August 28, 2022
Sunday

Bert Stedman is out of sync with the times. He got into the office when we still thought oil could save us, and for a time it did. He found his place as finance committee chair, doling out the money back when we had money. Now that we're broke, he has no interest in finding a new way forward but only in finding a new source of money to continue his power. He's taking our PFDs to do it.

It's not just the money that Stedman is used to. It's the power. As chair of the finance committee in a binding caucus, he knew that whatever he decided would have to be agreed to by his colleagues. Now that the binding caucus is out of favor in the Senate, his power base is gone. Instead, he has resorted to bullying people by holding their district projects hostage. That will backfire on him soon. He knows how to work with the other old guard, but he can't work with the new breed of politicians that are in Juneau. Politics has changed, but he hasn't changed with it.

The economy has changed as well. The old economy of the state was oil giving Juneau a lot of money and Stedman dishing it out. Now that oil doesn't bring in the money that it used to, he's trying to maintain that oil model by cutting the PFD. Heaven helps us when both oil prices and the stock market tank at the same time. He won't know what to do.

Senator Bert Stedman is one of the longest-tenured senators in Alaska. Sitting in Senate Finance for 20 years, Bert has assisted in designing one of the most overblown state budgets in the United States.

To sum Bert up, all one has to do is to listen to his most recent speech on the Senate floor before adjournment. Senator Stedman stood up and violently opposed the full payment of the PFD. He went on to state that "We would be spending the seed corn of the Permanent Fund." Perhaps one should remind Bert that he had a substantial hand in spending over $17 billion in our various savings accounts since 2014 on deficit budgets. This brazen act was the "seed corn" of our savings accounts. He opposes restoring money that was withheld from all Alaskans over the last six years but he is keen on spending any last dollar we have on his vision of BIG GOVERNMENT which has very little value for the average Alaskan. Do you want to know why Alaska is in deficit spending year after year? Look no further than Bert Stedman.

Now that the PFD is large enough to start supporting small businesses, we should trust this state's people to power our economy. That will move us forward and allow us to adapt. But Stedman is too interested in holding on to the levers of power. He doesn't seem to trust the people of Alaska enough to unleash the power of Alaskans.

Bert Stedman is a relic from another time in this state. It's time for him to go. My vote is for Mike Shelden on November 08, 2022.

Susie Dotson 
Ketchikan, Alaska

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Editor's Note:

The text of this letter was NOT edited other than to include the election date of Nov. 08, 2022by the SitNews Editor.

Opinions expressed are solely those of the writers and do not necessarily represent the opinions of Sitnews.

Received ,2022 - Published August 28,2022

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