Republicans conduct 'push poll' for Wilson
•I’ve had many calls from people who report that the Republican Party of Alaska conducted a ‘push poll’ to support borough mayor candidate Tammie Wilson Sunday.
We also received one of those calls at my house. The message at the end said it was paid for by the GOP.
This is the type of poll with leading questions that is not aimed at sampling opinions, but at influencing opinions.
One of the questions was whether the voter, if a union member, votes the way that he is she is told to vote by the union.
As an NCO, I’ve been in that position; that is, held to a different set of rules than was applied to others! I “put in” 55 to 65 hours a week for almost a year while in that position trying to “get out from under” the burden of that position.
I suppose that it was ‘not very long’ in reality but it sure seemed to be a long time while I was there. I tried to be ‘fair and uniform’ in the application of rules and regulations but others but was not always accorded the same regard from others. So, now you want to know why I would “allow a double standard to be applied to elected officials?”
The answer is simple; according to one recent article, it was noted that there was a “zoning” complaint against the property - presumably for ‘junk’ that was 29 years old - and that had lapsed so the ‘Good Neighbor’ went out and renewed it. It has also been pointed out that Tammie Wilson has only been in the Fairbanks North Star Borough for approximately 6 years.
That means she did not accumulate most of the “junk” currently on that piece of property! Whether or not she has been trying to ‘clean it up’ is irrelevant; you can’t start randomly enforcing the law just because someone decides to run for elected office!
Luke, on the other hand was “in charge” of UAF Maintenance and UAF has a significant problem with “Deferred Maintenance”; I would argue that he is largely responsible for that BECAUSE HE WAS THERE WHEN IT WAS ACCUMULATED!
Doug- Thanks for your service to our country. But let me take you to task. Your wrote:
4) Planning and Zoning? She is in a remote area and they have ‘junk’ on their property; again I ask, “So What”? If she’s ignoring Planning and Zoning, she’s NOT THE ONLY ONE!
If you were an NCO how long would you have lasted if you held yourself to a different set of rules than you applied to your troops?
Not very long, and you know it.
SO why do you allow a double standard to be applied to elected officials? They pass the laws and then don't have to follow those laws? Huh?
Doug- Thanks for your service to our country. But let me take you to task. Your wrote:
4) Planning and Zoning? She is in a remote area and they have ‘junk’ on their property; again I ask, “So What”? If she’s ignoring Planning and Zoning, she’s NOT THE ONLY ONE!
If you were an NCO how long would you have lasted if you held yourself to a different set of rules than you applied to your troops?
Not very long, and you know it.
So why do you allow a double standard to be applied to elected officials? They pass the laws and then don't have to follow those laws? Huh?
Doug- thanks for your service to our country. You, better than most, realize the importantance of following the rules. That's why your statement needs examining:
"4) Planning and Zoning? She is in a remote area and they have ‘junk’ on their property; again I ask, “So What”? If she’s ignoring Planning and Zoning, she’s NOT THE ONLY ONE!"
If you were an NCO or officer how far would you have gone in your Army career if you did not follow the same rules that applied to those you commanded?
I guarantee you would not have lasted very long.
The same goes for elected officials who do not follow the laws that THEY make. They can not hold a position of public trust if they hold themselves to a double standard.
1) I do breathe clean air; occasionally I can smell a very faint smell of wood smoke. Guess my neighbors are burning clean, dry wood; and yes, I do expect people to regulate themselves! And, if they Don't CALL THE STATE TROOPERS!
2) There are only TWO people left “in the running” for MAYOR and that means there is a 50% rating; so what! If I ask how many of them have a college degree, the percentage is ALSO 50% only it’s Luke on that one.
3) My point is that he WORKED FOR A UNIVERSITY! He “had access to an education facility at little or no cost” and didn’t avail himself of it! I also have a College Degree; took me 17 years of nights and weekends while I worked an average of 45 to 50 hours a week as a Noncommissioned Officer in the United States Army.
