My name is Michael Dukes and I am more than just a voice on the radio. I’m part of a family that counts the Interior as it’s home and has done so for nearly 100 years.
My Grandparents were an integral part of Fairbanks. My Grandmother was born near Manley, the daughter of a goldminer. My Grandfather ran away from a Pennsylvania farm at the age of 16 to seek his fortunes in the world, landing in Fairbanks. They met and married while attending the University of Alaska Fairbanks, raising three children. Along the way, my Grandfather started one of the first accounting firms, became Mayor of Fairbanks and served on the Borough Assembly along with many boards and commissions. His example of service is something I try to live up to every day.
I am a graduate of Lathrop High School and I attended UAF. I have been married to my wife Terri for more than 20 years and we have five children ages 4-17. I have been a commercial fisherman, machine operator, taxi cab driver, vacuum cleaner salesman, tow truck driver and an underwater photographer. The last 10 years I have been hosting my own radio show, talking about the current issues of the day. And the last year I have been your representative on the Borough Assembly.
And now I'm running for re-election.
We face troubling times in our Borough.
We have a winter coming and the uncertainty of our energy costs make citizens restless at night. We have road service areas in turmoil, looking for the clarity they need and the authority to fix their roads. And we face that cold winter with the prospect of receiving huge fines from our Borough Code Enforcement officers if we don’t burn the right material or our wood happens to be just a tad too wet.
These are the reasons that I am running for Borough Assembly.
But I need your support.
As we have seen in the past this participatory form of government is often lacking in one thing….participation. Many sit by the sidelines, caught up in hobbies or other pursuits. Others are vocal in their complaints, to their neighbors and maybe even on the radio, yet they do not take action.
If we are to succeed in retaining the Freedoms that the Founders envisioned with the ideals of 1775, we must do more than stand to the side, a spectator in the rule of our own lives. We must get out, educate ourselves on the processes of government. We must volunteer for committees and commissions. And when the time comes we must become candidates, citizen legislators to help bring the bureaucracy and politico’s under control.
We will only succeed through the effort and will of people like you. Everyday working folks who really just want to be left alone, to live their lives. The problem is, that while we were busy being left alone, those who see bigger, more powerful government as the answer have not rested. They have moved their agenda forward and now inhabit the halls of power at nearly every level.
So how do we stop it? Let me tell you…..
I need your time. I need your efforts and yes I need your money. And then I need to you go find five friends or acquaintances and urge, cajole or otherwise drag them to the polls. I don’t care who they vote for. (Well maybe alittle.) As long as they participate in this great experiment that we have called self governance, I will be satisfied.
Thank you and God Bless,
Michael Dukes
