Elsewhere, he accuses Fletcher of being a “Radical environmental attorney who wants to shut down responsible resource development and make Alaska California.”
In another ad, Mr. Postive says, “If you want a state senator from California who wants to shut down resource development and raise your taxes, then you should look up my opponent. But if you want a state senator who can pack a moose, start a snow machine at 40 below and clean a fish, I’m your guy.”
None of those skills that Cronk boasts of will make a good legislator. Good judgment, consistency, a grasp of public policy and clearly held convictions are important. So is the ability to resist political pressure.
Cronk, who has a defined benefit state pension from his 25 years as a public school teacher, complained in February about the bipartisan education bill, but supported it.
He said there was a good reason for him to vote for it. It contained what the school districts had told him they wanted the most—a figure for the base student allocation increase that they could count on.
Cronk, a resident of Tok since 2007 and Northway before that, said every school district wanted to know how much money to expect so they can “get contracts out and know what they’re gonna have. And we did that, biggest increase we’ve ever seen. I’m gonna leave it at that. That’s a real positive. We came together, Republicans, Democrats, independents—nonpartisans, I’m not sure. But we all came together. We got something done.”
But when pressured by Dunleavy, Cronk flipped his vote and supported the veto, even though the bill contained what he said the school districts wanted the most. So much for “That’s a real positive” and “We got something done.”
Cronk told the Anchorage Daily News he’s been “pretty much trashed for not overriding the governor’s veto.”
He has no one to blame but himself. Cronk fell in line when Dunleavy insisted that he do so. The override failed by one vote.
Fletcher told the Anchorage paper that the battle for education is a big reason she decided to run.
“If you believed in legislation enough to vote for it the first time, why would you not stick to your convictions?” Fletcher told the Daily News. “I am disappointed, and I promise to be a legislator that will stick to my convictions.”
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(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by PostX News and is published from a syndicated feed.)
