by Mel Green

YOUR VOTE MATTERS! Many elections are lost just because people forgot to register to vote. The deadline is MARCH 4 to vote for Proposition 5, the Anchorage Equal Rights Initiative, in the April 3 Anchorage municipal election.

If passed, Proposition 5 will amend Title 5, Anchorage’s equal rights code to provide the same legal protections against discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and transgender identity that are already provided in Anchorage based on race, color, sex, religion, national origin, marital status, age, physical disability, and mental disability.

Also on this year’s municipal ballot:

• Mayor. 6 candidates are running for a 3-year term as Anchorage mayor, including current Mayor Dan Sullivan and Assemblymember Paul Honeman. Other candidates are Bruce J. Lemke, Jacob Seth Kern, Phil Isley, and Bob Lupo. Among other controversial actions during his term as mayor, Dan Sullivan in 2009 vetoed AO-64, the Anchorage Equal Rights Ordinance, which had been passed by the Anchorage Assembly on a vote of 7 to 4.
• Anchorage School Board. Two candidates apiece are running for three seats (3-year terms). Seat E: Kathleen Plunkett and David Nees. For Seat F: Tam Agosti-Gisler and Richard Wanda. For Seat G: Natasha Von Imhof and Starr Marsett.
• Service Areas. There are a number of candidates running for 2-year terms.  See the 2012 Candidates page at the MOA website for info.
• Propositions. There are a total of 8 propositions on the April 3 ballot, including Proposition 5. See the Notice of Regular Election (PDF) for details.

Where can you register?  The easiest locations: Any Anchorage library – bring picture ID. If you are registered and simply need to update your information, you can do it online. Absentee and early voting begins March 19 – call 243-VOTE (8683). See complete voter registration info on the Municipality of Anchorage website.

Photo credits: (1) Voter registration notice on a People Mover bus, Anchorage, AK, 22 Feb 2012. (2) “Headline news: Anchorage mayor supports discrimination” — After Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed AO-64, the Anchorage equal rights ordinance, on 17 August 2009, a protest was spontaneously organized across the street from City Hall. Photos by Melissa S. Green.