Alaskans are no strangers to the power and prominence of dark-money spenders from out of state meddling in our electons. Weak disclosure requirements have long allowed infinite amounts of money to pour into our state from the shadows. Last cycle, we saw hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on single state legislative races alone — not to mention the tens of millions spent on the U.S. Senate race from out of state.
In response, Alaskans have taken bold action at the ballot box to improve disclosure requirements around campaign financing in our state. But further action is needed at the federal level to permanently eradicate the problem of dark money from our democratic system. And hopefully, we can count on Senator Murkowski to employ her famously independent and thoughtul approach to leadership in Washington during the current debates taking place on the For the People Act, a robust package of reform that takes aim at these anonymous donors to politicians.
Alaskans have never been much for partisan labels. Voters care about the actions of our poli;cal leaders, not the letter next to their names on the ballot. We should all hope that Senator Murkowski and her fellow colleagues will carry on this spirit in Washington as debates on the For the People Act continue in the months ahead.
Alan Plotnick,
Juneau
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