well, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled they can now make unlimited contributions.
Well, this might be crazy, but I think ideas – and not massive wealth by those corporations and billionaires who want to drown out your voice – should decide elections. Unfortunately, given a series of U.S. Supreme Court decisions, today the wealthiest people in the nation, corporations, and unions can now make unlimited contributions to support or defeat candidates.
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Democrats Work to End Unlimited Campaign Spending
Legislation would make Alaska a leader in national effort to rein in big-money politics
(JUNEAU) – Today, 13 House and Senate Democrats introduced legislation aimed at scaling back rules allowing corporations, wealthy donors, and unions to spend unlimited amounts of money, sometimes in the millions, to get candidates elected. Companion resolutions (HJR 33 and SJR 13) introduced today in the Alaska House and Senate call for a federal constitutional amendment to reverse the Citizens United case that opened the corporate and union campaign spending floodgates. A separate House bill would return Alaska’s right to limit corporate contributions by making corporations not considered “persons” for purposes of Alaska election law.
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Democrats Prioritize Education, Promote Solutions; FOCUS: parent involvement, commitment to districts, lowering cost of college and job training
JUNEAU - The state of Alaska needs to make education more of a priority, House Democrats told reporters at a press conference in the capitol today. House Minority Leader Beth Kerttula (Juneau), Representative Chris Tuck (Anchorage), Representative Pete Petersen (Anchorage) and Representative Les Gara (Anchorage) outlined their proposals to increase parent involvement in early education, to make sure school districts have the resources they need, and to make college and job training more affordable for Alaskans.
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Rep. Gara Calls for Better Alternative to Gov’s Oil Bill; Alternative requires new Alaska exploration and production
Today Democratic Representative Les Gara called for a hearing on his oil tax legislation. Unlike the governor’s bill which gives away revenue for nothing in return, Rep. Gara’s “Alaska Oil Production Enhancement Act” (HB 231) requires oil companies to make new investments in Alaska before receiving incentives.
“Alaska is a sovereign state. We should act like one. The Governor’s bill gives companies the option to take $1.8 billion a year outside Alaska. Our bill requires that companies invest in Alaska, on development projects, that will open new fields and heavy oil to production to qualify for the incentives we offer,” said Gara.
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House Democratic Caucus Announces Social Media Pages
Today, the House Democratic Caucus announced its presence on three major social media websites, Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. The caucus will post timely news, legislative updates, and other points of interest throughout the legislative session and the rest of the year.
Please find us on the following pages:
Facebook: facebook.com/AKdemocrats
Twitter: @AKHouseDems
YouTube: youtube.com/user/AKHousedemocrats
All content is public and available to use for any non-campaign related purpose.
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Rep. Gara Objects to KABATA Plan to Destroy Homes and Businesses; Destroying homes before bridge is approved puts cart before the horse
JUNEAU – Today, Representative Les Gara sent a letter to the Knik Arm Bridge and Toll Authority (KABATA) objecting to the rude awakening the group gave to property and business owners on Government Hill this fall. Letters from KABATA, a government agency, told owners that they will be vacated from those properties by this summer. KABATA has issued binding purchase offers and written in correspondence that it intends to own these properties by the summer of 2012. The project still has no funding, no developer, requires a potential $1 billion or more in state liability and appropriations, and has not yet been approved.
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