There are at least 8 good reasons to vote “yes” on Ballot Initiative #1 in the Haines municipal election Oct. 2. Voting “yes” would allow you, a voter registered in Haines, to elect members of Public Safety and Planning Commissions, Tourism Advisory Board and Ports and Harbor Advisory Committee.
1) As a Haines voter, you should have the right to decide for yourself who represents you on the Haines Borough’s most powerful commissions and boards.
2) Election of committees with allow anyone who has public support to serve on committees, not just individuals holding favor with the mayor or the assembly.
3) The current, old-fashioned system of appointment to boards and commissions – made by the mayor with approval by the assembly – leads to unnecessary politics and infighting when elected leaders disagree about whom to appoint.
(In the past year, appointments used up valuable meeting time and dragged on for months. Assembly opposition to a mayor’s choice for appointment in February 2017 led to a criminal complaint against assembly members Friedenauer, Jackson, Gregg and Lende, forwarded to the district attorney for prosecution by Haines police.)
4) Election of commissions and boards will diversify them and make them truly representative of you, the citizens of Haines.
5) Election of boards and commissions will make members, and their decisions, accountable directly to you, the members of the public they work for.
6) The stamp of voter approval of members will bring clout to commission and board decisions, making their recommendations more legitimate, useful and applicable.
7) Election of commissions and boards removes doubt. How are the mayor and assembly members to know whom you would choose as your representatives on borough commissions and boards?
8) You already directly elect your representatives in the U.S. Senate, Congress, Alaska Legislature, Haines Borough Assembly and Haines Borough School Board. Why shouldn’t you directly elect the people who represent you on the borough’s most powerful commissions and boards?
By voting “Yes” on Initiative #1, you get to choose who represents you. Isn’t that what democracy is all about?