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Articles by Andy Josephson
Opinion: The long fight to reform Alaska’s predator control
A young adult brown bear walks in front of a forested area in Katmai National Park and Preserve on June 16, 2018. (Photo by R. Taylor / National Park Service) “A thing is right when it tends to preserve the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community.
Letter: Clearing the smoke around Senate Bill 24
The Daily News recently published an opinion piece by Elizabeth Hayes of the Consumer Choice Center (“Dunleavy should veto Alaska’s overreaching nicotine tax,” May 31). In it, Hayes encourages Gov. Mike Dunleavy to veto Senate Bill 24. She argues for a partial veto, which is not permitted. SB 24 brings Alaska into compliance with federal law, T21, banning the sale of tobacco products to people under age 21. SB 24 also taxes e-cigarettes, or vape products, at the point of sale.
Opinion: Alaska’s special areas deserve better protection. House Bill 321 delivers that.
A brown bear with two cubs walks back up the beach along the Cook Inlet coast in the McNeil River State Game Sanctuary on the Alaska Peninsula. (Bob Hallinen / ADN) Imagine thousands of Pacific walruses packed side by side on a remote island beach. Elsewhere, dozens of brown bears are standing shoulder to shoulder catching salmon.
Alaska's special areas deserve better protection. House Bill 321 delivers.
Imagine thousands of Pacific walruses packed side-by-side on a remote island beach, hundreds of thousands of seabirds — puffins and penguin-like murres — raising their young on ocean cliffs, and dozens of brown bears standing shoulder-to-shoulder catching salmon. Picture duck hunters harvesting some of the millions of migratory waterfowl to feed their families, moose wintering in valley lowlands to escape deep mountain snows, and anglers filling coolers with a year’s supply of salmon and halibut.
Opinion: We know a bad oil plan when we see one
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge sprawls to the shoreline of the Beaufort Sea, seen here in 2006. (Steve Hillebrand / U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service) As Alaskans, we cherish our lands and waters. We appreciate the vast, wild spaces we have here. We are also clear-eyed that our economy and workforce are sustained in part by developing our rich oil and gas resources.
Letter: A nation of laws with checks and balances
Ghislaine Maxwell was convicted of sex trafficking and other charges, and sentenced to 20 years in prison. A few weeks ago, the president said multiple times that he would “take a look” at pardoning her. That’s interesting because in Alaska, the GOP is passionate about stopping sex trafficking. Or, I was told it was. This week, the president said he was owed $230 million in compensation for the previous administration’s legal claims against him. He said he would decide whether he gets paid or not.
Opinion: Remembering Steve Haycox, Alaska’s foremost historian
Alaska recently lost a great scholar and critical thinker. Steve Haycox, an emeritus history professor from the University of Alaska Anchorage, passed away earlier this month. I never would have believed Steve was 85 years old, and was surprised and deeply saddened to learn that he was gone. I took two courses from Dr. Haycox: American Cultural History and American Environmental History.
Opinion: The governor’s latest education veto was misguided and unprecedented. Lawmakers need to override it.
At the end of the legislative session, the governor vetoed HB 57, a bill that raised Alaska’s base student allocation funding of K-12 education. We in the legislature overrode that veto and HB 57 became law, which added about $175 million to annual school funding. Later, the governor vetoed about $45 million of this increase from the budget itself. This veto was, I think, seriously misguided and an overreach of his role as chief executive.
Letter: Gaslighting the big bill’s impacts on health care in Alaska
Sen. Dan Sullivan writes: “Not one dollar in Medicaid benefits was cut for Alaskans. This bill, actually strengthens healthcare in Alaska.” There is no one from the provider community or the advocacy community who has, in the slightest, indicated that Senator Sullivan is correct. They’ve indicated to me and the world that the opposite is true. I view this is a kind of gaslighting designed to make us look away. “Nothing to see here“, Senator Sullivan would have us believe. — Rep.
Chip in!
