Dear Friends,
Election Day is almost here. Buttons, flags, road signs, flyers, radio ads … Oh, the radio ads are almost behind us for another two years. The one thing I want to encourage you to do is to get out and vote Vance on Tuesday, Nov. 3. You may have noticed the quill pen on my campaign sign; it is to remind us the pen is mightier than the sword. When we vote, we peaceably transfer the power of the people in the direction we want our great state to go. Voting is one of the most powerful actions we can make as a citizen in this land of liberty.
It is an honor to represent you in Juneau and I look forward to another two years. In 2018, you elected me with a platform to reign in spending, repeal Senate Bill 91, the soft on crime bill, reject a statewide income tax, and work to restore the Permanent Fund Dividend. I have kept my word and did what you elected me to do.
There is still much to accomplish to continue advancing Alaska in the right direction. With depleted state savings accounts and an expanding deficit of nearly $2.3 billion, you can count on my vote for a stronger constitutional spending cap to keep downward pressure on future budgets. Restraining the growth of government will compel us to find efficiencies, adjust formulas and remove programs that are not fulfilling the needs of Alaskans. Using a waterfall metric in the budget beginning with constitutional requirements, statutory, then discretionary, leaves savings for short-term relief. The budget should focus on rebuilding our economy to allow growth in the private sector. Balancing our budget, reducing regulation, and focusing investment into maintaining our aging infrastructure like the Homer Deep Water Port, will open the doors to economic investment and provide long-term jobs and business opportunities that are key to a sustainable future.
My vision for the Permanent Fund and the PFD is to restore the program to what the founders intended as ownership by the people of Alaska with a full, annual distribution of the dividend. The original formula is not broken and should remain unchanged unless decided by a vote of the people. I will continue to vote for a full, statutory PFD, work to maintain election integrity and pursue justice in human trafficking as some of my areas of focus this next term.
Take confidence that you are my priority and this is why I oppose the binding caucus that compels members to pledge a “yes” vote to a budget without first seeing the content because your vote is not for sale. As your representative, I use a guide to keep me pointed in the right direction for our district and our great state. I ask myself a set of questions before casting your vote. Is it constitutional? Is it just? Does it provide liberty over social justice, individual rights over collective rights, capitalism over socialism, the rule of law over the rule of man, preserve life over terminating life and finally, does it align with the will of my district?
It is with a passion to preserve liberty that I continue serving you. I am running for re-election to Alaska State House to continue the work I was elected to do; to fight for the will of the people, follow the law and pursue good governance. Alaska has yet to step into her glory with hope for a brighter future. My name is Sarah Vance and I humbly ask for your vote on Tuesday, Nov. 3.
