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Southeast News
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EXTENDED AUDIO: McAdams talks to KCAW. Recorded Aug. 31, with the help of the Alaska Public Radio Network.
But the other two members of Alaska’s Congressional delegation say they’ll keep the measure in play.
Congressman Don Young introduced the first Sealaska bill in 2007.
But Lisa Murkowski’s office has been doing most of the recent heavy lifting. That’s in part because she’s the ranking Republican on the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which handles such legislation.
In an internet interview earlier this year, Murkowski took the lead in defending the bill against critics.
"There’s been some concern somehow or other, Sealaska is getting something extra, something that they’re not entitled to. And what I think is important to appreciate is the history, and the fact that Sealaska remains incomplete in terms of their conveyances under ANCSA," she says.
Murkowski’s narrow primary defeat still leaves her the power to push the measure through in her final months.
But Robert Dillon, her Natural Resources Committee spokesman, says that is not in the works.
"I’m not aware of any plans to move the bill in the immediate future. There’s certainly no plans to rush the bill through until it’s finished and ready to go. And at that point it would be made public, again, with any changes," he says.
Murkowski will serve until early January. But Dillon says scheduled recesses leave only about five weeks for Congressional action.
Don Young continues to sponsor a version of the measure. Spokeswoman Meredith Kenny says he is committed to seeing the bill through.
He serves on the House Natural Resources Committee, a key panel for the bill. But he no longer holds the leadership post he once had.
The third member of Alaska’s Congressional delegation, Senator Mark Begich, is also a sponsor of Murkowski’s legislation.
"His goal is to get the bill passed through Congress," says Begich spokeswoman Julie Hasquet.
She says he believes in the bill, which would allow Sealaska to select approximately 80,000 acres of the Tongass National Forest. That would be outside boundaries set in the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act.
"He continues to support the bill and whether it’s while Senator Murkowski is still in office or after she leaves office, if it hasn’t passed by then, Senator Begich will continue to work to get this bill passed," she says.
The chief contenders for Murkowski’s Senate seat are less positive about the bill.
"It would just create a high degree of economic impact in a way that would hurt Alaskans," says Republican candidate Joe Miller.
He slammed the legislation as a back-door deal during the primary. His campaign press staffers have not returned calls about the legislation since the August vote.
But in pre-election interviews, he criticized more than the process.
"The concern I have is that when you select outside boundaries it creates all sorts of uncertainty for private enterprise, other users, other stakeholders, that have come to depend on land that no one ever thought would be selected because it wasn’t within ANCSA boundaries. And so I think as a general concern, that is going to create, if you we go that route with this bill, uncertainty throughout the state, she says.
The Democrat in the race is less negative, but far from enthusiastic.
Senate candidate Scott McAdams has sat through meetings on the bill as Sitka’s mayor. But he would not say whether he’d sign on as a cosponsor.
"I think that the Sealaska land bill is a work in progress. I think as a general rule putting Native lands back into Native hands is the right thing to do," he says.
Sealaska officials were not available for interviews in time for this report. But spokesman Todd Antioquia sent an e-mail saying, quote, “We are not prepared to speculate and we will continue to evaluate all our options. We have legislation … with bipartisan support and we will continue working towards passage.”
Meanwhile, some bill opponents say it’s one of the reasons Murkowski lost to Miller.
Point Baker resident Don Hernandez, who has campaigned against the measure, says it cost the incumbent votes.
"On Prince of Wales Island I’m sure that there were a good number of people that voted against her specifically because of this bill. There may have even been a few people switching parties so they could vote for Joe Miller. It wouldn’t surprise me," he says.
An analysis by Native law attorney Donald Craig Mitchell, published in the Huffington Post, also suggested the bill could be a factor.
Despite the opposition, the incumbent pulled in about 57 percent of Southeast Alaska’s GOP primary vote. That’s a stronger return than most other parts of the state.
Web links:
- See the latest primary results.
- Link to the Scott McAdams campaign website.
- Connect to the Joe Miller campaign website.
- Watch an online interview with Lisa Murkowski by Alaska Internet Network’s Brad Fluetsch.
- Hear and interview with Joe Miller by KFSK's Melati Kaye.
- Link to a report on Scott McAdams' chances by KCAW's Ed Ronco in Sitka.
Rasmussen Reports surveyed 500 likely voters on the phone just hours after Murkowski conceded the GOP primary to Miller on Tuesday night. It shows Miller just six points ahead of McAdams, 50 to 44. Two percent of those surveyed are undecided and 4 percent said they’d support a different candidate. The margin of error is plus or minus 4 and a half percentage points.
The numbers are tighter than an earlier Public Policy poll of 1,300 likely voters that had McAdams 8 points behind Miller.
Scott McAdams spent elementary and middle school in Petersburg and Ketchikan, attended high school in California, and then returned to Alaska at age 20. He spent a summer working at a cannery butchering crab, then several years as a deckhand on a commercial fishing vessel.
At 27, he decided to return to college, and earned a degree in secondary education from Sitka’s Sheldon Jackson College in 2000. He served on the Sitka school board -- three years as chairman -- and has been mayor of the city and borough of Sitka since 2008.
“Sitka is a great little town,” McAdams said. “It’s a great place to live. But we’re 164 small towns in this state, even Anchorage.”
And becoming known in those 164 small towns could be job number 1 for a campaign facing Joe Miller, whose unexpected success against Murkowski in the primary, as well as support from the Tea Party Express and from former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, have earned him national exposure already.
McAdams spent the primary season as a weekend candidate, traveling the state during his off hours. He’s now taken a two-month unpaid leave from his job as director of Community Schools for the Sitka School District.
