It’s said that money almost always wins, and sadly, in the case of Alaska’s Ballot Measure 4, it appears it was true.

Ballot Measure 4 (Mining Initiative):
- No: 95,615 votes, 57.14 percent
- Yes: 71,722 votes, 42.86 percent

Measure 4 was aimed squarely at preventing the Pending Pebble Mind Disaster by enforcing water quality standards for fisheries.

Mine proponents (most of whom were handsomely paid for their efforts) confused the issue to the point that most voters had no idea what the measure was really about.

“This will close all existing mines” was a common – and wholly misleading – refrain, and a long list of other misdirections were similarly broadcast.

This is hardly the end of it; the Pending Pebble Mine Disaster still has a lot of hoops to jump through, and while this ballot measure may have failed, we can still keep the pressure on.

See you at a political knife fight, Tom Chandler.

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