The Department of Law, where I worked, was asked to resign & pledge loyalty to the incoming governor. This despite the fact that the oath lawyers take when admitted to the bar requires us to support & uphold the constitutions of Alaska and the United States — not to bow before a king or a dictator.
The Governor candidly admitted that he vetoed this allocation in retaliation for the Alaska Supreme Court’s substantive decisions. Withholding court system funding in an attempt to control judicial decisions is a stunning attack on the separation of powers, which is crucial to our democracy.
Senators acknowledged what most legislators and engaged members of the public can clearly see from the data provided by the Dunleavy administration during legislative briefings — the system we had before SB 91 didn’t work, so just repealing the bill and going back to that system isn’t the answer.
ACLU of Alaska's February 25, 2019 testimony to the Fairbanks City Council on Ordinance 6093—adding LGBTQ protections to the city's non-discrimination code.
Days after being elected governor of Alaska, Michael Dunleavy requested resignations from more than 1,200 at-will state employees. Those who didn’t resign were later fired. This kind of political retaliation against non-political state workers is an attack on the very foundations of free speech
I can’t begin to adequately express how proud I am of the ACLU of Alaska’s growth last year, and I’m excited to see what they’ll be doing in 2019.