November 4th will decide some very important races in our state. No doubt we are all a bit tired of the phone calls, adds, flyers, etc. trying to convince us to vote for one candidate or the other. I have already cast my ballot. I voted again just as I did in 2008 for Mark Begich. I truly believe he is the best choice for Alaska.
I do not agree with Senator Begich on all the issues. However, on the issue of education I know he is the best choice. Whether you are an educator or not, one should agree that educating our children to the best of our ability is something we should all value. A strong public educational system makes for strong communities.
I encourage you to look at Dan Sullivan’s website and find how he stands on public education. Not only could I not find how he would support our state on matters related to education, I could not find a single mention of the word “education” on the website.
Mark Begich continues to advocate for public education and public school educators at the federal level by promoting STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and math) curriculum, by fighting to overturn the onerous regulations imposed by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as No Child Left Behind), and by supporting legislation that would eliminate the Government Pension Offset, Windfall Elimination Provision (known as GPO/WEP) which penalizes public teachers when they retire in Alaska by not affording them their full social security benefits earned outside of Alaska.
It would be impossible to agree 100 percent with every candidate. Please analyze all the issues important to you and your family and most importantly vote on November 4th.