The Alaska Senate Democrats held a press availability Wednesday afternoon to discuss their priorities for the current legislative session.
Minority senators Tom Begich (Anchorage), Elvi Gray-Jackson (Anchorage), Scott Kawasaki (Fairbanks), Jesse Kiehl (Juneau), Donny Olson (Golovin), and Bill Wielechowski (Anchorage) gathered at the State Capitol in Juneau to discuss the plans their caucus has for key issues and working across the aisle.
Senator Tom Begich: “Our key issues for this coming year are insuring we continue to support a strong Pre-K through UA education system through the state of Alaska, that we make sure to protect the Permanent Fund Dividend essentially through a constitutional amendment, and that we strengthen the Alaska marine highway system so that communities have regular and consistent service. The budget, and how we pay for it, thus, becomes our number one priority.”
The caucus discussed the need for a stronger marine highway, with Senator Kiehl proposing a more robust and consistent ferry system, and also stressed that accomplishing these goals can only come from cooperation with the majority Republicans.
Senator Tom Begich, summarizing the caucus plan for 2020: “Our goal will be to continue to work across chamber, across party lines, to ensure that we are building the best Alaskan economy, the best Alaskan system for all of our citizens. If we want to raise our families and have a successful education system, have a successful and safe society, and build businesses that will work for years to come, we can only do it through collaboration and dialog.”