Here's what Dunleavy just vetoed...again.

Here's what Dunleavy just vetoed... again.

Dear Neighbor,

It's been a remarkable year--never have Alaskans come together to defend our state from the existential threat posed by Mike Dunleavy. I don't think there's any question that the recall effort forced the Governor to retreat from many of his initial vetoes. Thanks to Alaskans' activism, we still have a chance to save our University system, and we protected funding for survivors of domestic violence, and for some but not all homeless programs. Unfortunately, Dunleavy is vetoing (for the second time) many programs that are critical for public safety and our civil society. Here's a list of his re-vetoes , including a few low-lights:

On Friday, Anchorage Caucus legislators were invited to attend a meeting on homelessness hosted by Representative Rasmussen and myself. We heard from the Rasmuson Foundation, Chief Doll, Chief Hettrick, and others on the importance of homeless services in Anchorage.

Dunleavy is eliminating funding for public media, meaning many communities will lose the only news source for emergency notifications. This cut will further undermine journalists' capacity to hold elected officials accountable, which is an essential function in a democracy.
Dunleavy is vetoing funds for youth detention, front-line law enforcement officials, and behavioral health treatment, all of which will exacerbate the crime wave the legislature and local governments are trying to contain.
Dunleavy vetoed funds for the Ocean Ranger program, which was put in place by voter initiative and costs the state exactly $0. This veto highlights Dunleavy's dishonesty when he claims to care about "following the law" and the will of voters.
Dunleavy vetoed adult dental health insurance, meaning thousands of Alaskans will lose teeth, be at risk of life threatening infections, and drive up overall costs in our health care system with emergency room visits. This sadistic veto inflicts pain on working families while costing the state more money.
Dunleavy vetoed $5 million more from the marine highway, which will condemn many communities to months without ferry service. Never has an Alaska Governor declared war on coastal communities like Mike Dunleavy.

APD's downtown headquarters had their official grand opening reception on Monday.

While the Governor's depravity remains clear with these vetoes, it is equally clear how much worse this budget could have been. Thanks to Alaskans' activism, and thanks to the leadership of Speaker Edgmon and Senate President Giessel, the legislature re-passed a budget this year and prevented the worst damage that Dunleavy would otherwise have inflicted. If we keep fighting with everything we've got, we can save Alaska from this administration.

See you around the neighborhood,

Zack

Reminder: Beginning

September 15th, the Anchorage plastic bag ban goes into effect. For more information, you can visit: http://www.muni.org/plasticbagban