rally to protest governor dunleavy´s
proposed state budget
BY dayra valades & daniel esparza
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On March 26th, 2019, governor Dunleavy held a private meeting supported by the conservative group Americans for Prosperity, which took place at the 49th State Brewery in Anchorage. The purpose of this meeting was to promote the governor’s proposed budget for the state of Alaska. In our opinion, it is highly inappropriate to hold a meeting of this nature in a private setting. The state budget affects all Alaskans, not just the few people who met with him, who also agreed to follow certain rules imposed by the governor in order to attend such private meeting. Due to its nature, this meeting should have been held as an open and inclusive one for everybody who would have wanted to attend and participate.
Because of the inadequate way of doing this, the same day that the governor was meeting in private with only a few people from Anchorage, a protest rally was taking place right in front of the restaurant where the governor was. Over 300 hundred members of the Anchorage community attended this rally, among them we had some politicians, activists and business owners. Some of the attendants took turns to talk and express how the governor’s budget for the entire state affects us all one way or another. Generally speaking, everybody agreed that within the most affected people are our seniors, students in all levels of education, health care access, and also small local businesses. And those who benefit directly from this budget will be the oil companies that come to do business in Alaska. As Latinos, and as members of the community in general, we realize that it is difficult to pay for our children’s college education, because it is already expensive. Well, with this governor’s proposed budget, the cost of education could increase to twice as much as it is now. Friends, we invite and encourage all of us to call our legislators to make sure that they are really representing us and our best interests, and that they work to not approve this budget. The governor’s budget is negative, and it puts all of us, our schools, and our community in danger. Together we can make it stop! For information on how to contact your legislator, visit: http://w3.legis.state.ak.us/ |
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