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Issues

My highest priority is to listen to the needs of the communities across the North Slope and Northwest Arctic.


This is a large district, and the most pressing needs are different across the region. In many parts of the Northwest Arctic, communities need water and sanitation infrastructure, erosion mitigation, and a strong public safety presence in villages. Through Voice of the Arctic Inupiaq, I participated in a community needs assessment that identified more activities for youth, job opportunities and economic development, and good schools as top priorities. I’m running because these needs are urgent, and our district deserves a representative that will listen to the people from our communities, and put the needs of our district first. I will do that. I will listen. I will work collaboratively with my colleagues in the legislature, and I will make sure our district has a strong voice. 

Resource Development

The needs of our people are unique. We have lived on these lands in harsh environments since time immemorial. To do so, we had to exhibit our Inupiaq values like Cooperation, Respect for Others, and Humility and rely on each other for survival.

 

The vast wealth of the Great State of Alaska is derived from House District 40, from the Red Dog Mine to the North Slope Oil Fields. We have demonstrated that the residents have been and continue to be careful stewards in developing infrastructure in accordance with our Inupiaq values. 

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Most residents in HD40 rely on subsistence hunting on our lands, rivers, and oceans to sustain our physical and cultural well-being as a link to our ancestors and traditions. We recognize that in order to increase infrastructure and revenues that our communities heavily rely upon, we must support resource development while respecting the knowledge and culture of our people.
 

Education

The children of our great state are our most important resource; they are our future workforce, lawmakers, teachers, and healthcare workers. 
 
Over the last decade, our schools have endured a 20% cut in education funding, equivalent to a Base Student Allocation (BSA) loss of $1,413 per student. Our legislature had the opportunity to reverse half the last decade's education cuts, but it failed to do so.
 
We need a statutory increase to the BSA to move toward a positive step in stabilizing school funding. We can no longer ask districts to rely on one-time funding that does not provide the stability necessary to address issues within our education systems to support our children. 
 
I was raised by an educator, and it was through her hard work and dedication to maintaining our language that my passion stems from. My heart is in education and service, and I feel so fortunate that I have the opportunity to contribute and serve in this capacity. My work and motivation are in remembrance and in recognition of my Aaka. 

Infrastructure

I will work with other legislators to secure funding for water and sewage projects, rebuilding our community buildings and schools, airports, and erosion mitigation. I will make sure that the State is doing its part to match federal funds, and help bring more statewide awareness to the challenges many of our communities are facing. 

Public Safety

In too many communities across the Northwest Arctic, community members that experience violence are not treated with the dignity of a rapid response from law enforcement. 

 

We need to make sure that everyone knows that domestic violence and sexual violence will have consequences, and that people who bring their stories forward will be treated with respect and care. 

 

The violence we are seeing across our communities does not reflect our communities, it reflects the trauma and violence that came to us. We will heal and address the roots of this violence by strengthening our connection to our traditional values. The State has to be a partner in that process – from our schools, child welfare, to public safety response. 

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