McCam Kybell, Assistant to Governor
Fickel, announced today that the Governor's office
has introduced a bill providing for an preference
for urban residents in the allocation of State
funding and State jobs. "This is a companion
bill to our Subsistence Bill" said Mr. Kybell.
Last year the Governor had campaigned,
and was elected, on his promise to challenge the
Federal ANILCA Law calling for a rural preference
for Subsistence.
He has recently told outdoorsmen,
however, that his promises to them didn't count
because he had his ''It was campaign rhetoric''
fingers crossed at the time , said the Governor.
''Like President Bush, I would have done anything
to get elected. Nonetheless, I think our new urban
preference bill will go a long way to imbalance
the equities."
The urban preference bill is designed
to protect residents ''who have a traditional,
social, or cultural relationship to, and dependence
upon, State jobs, State funding, and the lifestyle
generated by such a cash economy '' the Governor's
press release stated. ''Rural residents have their
traditional lifestyle known as Subsistence; now
urban residents can have theirs. Upon passage
of this bill, urban residents will be assured
continuity of their traditional fiscal and monetary
lifestyle."
The bill provides that urban residents
will get a priority in the allocation of State
dollars and State jobs. State officials agree
there is little or no need for such money or jobs
in rural areas where rural residents have long
advocated a priority in their right ''to live
off the land'' by hunting and fishing.
On the other hand, urban residents,
in their concrete jungles, are unable to gather
fish and game resources from State Lands. ''Urban
residents need State money and State jobs for
their form of Subsistence'' , the ''It is my intention
to allow each group to live Governor stated. the
lifestyle that they wish. This bill, and my recently
introduced Subsistence bill, will facilitate that.''
Under the Governor's proposal ,
communities of over 7,000 people will be presumed
to qualify for State funding and State jobs. Communities
of between 2,500 and 7,000 people will have to
apple for State funding and State jobs and these
applications will be reviewed on a case by case
basis. Communities under 2,500 people, however,
will have the burden of proof to show that they
have a history of working for the State and earning
or receiving State money.
''We will be reviewing applications
from these areas very, very carefully, '' said
Mr. Kybell. ''Rural residents will have to show
the hours that they actually worked for the State,
the months that they actually earned cash money,
the amounts earned, and the number of jobs they
have held in the preceding 12 months.
State Senator Starless Argelewski
echoed Mr. Kybell's statements. ''Urban residents
have a long history and tradition of working for
cash money, '' she said. ''It is part of our cultural
and religious heritage. We call it 'The Protestant
Work Ethic' and our people have practiced this
ethic for hundreds of years. My father, my grandfather,
and his father before him, have lived this Traditional
lifestyle. Each generation has taught the next
the value of government employment, cash money,
and hard work. We will do our best to pass this
legislation. We want to ensure the Tradition of
jobs, hard working, and cold hard cash is passed
on to our future generations!''
Julia Catgut, however, President
of the Alaskan Federation of Non-urbanites, said
the AFN is opposed to the legislation the Governor
proposed "If we get no State money",
she complained, ''how can we purchase the airplanes,
powerboats, snowmachines, firearms, ammunition,
and fuel to allow us to follow our traditional
Subsistence lifestyle? The Governor, apparently,
wants us to buck the bears while the urbanites
bear the bucks!'' Ms. Catgut said indignantly,
"It's not fair!"
Randy Smythe and Liza Lipton, of
the Anchorage Outdoorsmen's Council, stated the
AOC, on the other hand, supports the Governor's
Bill. "The rural residents can have the cows
and the bulls", said the smiling Mr. Smythe.
"We'll settle for the dough and the bucks!"
Known officially as the ''Urban
Subsistence Bill, and unofficially as the ''Bucks
versus Bulls Bill'', Governor Fickel's legislation
is presently being considered by the House Urban
Affairs Committee.
