My recent decision to join the Republican Party and Alaska House Majority Caucus has certainly caused confusion and surprise among many people. I want to thank the ADN for letting me explain my reasoning and set the record straight.

I want to make it clear that I am the same person I was before I made this decision. My views on the issues I campaigned on have not changed. I hold the same values for which my constituents elected me; I stand by my voting record from past years. I have not become a different person with different values and different goals for the state. What I have changed is my party affiliation and role within the legislature. This is the change on which I want to focus.

As a lifelong Alaskan and Turnagain area resident, my primary focus in the legislature has always been on four key things: a healthy future for our state, economic development, providing for jobs and business growth that are critical for our future. The very first bill I sponsored was designed to protect and promote local Alaskan tourism businesses. During the last legislature I worked hard to pass a law that helped keep housing development projects in Anchorage moving forward--keeping construction jobs in our local economy. This work clearly reflects my consistent focus on enhancing jobs and economic development in Alaska. This was the catalyst for my change.

My decision came about in recent weeks--it was not something I had even contemplated last fall. As I was planning how I could best serve West Anchorage and the state in the upcoming legislative session, my goals focused around keeping the lights on in Southcentral Alaska, providing jobs for Alaskans, restraining budget growth, and making sure an oil tax bill actually puts more oil in the pipeline. I realized that my fiscal and economic views were most closely aligned with the House Majority Caucus and with members of the Republican Party--that this was the place where I could best express my goals and vision for Alaska.

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Ms. Holmes' explanation for her party switch does nothing to reassure this constituent. My takeaway from this Compass piece, given that Lindsey carefully explains that she's the same person she's always been, is that she has been a closeted Republican, working toward the Republican agenda, all along, a wolf in sheep's clothing, as it were. It seems clear now that she ran as a Democrat the last four elections because this is a liberal district that she knew she couldn't win as a Republican. If it's true that the Democratic caucus shut her out from plum committee assignments, it's no wonder. They obviously know more than we, her constituents, do about where her true loyalties have resided over the past six years. My decision to volunteer for her opponent in the 2006 primary based on my gut feelings about who best represented my political interests has been vindicated.

As for electing her for her "values," I personally didn't witness her campaigning that much among the common folk of her district, so many of us -- foolishly, it seems -- trusted that her values were in line with the Democratic Party platform. She certainly never appeared at my door to discuss issues, and I'm retired, at home almost all the time. The only mailer I received from her was one she shared with Hollis French, a real Democrat. Perhaps she is speaking of the values she apparently shares with DINO Bill Sheffield and his buddies, the ones who were holding campaign events for her and most likely making behind-the-scenes promises. Rep. Holmes' deception is shameful, and I will support a recall effort.

The one good thing that has come from all of this is that I am now paying even more attention to what is going on in Juneau, to who is proposing and co-sponsoring what bills, to where my representative and senator fall on the issues. How can I keep pressure on them to listen to me and all of the other regular Alaskans who seem to be whistling into the wind on any number of very important issues? They work for us, all of us, and our voices need to be heard.

I sent Rep. Holmes a letter with a lot of questions that I want specifically answerd regarding her positions. I have received no personal answer, and her public statements leave a lot of wiggle room. I don't trust her.