Hannan, who represents District 33, said she’s in favor of an income tax<\/a> and informed those in attendance that she was preparing to unveil legislation the following day that would institute a tax on electronic cigarettes. She said she’s hoping to take away the stigma of the idea of taxes.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “Part of my reasoning for it is to get people talking about and using the word ‘tax’ and not flinching,” Hannan said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t [Frustrations run high as many testify in support of ferry system<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Another main line of questioning from members of the public was what the new legislators are doing to assert themselves in the Capitol. One early question was to the representatives, asking that with the House taking 30 days to get organized, how were they working to make sure the work got done in a timely manner?<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Story, who represents District 34, said it was vital for her and Hannan to get in with the majority in the House and it took time to get a strong majority together. She said meetings have been happening at a torrid pace to make up for lost time, and she said the House should have recommendations for changes to the governor’s budget ready around March 22.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “The House wants to put a very different budget out there from the governor’s proposal,” Story said.<\/p>\n Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, speaks while a crowd listens at a town hall meeting on Tuesday at Juneau-Douglas High School. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t The most passionate member of the public was University of Alaska Southeast freshman (and JDHS graduate) Noah Williams. As he stood in line to speak, Williams wrote up notes to himself on his laptop. When he arrived at the microphone, he whipped the crowd into a frenzy, accusing Dunleavy of being a “bully” and of trying to ruin the state’s economy in the name of resource extraction.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Many attendees clapped and even whooped as Williams became more and more demonstrative, and people came up to him afterward and thanked him for saying what he said.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t Kiehl responded calmly but confidently, saying he and his fellow Juneau legislators weren’t going to be intimidated by anyone, despite how political and polite they seemed.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “The two representatives sitting next to me are as tough as they come in this building,” Kiehl said. “I’m not intimidated by somebody I’ve got to crane my neck at. I’ve had to do it all my life. Neither of them are intimidated by anybody.”<\/p>\n Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, speaks while Reps. Andi Story, center, and Sara Hannan listen at a town hall meeting on Tuesday at Juneau-Douglas High School. (Alex McCarthy | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t In an interview after the meeting, Williams expressed that he still wanted to see a little more fire from the legislative delegation.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t “I trust the intentions of all three people here tonight. That said, I think they’re a little too nice and a little too afraid to attack the governor.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t![\"Rep.](\"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/15936416_web1_031219_townhall2.jpg\")
<\/a>![\"Sen.](\"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/15936416_web1_031219_townhall1.jpg\")
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