Suggested Contributions

HONEMAN OLYMPIAN — $100.00
HONEMAN TITAN — $250.00
HONEMAN HERO — $500.00

*Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated*

We look forward to seeing you Thursday, February 23rd! Please RSVP to Abby@honemanformayor.com

Join us on Wednesday, February 22, from 5:00pm – 7:00pm at Operating Engineers Local 302 Hall (4001 Denali Street.)

Join us for good food & beer! It’s your chance to ask Paul about his vision for making Anchorage a better place for working people.

Everyone who attends will be eligible to win a Smith & Wesson M&P 15-22 MOE Rifle!

All donations gratefully accepted.

Suggested Contributions

HONEMAN OLYMPIAN — $100.00
HONEMAN TITAN — $250.00
HONEMAN HERO — $500.00

*Contributions of any amount are greatly appreciated*

We look forward to seeing you Tuesday, February 21st! Please RSVP to Abby@honemanformayor.com

Anchorage, AK – Assemblyman and Anchorage Mayoral Candidate Paul Honeman has received the endorsement of the Anchorage Fire Fighters Union Local 1264. Local 1264 represents 369 members of Anchorage’s fire fighters.

“During this time of service deconstruction and severe budget cutting we support someone with a greater vision for our City, someone who can put his personal political aspirations aside; someone who will put the Citizens of Anchorage first. Throughout his lifetime Paul Honeman has proven that he is that Man,” stated Rod Harris, President of IAFF Local 1264.

“As a retired police officer for our municipality, I understand and can appreciate the hard job that our men and women accomplish each and every day to keep our homes and businesses safe,” remarked Honeman.

“Paul Honeman has spent an entire career working for and protecting the citizens of Anchorage. It is with great pleasure that Local 1264 Anchorage Firefighters announce our endorsement for Paul Honeman in this ‘2012 Mayoral race,” continued Harris.

This is the second major endorsement of municipal employees that the Honeman for Mayor campaign has received. Last November, the Anchorage Education Association, which represents over 3700 active and retired educators in Anchorage, took and unprecedented step and voted to endorse a mayoral candidate very early in the campaign season.

“The AEA supports candidates that have a true commitment to ensure that the education and preparation of our students is a top priority”, stated Jim Lepley, President of the Anchorage Education Association. “We are proud to provide Paul and his campaign with our endorsement”, Lepley continued.

In a briefing by the Mayor’s Office to the Anchorage Assembly, the administration provided its first draft of how the Sullivan Administration will operate the 49SAF. In the briefing, the administration informed the Assembly of the following processes:·

• An Investment Advisory Committee will be appointed without any Assembly input, and that the appointments would be made exclusively by the Mayor.
• The final approval or denial of each applicant of the program will be exclusively made by the Mayor and CFO.
• The monies repaid by the recipients who received funding through the 49SAF would go to the municipality’s general ‘fund balance,’ similar to a savings account.

“This is problematic to me, It seems that having all the control in one set of hands on such an important program is unwise and opens up the entire program to cronyism and boondoggles, and our community is tired of this kind of government,” said Honeman.

It is in the best interest that this program and all its processes are above board and that its integrity cannot be questioned. Good leadership is the ability to bring the best and brightest of our community to the table.

“As Anchorage’s Mayor, I would approach this opportunity by inclusion not omission”, continued Honeman.

The Honeman Administration would open up the process:

• The Investment Advisory Committee would be appointed by the Mayor only after the input from the Assembly and an Advisory Group. This Committee would not only include the a representative of the Mayor’s office, but also a minimum of two (2) Assembly members, four (4) Small Business Owners and three (3) members of the financial/banking/venture capital field.
• The Mayor or the MOA’s Chief Financial Officer would not have sole approval or denial authority of over the disbursement of the 49SAF program. It would be a vote of the Assembly upon recommendation of the Investment Advisory Committee.
• The monies repaid by a recipient would go directly back the 49SAF so that the fund can be self-sustaining. This initial investment should be used as seed money for the program and the municipality should want to grow the fund and have it available for many years to come.

“The information we received this past week is in draft form and is subject to change, but if this is the first inclination of this administration of how this program should work, then I am concerned that it seems to be business as usual,” stated Honeman.

There is no substitute for an open and transparent government. Each small business owner wants to succeed and this program provides an opportunity to support them.

It will be a good sign if the Sullivan Administration changes its course and adheres to measures such as the ones suggested.

Mayor Sullivan demanded that the Assembly break the contract they entered into in 2010 with I/M operators regarding the ending of the program now that the EPA has declared that the program in no longer needed in the Municipality. This agreement would allow a six month transition period to allow for new training or new job opportunities for those employees.

After much testimony from small business owners who informed the Assembly that if the Sullivan Ordinance is passed, they would have to immediately reduce their workforce in the hundreds creating a state of uncertainty and fear to hardworking people of Anchorage.

“One of my core principles in my life is my word and the integrity behind my word,” states Honeman. “This Administration did not object to the Assembly’s contract with small business owners and their employees when the six month transition was passed, so why are just now hearing objections.”

This truly shows the lack of focus on the people of Anchorage and their families by this administration.

I believe that transparency is the best policy. What harm could there be in letting the people of Anchorage see how much money is in various city accounts and participate in our budget process as equals, and not subordinates on a need-to-know basis. Politicians might not get away with some of the funny business they are trying to pull now, but that is a good thing.

As Mayor of Anchorage, one of my first acts will be to put the Municipal Checkbook online, for all to see. I believe that government only works when citizens are informed, and can participate in the debate with the same knowledge the politicians and insiders have. I think that would make a big difference for keeping the municipality honest and accountable in all of its transactions – just like we all have to be with our own checking accounts.

What do you think of this idea? Would you take the time to look at the city checkbook if it were posted online? Is there anything else you would do to keep future mayors and Assembly members honest? Please let me know on my Facebook page, Twitter account, or send me an email.

Mayor Sullivan sees it differently. He has allowed the process for determining what should be done with public land to be manipulated and taken behind closed doors, where select groups of insiders are making back-room deals without public notice or input. Essentially, what must be a open, public process, has become a secretive, private one. It has gone on for years and no one knows what deals are being made and favors are being exchanged.

All I can say is, Anchorage MUST do better. We cannot and will not put up with insider, back-room politics when our public lands are concerned. As Mayor of Anchorage one of my first acts will be to drag the process out of the back-room and put it squarely in the light of day for all to see. I will also declare null and void anything that was decided behind closed doors, without public input. Essentially, I will reset the process to where it was at the last public meeting, and we will start over from there, with everyone’s involvement.

Sure, that will mean the undoing of some progress that has been made, and it will be much harder to get things done transparently, with input for all of the stakeholders when we could just shut folks out of the process and treat public land like our personal sandbox – after-all, the public voted for us right? All I can say is; Anchorage deserves better. It’s not that we can do better, rather it is that we must do better.