Pubdate: Fri, 01 Oct 2004
Source: Anchorage Daily News (AK)
Copyright: 2004 The Anchorage Daily News
Contact:  http://www.adn.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/18
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/opinion.htm (Opinion)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/decrim.htm (Decrim/Legalization)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/props.htm (Ballot Initiatives)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/pot.htm (Cannabis)

REDO IT

Lt. Gov. Leman's Bias Is Costly

That was an expensive bit of editorializing Lt. Gov. Loren Leman performed 
when he wrote up the November election ballot. Reprinting ballots with a 
more neutral description of the Senate vacancy ballot initiative, as 
required by a state court ruling Wednesday, will cost about $295,000.

That would be pricey enough if it were his only misstep with the 
initiative. But this is the fourth time a court has overturned one of his 
decisions handling the matter. The total cost of his legally misguided 
resistance is much higher.

That avoidable expense is a disservice to Alaskans who live with 
less-than-stellar public services due to already tight state budgets. The 
lieutenant governor's subtle resistance also drove up the already 
considerable cost for citizens who want to exercise their constitutional 
rights to write a law by initiative.

As he works up acceptable language for the Senate vacancy initiative, Lt. 
Gov. Leman should take another look at the wording he chose for two other 
citizen initiatives on the November ballot. With both the bear-baiting ban 
and the decriminalization of marijuana, he made subtle wording changes that 
tilt toward the "vote no" side of the debate.

The simplest, most straightforward approach is to use the 100-word-or-less 
description of the measure printed in petition booklets. That language 
already has been approved by the lieutenant governor's office in 
consultation with the sponsors. It's the language people saw when they 
agreed to sign in support of putting the measure on the ballot. The only 
reason to change that wording is if subsequent events have rendered part of 
it inaccurate.

Supervising elections is the single most important job assigned to Alaska's 
lieutenant governor. It's a delicate job for an elected politician. It 
requires setting aside the political impulses that propel him into the 
office. Instead, the lieutenant governor should strive to handle election 
matters in the most upright, apolitical, objective manner humanly possible. 
That would be a difficult standard for any politician to uphold -- but in 
handling this year's citizen initiatives, Lt. Gov. Leman hasn't come close 
to meeting it.

BOTTOM LINE: Alaskans would save a lot of money if Lt. Gov. Leman had 
played the ballot language absolutely straight.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Terry Liittschwager