The Mailbag: "Common Ground."
I haven't done one of these since last October, mainly because they can be time-consuming, even with a PAC-funded network of out-of-state deep-state bloggers mucking about (just kidding, that's not even a thing).
However, in light of an exciting series of events that occurred last week, which gave rise to an Anchorage Assembly member being assailed over a photograph that gaslit an entire community — and a Save Anchorage moderator leaving the group altogether, I wanted to point out a development that I had not expected to come out of last week's insanity — common ground.
Since Allard's grievous political missteps last week in which she greatly underestimated the high level of support for cannabis shops, throngs of progressives and conservatives alike mostly appear to agree that she employed a scare tactic to drum up opposition to opening cannabis shops in Eagle River. Comments made in response to Allard's posts exploded — over 400 in Save Anchorage and nearly 500 on her Facebook account.
Allard's use of the photograph in her post inspired strong rebukes from both sides of the aisle, and on the issue of whether cannabis shops should be permitted to operate in Eagle River — it wasn't even close, with a clear majority of commenters demonstrating support.
But even with this high-level show of bipartisan support for cannabis shops, Eagle River's zoning code will need to be changed to accommodate them, something Allard has said she has misgivings about and ostensibly doesn't want to see happen.
In the days following the fallout from "Reefer-Gate," I was admittedly taken aback by those who emailed and commented on the TBA Facebook page and elsewhere about Allard's self-inflicted crisis.
Some conservatives suggested Allard should move away from scare tactics and focus on job creation and boosting the economy.
"Allard along with every politician, should be concentrating on how we create more jobs, boost the economy, fix our schools, etc. that affects the majority of citizens and not some anti-drug crusade," one member of Save Anchorage wrote to the TBA Facebook page.
Others expressed their dissatisfaction with how Allard had approached the subject. One called the photograph she used in her post racist, while others further suggested she had done more harm than good with the way she presented her post.
It is no secret that I fundamentally disagree with how many SA members have presented themselves to the public since they appeared on the scene in 2020 - especially given that some members see individuals with opposing viewpoints as political enemies — the same individuals, by the way, who whine incessantly and allege corruption when politicians don't do exactly what they want them to do.
But even amidst conspiracy theories and rhetoric, the fallout from "Reefer-Gate" has demonstrated a willingness by those on both sides of the political spectrum to work bipartisanly to see a common goal is achieved. I'm not suggesting we BFF with a group that's arguably perpetuated division in the city, but rather that common ground can always be found if one is willing to look.
Alice's, the proposed cannabis shop in Eagle River, is holding a community discussion on March 30th, 2022, at 5 pm at the Eagle River Lions Club, 18344 Eagle River Road. This might be a good opportunity for the CER community to give input on the subject.
Who would have thought that cannabis would be the one thing to bring people together in such an amazing way?
