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| February 15, 2007 Editor’s Desk by Aaron Selbig, insurgent49 It’s been an informative week here at Insurgent Headquarters. Over the last couple of years, certain members of the Anchorage Assembly have repeatedly proven themselves to be out of touch with the citizens of Anchorage. In 2005, for instance, the Assembly moved to strike the words “visually appealing” from a draft version of the city’s Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP), leaving voters to surmise that they preferred roads, sidewalks, and bus stops that were “visually unappealing”. A year ago, Assembly Chairman Dan Sullivan moved to roll back the city’s sign ordinance, a set of laws passed in 2003 with wide public support that were directed at restricting the use of large, unsightly “pole signs” in our community. Then, just a few months ago, Assembly members ignored the advice of the Municipal Planning and Zoning Commission and overwhelming protest from East Anchorage neighborhoods when they rubber-stamped WalMart’s plans to build a so-called “super center” in Muldoon. It is actions like these that have made many in Anchorage scratch their heads and wonder just whom it is that our elected leaders are serving. Luckily, the Anchorage Assembly has recently begun to run into a recurring roadblock to their plans to circumvent the will of the people: an informed citizenry. When the Assembly met a few weeks ago, some of its members publicly stated that they intended to block Mayor Begich’s plan to save the historic 4th Avenue Theatre. They were confronted with a mob of concerned citizens. Folks from all ages and walks of life in Anchorage packed the Assembly Chambers at the Loussac Library to give their leaders an earful about just how important the theatre is the community. The Assembly relented, and approved the appropriation of $250,000 in state grant money to help facilitate the theatre deal. The Assembly chambers were packed again recently when a small army of Anchorage youths (including an entire Boy Scout troop in uniform) showed up to voice their disapproval of Dick Traini and Dan Coffey’s proposed ordinance to bar young people from serving on advisory boards and commissions. Faced with a full house of kids and parents who had caught on to their mean-spirited and unnecessary plan, the Assembly decided to shelve the ordinance and spare themselves the embarrassment of having to sit through public testimony on the subject. And that is the beautiful part of any Anchorage Assembly meeting, if you haven’t been … the public testimony. Any citizen off the street has the right to step up to the microphone and spend three minutes (yes, there is a timer) letting their elected leaders know how they feel about what is being discussed. It’s a wonderful display of democracy in action and, quite often, Assembly members are visibly uncomfortable with it. There is a saying that “all politics is local”. Whether you believe that the adage is true or not, it is certainly true that it is in the arena of local politics where a private citizen can be most effective at getting his or her voice heard. That is especially true here in Anchorage, a city that’s not so big that you can’t reach your elected leaders on the telephone or run into them at the grocery store. In any healthy democracy, it is important that the news media fulfill their role in informing citizens of what is going on in their government and in their community. It is still up to individual citizens, however, to keep a watchful eye on their leaders and to exercise their right to change leaders when they don’t like the manner in which they are being represented. There is an important Municipal election on the horizon, set for April 3rd. Among a host of issues that Anchorage voters will be faced with, there are six seats on the Anchorage Assembly that are up for grabs. If you believe that your representative on the Assembly is out of touch with your vision for the future of this city, then by all means, make a change. Aaron Selbig is an activist and media junkie who resides in an undisclosed location in downtown Anchorage. He is the winner of a 2006 Alaska Press Club award for Best Editorial Writing, host of KUDO 1080 AM's 'The Aaron Selbig Show' and a co-founder of Insurgent49. Aaron may be contacted at editor@insurgent49.com 'Editor's Desk' appears on insurgent49.com every Thursday. |
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February 8, 2007 February 1, 2007 January 25, 2007 January 18, 2007 January 11, 2007 January 4, 2007 December 28, 2006 December 21, 2006 December 14, 2006 December 7, 2006 November 30, 2006 November 23, 2006 November 10, 2006 November 3, 2006 October 27, 2006 October 13, 2006 October 6, 2006 September 29, 2006 September 22, 2006 September 15, 2006 September 8, 2006 September 1, 2006 August 25, 2006 August 18, 2006 August 11, 2006 August 4, 2006 July 28, 2006 July 21, 2006 July 14, 2006 June 30, 2006 June 23, 2006 June 16, 2006 June 9, 2006 June 2, 2006 May 26, 2006 May 12, 2006 May 5, 2006 April 28, 2006 April 21, 2006 April 14, 2006 April 7, 2006 March 31, 2006 March 24, 2006 March 17, 2006 March 3, 2006 February 24, 2006 February 17, 2006 February 10, 2006 February 3, 2006 January 27, 2006 January 20, 2006 January 13, 2006 January 6, 2006 December 30, 2005 December 23, 2005 December 16, 2005 December 10, 2005 December 2, 2005 November 25, 2005 November 18, 2005 November 11, 2005 November 4, 2005 October 28, 2005 October 21, 2005 October 14, 2005 October 7, 2005 September 30, 2005 September 23, 2005 September 16, 2005 September 9, 2005 September 2, 2005 August 26, 2005 August 19, 2005 August 12, 2005 August 5, 2005 July 29, 2005 July 22, 2005 July 15, 2005 July 8, 2005 July 1, 2005 June 24, 2005 June 17, 2005 June 10, 2005 June 3, 2005 May 27, 2005 May 20, 2005 May 13, 2005 May 6, 2005 April 28, 2005 April 21, 2005 April 14, 2005 April 7, 2005 April 1, 2005 |
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All rights reserved. in-sur-gent (in sur'jent), n. 1. a member of a group which revolts against the policies of its leadership. |
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