KTUU.com | Alaska's news and information source | Name-calling erupts at Assembly over 6-year plan

Name-calling erupts at Assembly over 6-year plan

by Jason Lamb
Tuesday, November 03, 2009

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Name calling and finger pointing took over Tuesday night's Anchorage Assembly meeting as lawmakers debated Anchorage's future.

The commotion started when the Assembly was taking up Sullivan's six-year plan, a 15-page document generally outlining the city's future.

The debate has been visible recently. Its primary points are on what the city's priorities should be in future years and what money there will be to pay for them.

That debate played out in a big way at the Assembly Tuesday on a night that was supposed to be focused on public testimony for the city's 2010 budget.

It seemed the bulk of the controversy came just before the testimony.

The topic: the mayor's six-year fiscal plan, a long range general overview of the city's priorities.

Sheila Selkregg offered several amendments to the plan, one under the heading of "Social Equity."

It's safe to say that's something Assemblyman Bill Starr does not agree with.

"This Selkregg manifesto now speaks to words such as social equity," Starr said.

"It speaks to several platforms that are solidly entrenched in the communist planks. One of them is sort of leveling of ... moving toward a classless society," Starr said afterwards.

"If you think that makes me a communist, I think that what I'll have to say to you, is that you sound a lot like a McCarthy person, I mean for goodness sakes," Selkregg responded.

"I was really surprised to be called names, and I guess I was called a communist," Selkregg said later.

She says her amendments weren't related to communism at all.

"When we make our decisions, there's a sense of fairness and we don't make decisions that result in poor people or middle class people paying a lot to the benefit of people who are very wealthy," she said.

But Starr says the comparisons to the "communist manifesto" are valid.

"I do (stand by what I said). I think it's a fair analogy. I think the role of government is what we're analyzing at this point and where we move into the social program needs, how we provide that social equity, that's not our job," Starr said.

Selkregg's amendments to the six-year plan passed -- by a vote of 6 - 5, but then another wrinkle came about.

"I hereby veto Dr. Selkregg's amendments as amended," announced Mayor Sullivan.

Sullivan says he didn't appreciate Selkregg's amendments which were offered, he says, without any consultation to the mayor's office.

"It was almost a complete re-write. Anybody can wordsmith somebody else's document, I think Ms. Selkregg re-wrote everything but the mayor's letter and last time I checked, she wasn't elected mayor," Sullivan said.

So after all that -- amendments to the six-year plan are gone --- and the document passed -- in another 6 - 5 vote.

Public testimony on the city's budget for next year still took place. It was the last opportunity for public comment.

The Assembly is scheduled to vote on the budget Nov. 17.

Contact Jason Lamb at jlamb@ktuu.com