Gov. Mike Dunleavy chooses his speaking engagements so that he has the best chance of getting a supportive audience.

He did that with the Dunleay/Koch Network road show and he is doing it again Friday in North Pole. He is to speak from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Good Friday, the day the Christian world marks the crucifixion.

“The Church at North Pole," at 2244 Peridot St., is to host Dunleavy, former Fairbanks assembly member Lance Roberts said on Facebook and by email.

“Please come out, learn the reality of the budget and let the governor know you support him fighting for the people of Alaska against the entrenched state that refuses to address the problem,” Roberts said.

The pastor of the church, Aaron Richert, posted on Facebook last month in defense of the Dunleavy plan for a 41 percent budget cut to the University of Alaska.

“Like any other business, if funds are down then they need to make changes to get more customers (students) or make cuts. You don’t see other struggling businesses expecting government handouts to keep them afloat,” wrote Richert, who went to two Baptist colleges and studied business management at the University of Phoenix, which is a business.

When a commenter mentioned that UA is not a business and is in the Alaska Constitution, the pastor replied, ”I was unaware of that and realize the fundamental problem runs deeper than I realized, enshrined in the Constitution. By the way, I went to a private university that received zero state funds and it was way cheaper than UAF. Also, they are growing, building, and thriving, in a high tax state.”

It’s not a problem that the university is mentioned in the Alaska Constitution. It is a vital institution for Alaska’s future and one that deserves support, not opposition, from the governor.