There's over 6,400 state legislative districts on the ballot this November nationally, but only around 700 of those are considered potentially competitive, and some of those don't have Democratic nominees with ActBlue accounts. Until now I've been raising money for Democrats running in roughly 600 of these districts, but as we enter the Endgame stage of the 2024 election cycle, I'm narrowing things down further to the 200 closest districts only.
Letter: Pack the court
Outraged by the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling that New Deal legislation was unconstitutional (the National Industrial Recovery Act, for instance), President Franklin Roosevelt threatened to “pack the court.” The United States was experiencing an existential crisis as the Great Depression failed to quickly ebb and give ground to recovery. I believe the current U.S. Supreme Court is literally making the case for the packing of the court at the nearest possible opportunity.
OPINION: Alaska must invest more in rural justice
Kyle Hopkins’ recent report on crime and justice in Kotzebue, published Nov. 11, is among the most disturbing Alaska-centered pieces I’ve read in a very long time (previously, Hopkins’ work on “Lawless” helped earn that project a Pulitzer prize). For the purposes of this opinion piece, I am going to assume he reported the facts accurately. The greater question is: What should we deduce from those facts? Clearly, the case results described are as bad as they can be.
Republican governors' Israel letter makes a glaring error
On Friday October 13th, Governor Mike Dunleavy (R – Alaska), signed onto an 19-governors’ co-signed letter to President Joe Biden. There were many topics addressed in the letter, but Israel was foremost among them. As a person with Ashkenazi and Sephardic roots, I share in the governor’s passion for keeping the State of Israel safe. It is not unusual for our attorney general and governor to sign onto letters. Legislators also co-author letters on various topics.
OPINION: Alaska’s psychiatric care system is far from perfect. But we’re working to improve it.
I write this opinion piece with some unease. Very recently, commentator Val Van Brocklin wrote a scathing attack on Alaska’s psychiatric involuntary commitment procedures, describing both a lack of funding and humanity throughout the system. My discomfort lies in the fact that defending our current practice seems unnatural. I would rather live in a world where psychiatric patients in Alaska (or anywhere, really) are not forcibly injected with psychotropic medication.
Letter: Superintendent made the right call
Having reviewed former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Dr. Ben Carson’s contributions to the American Cornerstone Institute and Little Patriots websites (he is featured prominently in both), there is little doubt in my mind that Superintendent Jharrett Bryantt made the right decision in not scheduling an opportunity for Carson to speak at an Anchorage public school.
Letter: Time to override Dunleavy’s veto
On April 3, the House Majority unanimously supported spending almost $175 million on one-time K-12 funding over and above the Base Student Allocation. In fact, their Amendment No. 26 was taken up first, out of order — an expression of their eagerness to support that appropriation. The source to fund these dollars was GF, or general fund dollars. On April 5, the House Majority unanimously support Amendment No. 26A, and each member personally co-sponsored that amendment.
OPINION: Dunleavy administration throws more money away on anti-union obsession
Late last month, the Alaska Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the state of Alaska breached the collective bargaining agreement it signed with the Alaska State Employees Association, all while violating the Public Employment Relations Act. It concluded that the state had evinced a decidedly anti-union animus in its interactions with ASEA. What were the issues? Well, what was a completely straightforward and uncomplicated holding (a decision from the U.S. Supreme Court called Janus v.
Letter: Renewable energy
Rick Whitbeck recently penned an opinion piece, expressing concern with Chugach Electric Association’s newly elected board members. Whitbeck fears that they will support “programs to replace coal, natural gas and other traditional energy sources with wind, solar and other renewables.” Yes. Yes, indeed. One can hope, wherever possible. If last week’s Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference here in Anchorage is any indication, the Dunleavy administration passionately supports renewable energy, too.
Letter: Caucus delay wasn’t a fiasco
I’m pleased with this paper’s editorial board, finding myself in agreement with it much more often than not.However, the board’s Sunday editorial claimed that the late organization of the Legislature in January-February 2021 was a “fiasco” and a waste of “precious time,” and “bred dysfunction in both bodies.” This is quite provably incorrect. First, the Senate organized fairly promptly.
