Op-Ed
Vote yes on Ballot Measure 3
Letter to the Editor, Anchorage Daily News July 14, 2008
On July 10, the ongoing and painful saga of Alaska's corruption probe showed itself again. Three former legislators are currently serving time for corruption, while another has been awaiting trial. Now, another Alaska legislator has been indicted on federal corruption charges, which include bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery.While it is painful to watch these indictments and convictions unfold, it also serves as a reminder of where our priorities should be.
The newest indictment quotes the conspirators saying on two separate occasions that the only leverage they had to change votes on the 20/20 PPT oil tax legislation was "through campaign contributions and by hosting fundraisers."
Without concluding that every legislator is corrupt (and having served two terms in the state House, I know the majority of my colleagues are honorable people), we can conclude that the current campaign funding system makes us vulnerable to repeated corruption.
I hope that Alaskans will seriously consider this and will vote yes on Ballot Measure 3, the Clean Election Initiative or Public Financing in Campaigns, on the Aug. 26 primary ballot. This is a critical step in fighting for good government in the best interest of Alaskans.
-- Rep. Berta Gardner
Growing our Economy Through Education
Compass Editorial on UA Workforce Development Mon. Apr. 9, 2007
Our state is coming face to face with a crisis in the labor market. Over the past few years, awareness of impending worker shortages has been growing within a wide array of Alaskan industries and professions.We've already heard a lot about the dire outlook for doctors, nurses and dentists, but the list doesn't stop there. A variety of state and industry task forces have identified which occupations will likely suffer the most acute job vacancies. Besides the health care providers that have received so much press, shortfalls are already showing up in such diverse occupations as computer technicians and programmers, accountants, welders, carpenters, construction managers, heavy equipment operators, engineers, architects, teachers and social service providers. While these current shortages are already disconcerting enough, it is sobering to contemplate the consequences they imply for a project such as the potential gas pipeline.
The problem is bound to grow more critical as Alaska's baby boomers, comprising the bulk of our workforce, soon begin to retire in significant numbers. At the same time, many of our children and grandchildren head south for their education, where job offers, friends and spouses keep them from returning. It is a well-documented phenomenon that students tend to wind up working and settling where they attend college.
In the face of these alarming trends, there has been an encouraging broad-based response within Alaska by industry groups, secondary schools, the university system and state government, often working cooperatively to promote workforce development for the jobs in high demand.
Examples are easy to find. The building industry has collaborated with school districts to sponsor Construction Academies where students combine traditional high school academics with practical construction skills. Trade unions such as the Operating Engineers have beefed up apprenticeship programs to turn out more skilled workers.
At the university level, the response has been even more pronounced. Here in Anchorage, UAA has initiated a phenomenally successful program to attract Alaskan Natives to the fields of science and engineering. The nationally acclaimed nursing program at UAA has launched a recent expansion to help fill the critical shortages already widespread in this profession. Even the legislature has gotten into the act, providing funds to construct UAA's Integrated Science Center and appropriating an extra $4.2 million last year directed at the University's workforce development programs. And this year the House has already passed a bill that would at least double the slots for Alaskan medical students at WWAMI, UAA's multi-state cooperative medical school.
Many of these new programs are still ramping up and just now beginning to produce dividends in the form of skilled graduates entering our workforce. One of the most critical elements for the eventual success of these programs will be to sustain their funding in the face of intense pressure to cut the state's budget. While we certainly need to find ways to be fiscally responsible, pennywise cuts in these funds would really be pound foolish over the long run, since our state's future revenues depend on growing a healthy economy today.
All the elements are lining up for another significant economic expansion in Alaska, but the benefits will be lasting only if long-term residents are the ones getting the good jobs. Alaskans who consider this state home and really want to pursue successful careers here are the ones who will make long-term investments in homes, families, businesses and institutions, investments that will provide steady economic growth over the years to come. That growth, in turn, will be a source of workers to fill the additional jobs created by an expanding economy.
Development along this path represents a marked shift from our traditional role as supplier of natural resources, to a more mature, diversified and healthy economy. We can influence which path we take by making the right choices today on where we invest our oil revenues. The University has identified labor needs and has proposed programs directed at filling the forecasted labor shortages with Alaskan workers. It is up to the legislature to make the hard choices and fund the appropriate programs.
--Representative Berta Gardner
Alaskans deserve full disclosure new bill would provide
COMPASS: Points of view from the community Wed. Apr. 26, 2006
Alaskans want to believe that those serving in the Legislature do not attempt to influence the process for their own benefit. I feel confident that the vast majority of individuals who enter into public service do so to serve the public good and would never use their positions for private gain. I know I bristle when I hear people say that legislators are corrupt or when they speak of politicians with scorn.Alaska statutes require legislators and legislative employees to "conduct the public's business in a manner that preserves the integrity of the legislative process and avoids conflicts of interest or even the appearances of conflicts of interest." So the fact is, when we make the choice to serve in public office, we have to open up our lives to a high degree of scrutiny. What was once our personal and private business has to become public information.
Disclosure of our financial relationships is important not just because the law requires it but also because for government to be truly effective, it must have the trust and respect of those it serves. Transparency, openness and honesty are the hallmarks of a good government and of its servants. The public has to have the tools to evaluate how we make decisions and where our allegiances lie.
Over the past few years, our own state has mirrored a disturbing national trend, with a number of high profile cases of questionable ethical conduct, some of which involved only perceived conflicts of interests and potential improprieties. These cases in particular have highlighted the need for refinement of Alaska's ethics code.
Perception is a powerful force. Even when there is no technical conflict of interest, the very perception of one casts a shadow on the whole of government and those in its service. Whenever we have the opportunity to prevent a conflict of interest or the perception of one, I believe we should do so.
This is why I have introduced House Bill 461. It is a simple bill designed to strengthen our current ethics statutes by clearing up what has been called a loophole in current disclosure requirements.
Under current legislative ethics statutes, a public official must disclose any compensation greater than $5,000. A simple one- or two-word description such as "consulting" or "business services" is, by current law, sufficient to explain even a $100,000 contract.
These bare bones descriptions are not enough to completely avoid the "appearance of conflicts of interest" as our state law suggests. In fact, because they lack the necessary explanatory details, disclosures have been raising more suspicions than they assuage.
HB 461 addresses this problem. It adds language requiring filers to provide enough information about the compensation they receive so the general public can understand what specific services were performed for it, as well as the approximate number of hours spent doing so. This requirement would apply to all legislators and is not intended to single out individuals.
Supplying this additional information simply provides the public with the level of disclosure they have repeatedly asked for and should have from their public officials. By honoring this request, we, as public officials, can encourage the public's trust, respect and confidence in their government.