John Aronno

Name: John Aronno Location: Anchorage, AK I think the most important thing to do in life is to show up, keep showing up, and hope others start showing up too. That's my goal.

A little about me

Alaska adopted me back in 2006. Exiting California and the better part of a decade in the music industry, I wanted a fresh start. So, I hopped in the car heading north. When the ‘08 elections came around, I found myself completely fascinated with the political environment here, and immersed in the amazing people that I was introduced to; a community like none I had ever experienced. I realized that it wasn‘t acceptable to only stand up once every four years. This was going to be my life. Every minute of it. I started a blog, which I had no idea at the time was actually a trap door into the most elaborate, stressful, inspiring rabbit hole that I continue to fall through today: Alaskan politics.

I was the recipient of the 2010 Alaska Press Association's Suzan Nightengale Award for Best Columnist in a small paper for his work with University of Alaska Anchorage's the Northern Light, former radio talk show host of Studio 1080 on Alaska's Voice: KUDO 1080am, guest host on the Shannyn Moore Show on KOAN 1020am, contributor to the Anchorage Press, the Alaska Dispatch, and Bent Alaska. In a previous life, I was a touring musician as the front man of the bands Thought Crime and Sleep in Fame. Currently, I'm a Political Science Major at UAA, the President of the Alaska Young Democrats, I run the Alaska Commons blog with my wife, Heather Aronno, and am most likely outside playing with the dogs.

I would describe myself as a

blogger

Why I deserve a Netroots Nation Scholarship

Whether it's for labor, equal rights, fair elections, peace activism, health care, climate change, or any other of the humbling array of issues facing our community, I try to make sure that I am a part of the dialog; preferably from a front row seat. This has put me in some very unfriendly rooms. I’ve volunteered for campaigns, run phone banks out of my living room, helped organize a dinner to celebrate diversity after our mayor vetoed equal rights legislation, coordinated a Rally to Restore Sanity event, helped run a Drinking Liberally chapter, hosted a local radio talk show, headed the Alaska Young Democrats, and worked to help put together and run multiple candidate forums. Those are tangible things that I can do, through hard work, determination, and insanely unhealthy amounts of coffee. What I can't do, on my own, is attain the chance to meet and hear some of the founding fathers of modern day activism. If for no other reason to say thanks. And hope that I pick up a trick or two for when I get back home.

I manage these blogs

Alaska Commons

The blogs I use most are

the Mudflats
Henkimaa

What first inspired me to get involved

When I first moved up here, I would stream Air America online. Given Alaska's unique role in the race, there was a lot of focus. Newer to the state, I didn't know a lot of people, but I began to attend rallies; both in support of Obama and in not-so-much support of Sarah Palin. Every person I met had so much more to them than the presidential election. War veterans pleading for an end to our overseas occupations, an LGBT community seeking equal rights under the law, American workers under attack from the private sector... I realized that none of these problems would be solved by any one specific individual being elected. So many people I met became friends. And their struggles became mine. I experienced that old saying: "Today is the first day of the rest of your life."

How I've gotten others involved

I believe in the moniker that if you want to make change, you need to show up and get involved. I got involved with the local Democratic Party and became the president of the Alaska Young Democrats, and work on campus to introduce students to politics, emphasizing the reality that in Alaska, all politics really is local. Through the Drinking Liberally chapter in Anchorage, I tried my best to give people a place to go and people to meet. Alaska, most of the year, is behind closed doors, and people who are new to the state often times don't know that there is a like-minded community out there that is waiting for them.
Through the Alaska Commons blog as well as the other news sites I contribute to, I am afforded the most important tool one can receive: a microphone. And I've benefited from a community that reminds me every day why I work so hard, and why there is so much more to do.

The blog post I am most proud of

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/bigotry-equality-and-city-i-love?page=0,0

Why I think participation in the blogosphere is important

I was reading an article today about a new service provided by Clear Channel that offers voice over actors to call in to your radio show and ask scripted questions. I bruised my desk a little bit. I recently lost a radio show host gig when our progressive radio station became a Fox News station. Those two examples are just a drop in the bucket regarding why blogs are so important. They are independent and unrestricted. The content is absolutely at the discretion of the blogger. We are the pamphleteers of the modern, technological era. If our voices are ever silenced, democracy is fully lost to the sitcom.

More about my involvement with DFA and local work

I am! I've got your sticker on my laptop, your tweets re-tweeted, your facebook postings re-posted, and I recommend you as one of the integral sources to pay attention to.

More about my volunteer work

Currently my wife and I are volunteering on multiple Anchorage Municipal Assembly races. Over the past year, we've worked on a gubernatorial campaign, senate campaign, and multiple legislative and muni races.

My Twitter manifesto on online activism

Laziness is a sad ambivalence to the truth while speaking into a mic for a paycheck. I prefer to show up and give a damn.

My suggested bumper sticker slogan

Start Giving A Damn About Your Community.

My idea for a cool new online action

I'm not a big fan of changing your profile picture, or encouraging people to post something as their status. Keep telling the truth. Say it loud and say it often. And demand the same from others. Online and on the street.