4) Planning and Zoning? She is in a remote area and they have ‘junk’ on their property; again I ask, “So What”? If she’s ignoring Planning and Zoning, she’s NOT THE ONLY ONE! Frankly, I’m more interested in Luke trying to force me to obtain a Permit for everything “under the ice fog” than I’m concerned with Tammie’s “collection of junk”.
5) Sure, I read the comment section of this news website - you know, where you post messages condemning everyone else? I respect and admire teachers, even the ones who think and feel as you do but I DON’T admire the Teacher’s Unions that push for implementation of Teaching Goals and Guides that I DON’T support! By the way, not all of the teachers in this Borough support the goals of the NEA either and most of the parents who either “home school” or send their children to private or religious schools do so to get their children out of this “hotbed of Liberal Thought”.
6) I agree with you (at least about 90% agree) regarding Senator Ted Stevens; I did not like him and I’m not sorry he’s gone. I just wish his replacement had been ALMOST ANYONE ELSE but Mark Begich. I also think you are right that Ted Stevens has been “thanking his lucky stars” that he managed to dodge that sentence (even if it was through no fault of his own)! It doesn’t change the fact that there was Prosecutorial Misconduct and that it was VERY CONVENIENTLY TIMED TO COINCIDE WITH THE ELECTION!
7) Well, I don’t see 30 years of working in the maintenance department as particularly qualifying for the office of mayor (especially with the massive “deferred maintenance” that grew under his “tenure” in that position). I suspect you are right that most of the “liberal thought” is in the Humanities Department BUT NOT ALL OF IT!!!
8) The issue regarding the “dang bag tax” rises not because he voted against it “finally” but because he voted “for it in the first place”. I think (and I don’t think I am alone in this belief) that the ONLY reason he changed his mind was because he realized it might hurt him in this election. We will see if it did. If he loses, it will be, at least in part, because of the bag tax. If he wins, I am certain the bag tax will raise it’s “ugly little head” again (and probably in the very near future). Regarding the “thin gray film,” no, I can honestly say I’ve never noticed it. I will look for it this winter. If you want people to use a “less polluting” heat source, talk to the State Legislature about expanding the Natural Gas “Bullet Line” or looking into Hydro-electric or Thermal energy or even setting aside sources of borough land where people can cut their own fire wood and season it properly. Until that happens people are going to burn what ever they can “get their hands on”.
9) Finally, I’m glad there is at least one thing we can agree on too (even if it's the ONLY thing we agree on).
1) Yes. THANK GOD! You breathe what you want and my kids and I will hopefully be able to breathe clean air. What? Do you expect people to regulate themselves? In THIS town? Don't be absurd!
2) But lots of people aren't running for MAYOR of the borough!
3) Yes. And your point? Are YOU aware that NONE of the following graduated from college? Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Sir Richard Branson, Dean Kamen, Steve Jobs, Larry Ellison, and Michael Dell. Oh, and Rush Limbaugh, who attended 2 semesters of state college somewhere in the midwest, and flunked everything, including ballroom dancing... Those graduating from college include: G.W. Bush, Sarah Palin, Bernie Madoff, and a cab driver from Moose Cab who picked me up from the airport yesterday.
4) Planning and Zoning, pal.
5) Don't you read the comment section of this news website - you know, where you post your own messages? For weeks, Tammie supporters have been condemning those who work for the university in any capacity. Likewise, teachers, whom they seem to group into a category below common gangsters. Since they seem to have a problem with educational facilities and the people who teach at them, one can only conclude that they favor ignorance over education.
6) Stevens' charges were dropped due to prosecutorial misconduct. That in no way implies that Ted Stevens was innocent, only that there were problems with the way his prosecution was handled. Don't you wonder why Stevens hasn't counter-sued? He's too busy thanking his lucky stars!
7) Yes, longer than that, actually. And gee, I didn't realize that the maintenance department was the "hot house of liberal thought" at the U... Here and I assumed that most of the liberal thought was in the Humanities Department...
