I recently had hope that our Alaska legislators were finally going to do their jobs on this matter when they managed to pass an increase to the base student allowance (BSA) after nearly a decade of neglect. Sure, the amount that they had passed was well short of the funds needed, but it was a step in the right direction that 56 of the 60 legislators voted for. Last week, our anti-education governor vetoed the bill. He claimed that the reason he did so was that it didn't contain some of his pet projects, but the truth is that he has not yet signed a permanent increase to the BSA since he was narrowly elected to take office.
Overriding a veto for this sort of bill requires a two-thirds majority--40 votes in favor of the override. Despite 56 legislators initially voting for the bill, only 39 voted to override the veto--our students lost by one vote. One member was absent. Twenty voted against our students, our schools, and our democracy. Two of the governor's sycophants who turned their votes were from our Kenai Peninsula: Sarah Vance from Homer and Ben Carpenter from Nikiski--who is "my" representative.
The worst offender is, of course, Governor Dunleavy. He has continually demonstrated that he is a small-minded despot who cares only for the special interest groups that fund him. He is a debilitating parasite on our state and our nation.
I try not to write when I'm angry, so I'm going to stop now before I say what I truly think of these treacherous reprobates.