When Mike Dunleavy campaigned in Ketchikan, he said, “I’ll be more than happy to answer the most important question, right? It’s 6-foot-7.” No, the most important question was why did he conceal his plan to scuttle the state ferry system? Or did he dream that up after the election?
Read MoreOn this as well as the other elements of the Dunleavy Debacle, crucial questions needs to be addressed during legislative hearings: When did the governor decide to dismantle and reorganize the university and why? If he did this during his campaign, why did he keep it a secret?
Read MoreInstead of handing out credit, let’s say that Dunleavy never promised a budget like this one, but his decision to propose it now has focused the political discussion and made a lie of the PFD platitudes and the declarations about painless budget cuts.
Read MoreOld people might have to pay thousands more a year to live in the six Alaska Pioneer Homes starting this summer, according to one element in Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s budget bomb.
Read MoreThe state budget is contentious enough that we don’t need state employees lying to Alaskans about contradictory statements by Gov. Mike Dunleavy.
Read MoreDonna Arduin, budget director for the moment, corrected Sen. Bill Wielechowski on how to pronounce her name in a hearing Friday, always a sign of a short-timer.
Read MoreIn the end, Dunleavy conned Alaskans with happy talk about the Permanent Fund Dividend, never acknowledging that the real fiscal challenge facing Alaska is how to manage difficult tradeoffs. Those tradeoffs include balancing taxes and the demand for public services.
Read More“There is no conceivable way under which eliminating that much money from an economy that is already struggling actually helps it. I would love to see this analysis that shows that.”
Read MoreIn my decades of covering Alaska politics, I can’t recall anything as irresponsible as the Dunleavy/Arduin budget. By slashing valuable state services and making no effort to consider their importance, the Dunleavy budget fails on all accounts. looking at the cost of everything and the value of nothing.
Read MoreThis mess appears to be the result of Dunleavy handing over control of state government finances to temporary budget director Donna Arduin, who won’t be here to deal with the aftermath.
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