OPINION: Supporting the first responders who support Alaska
My name is Andy Josephson. I am a candidate for the Alaska State House in District 13 (Campbell Park, Taku/Campbell, Dimond Business District). I am proud to be endorsed by the Anchorage Police Department Employees’ Association PAC (local police union board) and the Public Safety Employees’ Association Local 803 PAC (Alaska State Troopers’ and smaller town police forces’ union board).
Help make #LegislaturesBlueIn22!
Everyone's always lecturing you about how vitally important state legislative races are. The problem is that there's literally thousands of them nationally! How do you know which ones are competitive? There's around 7,400 state legislative races nationally. Of those, only a few hundred districts are rated as being within 6 points D/R by Dave's Redistricting.
Help make #AKBlueIn22!
Alaska leans right but also has an unusual political makeup which occasionally results in independent legislators teaming up with Democrats for a working majority. Democrats need to flip 6 AK House seats or 4 Senate seats to take the majority. This page lets you easily donate to multiple Democratic candidates for the Alaska House and Senate at once! I've included the partisan lean ratings according to Dave's Redistricting.
OPINION: Walker has the leadership Alaska needs
As members of the bipartisan House majority, we understand what it takes to make progress for Alaska. For this and many reasons, we endorse and eagerly support the Walker-Drygas ticket as the first ranked choice for governor and lieutenant governor on the ballot this fall. We write to address recent comments about the Walker-Drygas ticket in the aftermath of the Supreme Court decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. Each of us is pro-choice and a Democrat.
Letter: Campaign misinformation
I viewed my House District 13 opponent Kathy Henslee’s website for the first time today. On her website, she claims that I supported Senate Bill 91. The exact polar opposite is true. I was the only Democrat in the Alaska Legislature (House and Senate combined) to fight the bill. In the State House, 30 amendments were brought to a final vote. Each was an effort to rein in SB 91′s excesses or educate the body on risks carried by the bill. Thirteen of 30 of those were my amendments.
Letter: The bare minimum
I can’t speak for all Democrats, even though I am one. I would never try to. But, if the special election congressional race results remain as they are, it should come as no surprise that I will be voting for Mary Peltola and Al Gross first, and other candidates third. However, I need one thing. Just one modest, reasonable request. Can either Nick Begich III or Sarah Palin say, publicly, that the Jan. 6, 2021 insurrection was bad?
Letter: Vote for Wool
In this week’s special primary election for U.S. Congress, I hope you’ll join me in voting for Rep. Adam Wool. No doubt, there are many strong progressive candidates. I appreciate each of them. But Adam would bring unique qualities to the job.While he is a progressive Democrat, as a 20-year owner of Fairbanks’s “Blue Loon” bar — an entertainment and movie venue — he has a keen businessmen’s perspective on what works and what doesn’t, how to make ends meet, and how to balance an accounting ledger.
As state and local elected officials representing neighborhoods from East Anchorage to Westchester Lagoon to Spenard, we are writing to express our enthusiastic support for Dan Volland for the new North Anchorage Assembly seat. Dr. Volland is a small-business owner in Anchorage who is very involved in community groups including Rotary, the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, Anchorage Downtown Partnership, and the South Addition Community Council.
OPINION: Alaska has a crisis hiring and keeping competent state attorneys. Here’s how to fix it.
Public safety is one of the essential duties of government in our country. The Alaska Constitution guarantees the right to be secure in our persons and homes, the need to protect the public, and the right to speedy and public trials. After years of high turnover among our state prosecutors and their civil counterparts — in all, there are nearly 600 public sector attorneys in Alaska — we are experiencing a recruitment and retention crisis, and we resolved to stop the hemorrhaging this year.
OPINION: It’s past time for Alaska to restructure first responders’ retirement
Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, speaks in favor of House Bill 2003 on July 26, 2019. I(James Brooks / ADN) I have great respect for former Sen. Lyda Green. She was a champion for bipartisanship while serving in the Legislature, and attained the heights of the upper chamber, serving as Senate President. However, her recent opinion piece discouraging an improved retirement plan for Alaska’s first responders, who make up a very small percentage of public employees statewide, is misinformed.
