Letters to the editor

Vote no on the Palmer RecallTo the editor:

In a few short weeks, residents of the City of Palmer will be asked to vote in a special election: the recall of three councilmembers, Sabrina Combs, and Brian Daniels, and Jill Valerius. I am writing to urge voters to vote no on the recall.

Sabrina Combs, Jill Valerius and Brian Daniels are all honest, straight forward individuals. They hold the City of Palmer dear in their hearts and have worked hard to keep Palmer safe, by promoting business and increasing the tax base while keeping the essence of Palmer in the forefront of any decision. Each have always welcomed civil discourse and encourage conversation and honest debate.

Sabrina is the salt of the earth, raised in Palmer and dedicated to all things Palmer. To know Sabrina is to know what it means to be a public servant with a servant’s heart. Jill is a medical doctor with a practice in downtown Palmer. She has worked to improve accessibility of trails and helped usher in the Code of Ethics to the council. Brian brings the popular Kumbucha 203 establishment to Palmer. His creative energy works with kindness and integrity.

Voters in the recall on April 19 need also to be well aware of the unintended consequences of a yes vote. If the recall occurs, by state law the remaining council members appoint representation. In effect, this denies the citizens of Palmer the right to choose their representatives. In fact, this would mean that four out of the six council members would have been appointed, not elected. The recall would leave just Richard Best and Pam Melin as the only elected representatives- and with the sole power to seat the rest of the council as they choose. That is not democracy.

Palmer voters should use their voting power to elect their representatives. They should not give away that power with a recall motivated by hate and suspicion. The citizens of Palmer deserve better.

Vote no in the Palmer Recall on April 19.

Emily Forstner,

Palmer

There are certain parts of our history you cannot change

To the editor:

This past December, a number of family and friends attended the “Colony Christmas” parade and festivities in Palmer. Although a bit chilly at a few degrees below zero, several thousand hardy Alaskans bundled up and enjoyed the parade, fireworks and festive atmosphere in the run up to Christmas. We should have suspected however when the attempt was made to rebrand “Colony Christmas” as “Hometown Holidays” that the secular progressive “woke cancel culture” was making an appearance in Palmer. Maybe that sort of thing flies in Portland, Oregon, but not In Palmer Alaska. Not last Christmas and not now. The recent response to this ridiculous politically correct “Braided River Festival” was immediate and explosive, and well it should be. The colorful history and the story of the Mat-Su Colonists is deeply ingrained in this community, it is our local history and that you cannot change! There are most certainly parts of our history that have a sinister side but it is chiseled in stone nevertheless. When some unfavorable portion of our history is revealed, particularly to younger folks that may not be aware of it you cannot pretend it never happened, because it did happen! Better to use it as a teaching tool and learn from it. There is a segment of the population in this country that claim to be “woke”, personally I prefer to be awake and it would be good to see some of these “woke” idiots wake up! Go “Colony Days”!

Mike Koskovich,

Wasilla, Alaska