{"id":44951,"date":"2019-03-20T09:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-03-20T17:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/photos-rally-for-ferries-gets-underway-at-capitol\/"},"modified":"2019-03-20T15:24:16","modified_gmt":"2019-03-20T23:24:16","slug":"photos-rally-for-ferries-gets-underway-at-capitol","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/photos-rally-for-ferries-gets-underway-at-capitol\/","title":{"rendered":"‘We’re not giving up our ferries’: Hundreds rally at the Capitol"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t

Hundreds gathered outside the Alaska State Capitol on Wednesday shouting cries to “Save our state!”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

The Alaska Public Employees Association held a Save the Alaska Marine Highway System rally to protest the governor’s proposed plan to stop public funding for the ferry system in October. Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s proposed budget would cut the ferry system’s funding by 75 percent in the next fiscal year, and he has commissioned another study to look into options for privatizing the service.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“They might as well produce a bill that sends us back to territorial days because that’s what they’re trying to do,” said City and Borough of Juneau Assembly member Michelle Bonnet Hale.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

[Beyond the budget: What are the options to extend ferry service past October?]<\/ins><\/a><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Several legislators and public officials spoke on the steps of the Capitol, leading chants and preaching the importance of the Alaska Marine Highway System.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, took to the megaphone, and told the crowd, “Our job is to get the message through loud and clear to the administration: We’re not giving up our ferries.”<\/p>\n

\"Hundreds<\/a>

Hundreds of people attend the Alaska Public Employees Association’s Save the Alaska Marine Highway System rally in front of the Capitol on Wednesday, March 20, 2019. (Michael Penn | Juneau Empire)<\/p><\/div>\t\t\t\t

Last week, a record number number of people testified before the House Transportation committee on the ferry system. According to numbers provided by Stutes, on Tuesday, 484 Alaskans signed up to testify to the committee, the highest recorded on any topic since the Legislative Information Office began tracking testimony. Another 133 testified on Thursday, bringing the total to 617. There were so many people in attendance that an overflow room was needed at times. Additionally, 241 submitted written testimony.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

[Read more here: Frustrations run high as many testify in support of ferry system<\/a>]<\/ins><\/p>\n\t\t\t\t

“Thank you all for coming out and setting a record for public testimony in the Alaska Legislature,” said Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau, as he spoke at the rally. “Traveling freely around our country, and in this case our state, is part of who were are. It connects our cultures… it doesn’t matter if we’re talking about commerce, if we’re talking about school kids, if we’re talking about sports, if we’re talking about culture. The AMHS is what connects us in coastal Alaska.”<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t