8) There's that dang bag tax issue again... what is it with you guys? You can't get over a guy changing his mind to YOUR side of the argument. I shudder to think of what you would be saying had he NOT changed his mind. And again, I'm relieved that something may be done to improve the quality of the air we breathe. Do you ever work or play outside in the winter? Or have you noticed that when you park your car outside, a thin gray film appears all over it within hours? That film goes into my kids' lungs when they ski and play outside, and I pray it doesn't cause cancer in the future. Something needs to be done about it.
9) And me, too. It's the only thing we agree on.
1. Are you aware that Hopkins wants to regulate the use of outdoor wood boilers and indoor wood stoves? People who burn trash, tires, and old railroad ties laced with toxic creosote in their boilers can be dealt with individually?
2. Lots of people have been denied a Permanent Fund dividend because they did not read the application guidelines closely.
3. Are you aware that Luke has spent 30 years employed by the University of Alaska and has not bothered to obtain a Degree?
4. Tammie has a junkyard? I know there are ‘junkyard’ rules in the City but was not aware the Borough had any specific rules?
5. Wasn’t aware that there were any Wilson supporters arguing that Ignorance was to be preferred over an Education. Is it truly better to be ignorant rather than educated? You’d have to ask Luke that question – he’s the one without a Degree.
6. Emphasis should be on the word, “allegedly” – remember how Senator Ted Stevens was “Convicted” (only to have the United States Attorney General ORDER that ALL CHARGES BE DROPPED IMMEDIATELY AFTER a Democrat was elected)?
7. Are you aware that Hopkins has been employed for most of the last ten years by the University? Do you believe that Luke Hopkins is a better candidate because he has held a job his entire life in a “Hot House” of Liberal Thought?
8. Are you aware that Wilson supported… (blah, blah, blah)? No, but I was aware that Hopkins voted for the “Bag Tax” before he voted against it. I was also aware that Hopkins appeared to be deeply irritated that the 2.5 Particle Emissions Ordnance did not pass the first time through. If he is elected Mayor, Particle Emissions will be the new Program to replace the Vehicle Emissions Program that is about to go away (unless, of course, Luke is elected).
9. And finally, are you happy that this election will soon be finally over with? Yes! One way or the other, I will be glad it is over.
Here's a new push ordered by Independent voters which is a tad bit more honest than the Republican poll:
1. Are you aware that Wilson wants no regulation of outdoor wood boilers and that under Wilson you could be breathing toxic smoke as people burn trash, tires, and old railroad ties laced with toxic creosote in their boilers?
2. Are you aware that Wilson was denied a Permanent Fund dividend because she did not conform to application rules the rest of us are expected to follow?
3. Are you aware that Tammie has only lived here about six years while her opponent has lived here since 1966?
4. Are you aware that Tammie has a junkyard that is alleged to not be in compliance with borough code? How do you feel about elected officials that believe the law does not apply to them?
5. What do you think about Wilson supporters who argue that a University education is a bad thing? Is it truly better to be ignorant rather than educated?
6. Are you aware that Wilson supporters have allegedly been working to get Wilson elected in violation of Alaska campaign disclosures rules?
7. Are you aware that Wilson has been underemployed for most of the last ten years? Do you believe that Luke Hopkins is a better candidate because he has held a job his entire life in which he was promoted and received positive performance evaluations?
8. Are you aware that Wilson supported multiple, three year, borough union contracts this spring which include: $2,000,000 in taxpayer subsidized health care coverage, nearly two months of paid time off, automatic pay raises, and a taxpayer subsidized retirement? Are you aware that when Wilson is asked how she is going to cut government that she states she has no plan, other than to stop buying paper clips and to turn off the lights at night, which the borough already does? Are you aware that under Wilson not only will the budget not be cut, but that the borough budget will grow by millions of dollars per year because of the union contracts Wilson has locked us into?
9. Are you aware that a 12 year old child who was born here has lived here for twice as many years as Wilson has?
10. And finally, are you happy that this election will soon be finally over with?