After the Voting

November 14, 2022

Dear Friends and Neighbors,

I hope you had a good Veterans' Day weekend! I was stuck out of town, so I missed the local observances, but I want to thank everyone who wore our nation's uniform.

So where has the newsletter been the last 5+ months?! Legislative ethics rules, designed in part to keep us from using government money to campaign, required a pause. Now that we’ve all voted, let's start getting caught up.

Rep. Story and I were privileged to remember Dr. Lawrence Lee Oldaker at the UAS Commencement. I wrote a citation honoring his education career, civil rights work, contributions to the university, volunteerism, and more. I will miss him a lot.

Votes, votes, votes

The Division of Elections is counting votes, screening envelopes, and checking voter rolls. There's a lot more to come. We'll get some more results from early and absentee voters Tuesday the 15th.

But ballots from travelers, college students, and active duty military folks can still arrive for a while. Once that deadline passes, the state will tally the rest and do the ranked choice counting for races where no one has 50% plus at least one vote. That'll include a few legislative races, but mostly it will tell us the final outcome of the U.S. House and Senate contests. Look for those November 23—and good luck avoiding talk of politics at the Thanksgiving table the following day.

Statewide, it seems clear Gov. Dunleavy will have a second term. That means we’ll have our work cut out for us defending schools, ferries, and more. It may also make a meaningful fiscal plan tough to pass.

Those goals get easier if we can organize bipartisan coalitions in the legislature. Working across the aisle is usually the most effective way do what’s best for Alaskans. I've been working hard with colleagues to make that happen. I’ll update you as we learn more.

Rep. Hannan and I toured the underground operations at Kensington. We also brought our staff—and nobody had any claustrophobic incidents!

Under the Mountain

I promised summer and fall updates, right? In September, Rep. Hannan and I went to see the Kensington mine. I appreciated the chance to learn more about the work and all the people who do it—from the water treatment plant, to the geologists, to the folks underground.

It's a fascinating operation, and it's changed a lot since I last saw it in 2010. They're leaving less gold unrecovered and are looking at ways to concentrate trace amounts of the rare earth element Tellurium, which they often find along with the gold.

Mining is a big employer and bigger local taxpayer in our region. But money isn't everything. As you might imagine, we had a lot of questions about safety and environmental impacts. The safeguards are extensive—as they must be to do it right in Southeast Alaska.

Responsible development at Kensington reflects more than careful engineering and chemistry. It has very different placement, scale, and risks from irresponsible prospects like Pebble in Bristol Bay, or the KSM in British Columbia. (The KSM proposal is so huge it would threaten both Alaska's Unuk and BC's Nass rivers at the same time!) A first-hand look was immensely valuable.

All my best,

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Events & Happenings Around District Q

Skagway Emblem Bazaar

On Nov. 19, you can check out the work of local artists. Perfect timing for holiday shopping!

Skagway Food Film

Ancient foodways and indigenous food sovereignty are fascinating topics. That makes "Gather" a perfect choice for the library's Movie Meetup Nov. 20.

Haines Backcountry Movie Night

The Haines Avalanche Center is showing some great films Nov. 17!

Haines Women’s Club

Christmas Bazaar

On Nov. 19, head to the Haines school to get a jump on that holiday shopping!

Haines Wildlife Film Festival

The Takshanuk Watershed Council has an amazing lineup of short films on everything from bees to bighorn sheep. Catch them November 18 at the Chilkat Center!

Juneau UAS Creative Showcase

On Nov. 18, head to the Egan Lecture Hall to see a showcase of work from Art, Theatre, and Writing faculty and join a community discussion.

Juneau Witch

Theatre in the Rough's latest dark comedy is a modern fable. Catch it at McPhetres Hall starting November 18!

Juneau Climate

Soundscapes Concert

UAF Scientists and Juneau composers teamed up to create music interpreting climate research. Check it out Nov. 18 & 19!