OPINION: Let’s go to bat for Alaska’s youth
Rep. Andy Josephson addresses the University of Alaska Board of Regents on July 15, 2019. (Marc Lester / ADN) At the beginning of my legislative career, funding of programs like the Alaska Performance Scholarship, the Alaska Education Grant and the WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho –- a western-states combined medical school) program was a given.
Retirement benefits: Clearing up misconceptions about HB 55
House Bill 55, which I’m proud to sponsor, is the most recent attempt to address the woefully inadequate retirement benefits of Alaska’s public safety workers. In the Legislature, we constantly hear about recruitment and retention issues facing our state’s fire and police departments. Alaska has a “train drain” in the public safety sector — we are spending millions training professionals who choose to leave for greener pension pastures after five years rather than staying for a full career.
Letter: Governor wrong about special sessions
By Andy Josephson Updated: 1 hour ago Published: 1 hour ago Gov. Mike Dunleavy recently declared that the Legislature has “absolutely nothing to show for the special sessions.” This is simply inaccurate. In the second special session, in June, we passed the operating and capital budgets — for a second time — after a dispute over the effective date earlier in the month.
Obstacles abound for legislators seeking an Alaska budget solution
Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, speaks in favor of House Bill 2003 on July 26, 2019. (James Brooks / ADN) The coming fourth special session, scheduled for Oct. 1, is very unlikely to bear fruit by resolving our state’s fiscal conundrums. Here is why: First, let’s look back just one month for some context. Just prior to gaveling in for the previous special session, a two chamber, bipartisan group completed a four-page “white paper” after meeting for some 73 hours.
Alaskans want solutions, not brinksmanship, on the budget
“To give a minority a negative upon the majority… is… to subject the sense of the greater number to that of the lesser… The public business must, in some way or other, go forward… If a… minority can control the opinion of a majority… the majority, in order that something may be done, must conform to the views of the minority; and thus the sense of the smaller number will overrule that of the greater…” — Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers No. 22 Alexander Hamilton, one of America’s framers,...
The Republicans I miss in the Alaska Legislature
The new year, the COVID-19 crisis, and the end of the election cycle have caused me to reflect on the many great legislators I’ve had the privilege of working with over the past eight years. I wanted to take some time to comment on some of them and recall the wisdom of the voters in electing each one. A number were defeated at the polls. Some chose to retire. Tragically, three died while in office. Most interesting to me is how many GOP legislators I am missing now.
Letter: Trust in elections
Thursday, the governor was quoted as saying that President-elect Joe Biden has an “outside chance” of being elected president. An outside chance, he said. That’s what you say about a basketball team’s chances of winning when it’s down 20 points at halftime. That’s not what you typically say when one candidate outpolls the other by 7 million votes and carries two significant states — Arizona and Georgia — not needed to win.
Letter: CARES Act aid delays
Gov. Mike Dunleavy and Commerce Commissioner Julie Anderson wrote an opinion piece, published on Aug. 21. In it, they claimed that a baseless lawsuit was filed concerning the governor’s previous efforts to distribute CARES Act dollars to businesses. While it is true that a lawsuit was filed, it wasn’t baseless. In fact, at a minimum, it got the Legislature to convene and ratify the governor’s spending proposals, as written by him.
Legislature has a duty to rectify Dunleavy’s disastrous vetoes
There is a story that went largely unreported this past spring which merits some attention and discussion: the governor’s budget vetoes of April 7 (mostly concerning fiscal year 2021) are more egregious and harmful to Alaskans, ultimately, than the infamous fiscal 2020 vetoes on June 28, 2019, that gave strength to the current recall effort.
Letter: A banned book report
Fortunately, most people agree that banning (or relocation) of books is an extreme and unnecessary measure for anyone or any institution to take. Given the Mat-Su School District's (now-shelved) book ban, and since one of its subjects, Tim O'Brien's, "The Things They Carried," was unfamiliar to me, I decided to keep the Amazon staff in those massive warehouses occupied: I ordered a copy. I first recognized O'Brien's photo on the back of the book.
