Session: State Capitol, Room 108 Juneau, AK 99801-1182 Phone: (907) 465-3878 Fax: (907) 465-3265 Interim: 600 E. Railroad Ave., Suite 1 Wasilla, AK 99654 Phone: (907) 376-4866 Fax: (907) 373-4724

Governor's Spin Cycle Confuses Public
Knowles Delivers Doublespeak over Katie John Appeal Issues

(Wasilla) - Recently there have been many articles stating the Katie John suit is not about state sovereignty. I suggest we examine what Gov. Tony Knowles has said. In a speech to the Alaska Federation of Natives on Oct. 19, 2000, Gov. Knowles described the Katie John case as "... deciding whether the State of Alaska controls navigable waters or the federal government controls navigable waters."

In a March 14, 2000 speech to the Tanana Chiefs Conference, Gov. Knowles discussed his reasons for appealing the Katie John case, stating, "(b)ut my decision to appeal that case, which I stated as a candidate in 1994 and reiterated in 1995 when we appealed the case, is based on a single factor - my responsibility as governor to do everything within my power to protect state sovereignty and manage our own resources."

In a March 3, 2000 Compass piece in the Anchorage Daily News, Gov. Knowles wrote, "As Alaska's Governor, I believe it is my clear responsibility, even in the face of a difficult political battle, to vigorously defend this important aspect of state sovereignty."

Now, with newspaper articles detailing the political pressure placed upon Gov. Knowles not to file an appeal, we receive a July 19 press release from the governor in which he says, "The problem with the Katie John case is not that it threatens Alaskan sovereignty, as some would have you believe."

After declaring for over seven years that Katie John is about state sovereign management of navigable waters, the governor is now leading the public to believe that the state Legislature can somehow change federal law and overcome the Katie John decision.

The governor's political doublespeak is eloquently used, but it does beg the question: If the governor said in the past that the Katie John case was about state sovereignty, but now says that it is not, was he telling us the truth then, or is he telling us the truth now?

And just for the record, above Gov. Knowles' picture in the March 3, 2000 Daily News Compass piece is printed in bold letters the title, "Katie John Appeal is About State Sovereignty."

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