FLASHLIGHT LETTER

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR LOREN LEMAN

550 W 7th Ave, Suite 1700

Anchorage, AK 99501

Dear, Lt. Governor Leman,

As you might have heard, the Anchorage Press is looking to fill an
upcoming vacancy. Tony Hopfinger, our current Editor and Chief of
Staff, is returning to a life of writing. We're gonna need a real
bulldog with writing and editing experience to fill the size-12 Teva
sandals he'll leave behind.

This presents an opportunity for you. Because of all the news your
office has been making lately about its use of the written word, Wev
Shea, for one, believes you should resign as Lt. Governor. If you do
end up resigning over the mess caused by your administration's editing
and writing on the upcoming ballot, you could come edit our paper.
That would kick ass!

We think you're qualified because you refused to bow down to pressure
from citizens who thought your office mangled language in their ballot
initiatives. In the case of Proposition 4, the initiative to remove
the governor's ability to fill a vacant U.S. Senate seat with an
appointee, you waited until the state Superior Court forced you to
revise the initiative's language. That's exactly the kind of
take-no-prisoners approach we appreciate. Plus, that tells us you're
familiar with the re-write process.

A good editor also knows how to write, and it seems you're capable at
that too. Your office drafted the opposition statement to Proposition
2, the initiative to decriminalize marijuana, then got a local doctor
to tweak it and sign it. Your chief of staff was forced to write the
opposition statement because you couldn't find anyone to write a
cogent version before the deadline. Flashlight is always under
deadline. We like that you decided the deadline was more important
than a conflict of interest, and we like the proactive way you handled
the situation.

Flashlight hereby invites you to apply to be our editor. If you've got
the balls to fight the Superior Court, you've got enough to lead us.
You'll have to apply like everyone else; we can't just give you the
job. If you do apply, there's one thing you should know before
accepting the job. We can't just re-print the entire paper if we make
a mistake like you can a ballot. But, what the heck, it's not like
we're trying to fill a vacant Senate seat or anything. We're just
trying to fill the news-hole.

Hi-Ho,

Flashlight