AIDEA was wrong to fast-track Ambler Road over public outcry
The COVID-19 health emergency has broadened into an economic emergency, and it is crucial that state government uses every tool it possesses to address the situation. One of those tools is AIDEA, the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. AIDEA is a public corporation created by the Alaska Legislature, and governed by a board of directors appointed by the governor, to finance business and infrastructure.
Alaska needs to extend rights to LGBTQ+
Alaska state prosecutors brought nearly 29,000 criminal cases in 2019, over 6,000 of them felonies. There is one particular felony (so far uncharged while the assailant is on the lam) that cannot be properly sanctioned due to the inadequacy of our sentencing code. Recently, evidence supports that a Kenai Peninsula victim was almost certainly targeted for assault due to her sexual orientation, but Alaska law treats this crime just like any other random crime.
Alaska needs expanded protections for hate-crime victims
Alaska state prosecutors brought nearly 29,000 criminal cases in 2019, more than 6,000 of them felonies. There is one particular felony (so far uncharged while the assailant is on the lam) that cannot be properly sanctioned due to the inadequacy of our sentencing code. Recently, evidence supports that a Kenai Peninsula victim was almost certainly targeted for assault due to her sexual orientation, but Alaska law treats this crime just like any other.
State is infringing on Alaskans’ rights, not protecting them
Earlier this month, Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s attorney general, Kevin Clarkson, sued an Alaska chapter of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), implying that AFSCME may coerce public employees into joining unions, and without being apprised of their First Amendment rights. On Thursday, Gov. Dunleavy issued an anti-union Administrative Order based on the same logic as Clarkson’s lawsuit. This suit errs in multiple ways.
Governor has gone to war against the courts
In “King Lear,” William Shakespeare cautioned against attacking a king, though the Earl of Kent spoke courageously in any case: “To plainness honour’s bound, when majesty stoops to folly.” (Act 1, Scene 1). A wise politician hesitates to anger a king, a president or a governor. Shakespeare was instructive on this point. But, on penalty of banishment, speaking truth to power remains essential. Yet, I was raised by parents who celebrated diplomacy. Diplomacy in all things. No raised voices.
Letter: Recognizing university contributions
Although I had nothing to do with what may be the largest cuts to university positions in state history, it is like me to apologize both for the things I did wrong or failed to do at all, and the things I didn’t do, that befall the innocent. If the Legislature cannot muster a massive three-fourths vote to override the job-killing “closed for business” cuts cruelly made to a perfectly responsible university budget, then I apologize for the harm needlessly caused to faculty and staff careers.
Safe jobs are every worker’s right
April 28 of each year marks International Workers’ Memorial Day. On this day, workers and their families commemorate those who have died or suffered illness or injuries while on the job. Alaska ranks dead last (50th) in workplace fatalities; in 2017, according to the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 33 fatal work-related injuries in our state, the highest per-capita rate in the nation. Every American has the right to a safe and healthy workplace.
Letter: Save the Ocean Rangers
The recent ADN article about Carnival and Holland cruise lines’ violations should be disturbing to every reader. At a recent hearing of the House Finance Committee, I noted that these companies will try to get away with whatever they can relative to compliance with environmental standards and laws. I wondered if I was being alarmist. It turns out, I was understating the concern. With impunity, these companies have violated discharge and pollution laws.
A pivotal moment in Alaska’s history
News-Miner Community Perspective:This moment in Alaska’s history is pivotal in determining what our future as a state will look like. The sudden drop in oil prices and the broken promises of increased oil production in return for excessive tax cuts and credits have resulted in a nearly $3.5 billion budget gap that must be closed. Alaska is required by law to produce a balanced budget. However, a budget is more than just numbers on a page.
My Turn: Pivotal moment in Alaska's history
This moment in Alaska’s history is pivotal in determining what our future as a state will look like. The sudden drop in oil prices and the broken promises of increased oil production in return for excessive tax cuts and credits have resulted in a nearly $3.5 billion budget gap that must be closed. Alaska is required by law to produce a balanced budget. However, a budget is more than just numbers on a page. It should reflect the basic values of the people.
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