Lt. Gov. oversees elections, shouldn’t campaign for local candidates

To the editor:

No matter how much candidates and people on the receiving end express their disdain for them, robo calls have become the norm during the campaign season in national, state and local elections. They are seemingly an effective, affordable mass calling plea for votes from the candidate themselves or sometimes from a locally well-known person. The last couple of elections these robo’s have taken a new twist. Increasingly they are coming from political party members currently holding their own elected public office as if to offer credibility to the call. But does it? Currently elected public officials are about as popular as Somali pirates. Does this doubling down in support for a candidate in their own political party serve in the best interest of themselves, their party or more importantly to the voter?

Many voters in the Mat-Su Valley this week received a robo call from Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell endorsing one of two candidates in a non-partisan assembly race in an election to be held next Tuesday in the Mat-Su Borough. Reportedly this call went out way beyond District 3 voters (the target for the call) for support of the candidate, which seemed odd some would say.

When questioned callers to Treadwell’s office regarding his involvement in a non-partisan race received mix responses. While some staff seemed almost apologetic, others were ready to argue the Lt. Governors “right” as a private citizen. The “right” card is a easy one to pull out of the deck these days and few would question Treadwell’s right to support who he chooses. But is he really just a normal run of the mill “private” citizen? I would argue he is an elected official whose job is in our state government to oversee elections! Some might even argue it’s his only job.

In checking with Michelle Church the other candidate in the race it’s interesting to learn that the Lt. Governor has never even had a conversation with her before he doubled down on her opponent. The “private citizen” Treadwell never even called her to discuss her views or issues. It should make us all wonder if was an informed endorsement that the Lt. Governor made or more of a political payback of sorts. Additionally since it’s a well-known fact that the candidate he is endorsing has spent the bulk of his current term out of the district working in China, is this the type of representation that Treadwell supports or does he even know?

It’s hard to decide what is more troubling. The Lt. Governor meddling in our local non-partisan elections or his personal failure of really reach out to candidates to answer hard questions and picking party over people for his own vote. Treadwell’s mass call is an assault on our local traditional non-partisan races. Party politics have a proven record of dividing people and communities even more. Voters need to defend and preserve our rights to be assured that they continue to be non-partisan and in the public interest call out those that would participate in activities that cross that line.

My support goes to Michelle Church and you won’t need my personal robo call to know that. I hope you agree Oct. 2 and vote Church for Assembly.

Terry Snyder

Palmer