“Well, we have two months left to go and we will raise that kind of money to be able to have a competitive campaign here in the state, with the full media buy, and all the things that come with the campaign,” he said. “And we will win in November.”
As of Aug. 4, federal reports showed Miller’s campaign with about $283,000 in contributions, with more than two-thirds of that spent. The Tea Party Express also has spent roughly $115,000 supporting Miller separately.
McAdams’ numbers were last updated at the end of June, and show nearly $9,200 in contributions, with about half of that spent. But in the week since the election, the Web site ActBlue.com shows more than $45,000 in contributions to McAdams.
It remains to be seen whether McAdams will receive support from the Democratic National Committee or the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. McAdams says it doesn’t matter.
“The DSCC and the national Democratic Party doesn’t even know my name. And that’s fine by me,” he said. “I love the Alaskan Democratic Party, they’ve been behind me 100 percent, Sen. Mark Begich has been behind me 100 percent, and that’s just fine by me.”
But he acknowledged the support of the two national organizations would make a big difference.
“I’m not sure exactly what their strategy’s going to be. I’m not sure what their plan is,” he said. “This is a small population state. We can raise enough money to win. Nobody knew who Joe Miller was on the 31st of May.”
A poll taken last week showed McAdams was 8 points behind Miller. That’s based on a report from Public Policy Polling, which talked to roughly 1,300 likely voters on Aug. 27 and 28. Some 14 percent of the voters sampled in that poll said they are undecided.
“We’re working every day, making calls all over the state, talking to a lot of Alaskans,” McAdams said. “I think our message is resonating with a lot of people. We have been able to raise more dollars in the recent week, and we’ll continue to work hard throughout the course of the election to be competitive.”
McAdams said the numbers gave him hope, especially considering Miller’s widespread exposure so far.
“He’s been front and center in the Alaska media for the last five weeks to the tune of $700,000 dollars,” McAdams. “We haven’t spent any money on media and the fact that we’re only 7 to 8 points down tells me that we’re perfectly positioned to peak at the right time and win this election.”
Miller’s campaign could not immediately be reached, but a statement on his Web site says he intends to continue traveling the state and talking to people about “the answers needed to get our nation back on track.”
Interim City Administrator Bob Prunella says Officers Tony Wallace and Matt Tokuoka will be honored in a ceremony next Wednesday, Sept. 8, at 2 p.m. in the Hoonah High School gym. Prunella says he’s heard the memorial will be attended by law enforcement personnel from across the country.
Former Hoonah resident Carolyn Noe, who now lives in Juneau, has leased an Allen Marine catamaran to take people over for the memorial. She says she just wanted to help out any way she could.
“This community and all of Southeast communities have always been a real close knit family and helping in a time of need. So, I just felt that I needed to do something like this to help out,' she says.
She’s still sorting out the details, but Noe says the catamaran will go over to Hoonah and come back to Juneau in the same day. The Alaska Marine Highway System also plans to add ferry service to accommodate the service. Ferry system spokesman Roger Wetherell says details will be announced soon.
The suspect in the police shootings, 45-year-old John Marvin, Jr., was arraigned in Juneau on Tuesday. He’s accused of shooting Wallace and Tokuoka as they chatted with each other and their families Saturday night. Tokuoka was off duty at the time and Wallace’s mother, Debbie Greene, was doing a ride along with her son.
Robin Phillips of Anchorage attended the Senator’s concession speech. Phillips is a former volunteer and staffer for Murkowski. She says she looks forward to hearing Murkowski’s plans for the future.
"I’m bummed. She’s one of the best Senators I’ve had. And I’m said to see this turn of events. But she always puts Alaska first. And I think that’s why I know she would be great at whatever she decided to do," she says.
And Susan Fischetti from Eagle River said she sees a lot of people will feel the effects of Mrukowski’s departure.
"It’s not only a loss for our state. I think it’s a loss for our country. Because I feel that she was a young woman that really represented all the people, not just certain groups. She has Alaska in her heart, and I know that everything that she and her family did was for the good of our state. Never for herself," she says.
Senator Mark Begich said in a prepared statement that Murkowski served Alaskans with “energy and grace.” He said he was grateful for all the support she has given him for the two years they have served together.
The Republican Party is welcoming Joe Miller into its camp. Party Chairman Randy Ruedrich says he looks forward to working with Miller along with Don Young and Sean Parnell during this year’s General Election campaign.
And Democratic nominee for the Senate – Scott McAdams – called Senator Murkowski a “class act” who always put Alaska first. He – along with Begich – said they agreed with Murkowski on the majority of issues effecting Alaska.
She said it had been a “terribly long week” and “difficult on all sides,” during a press conference in Anchorage.
Murkowski had watched Miller’s lead dip and climb back during the course of Tuesday’s counting of absentee and other ballots but she said did not see a path to winning.
“Based on where we are right now, I don’t see a scenario, where the primary will turn out in my favor,” she told reporters. “I’m now conceding the race for the Republican nomination.”
She told reporters and several sullen supporters standing at her side that she had called Miller just before the press conference to tell him of her decision.
Murkowski thanked her supporters and called them the “best of the best.”
Prior to the press conference, Miller told KTUU-TV in Anchorage he felt “pretty good” about how the count had gone. He was asked if Murkowski should drop out. “No, that’s her decision,” he said.
Miller now faces Sitka Mayor Scott McAdams, the Democrat who easily won his party’s nomination.
Tuesday’s count showed Miller with 52,988 votes or 50.78 pct of the vote. Murkowski had 51,358 votes or 49.22 pct. Some 1,630 votes separated the two candidates. That was a margin similar to the one Miller had started with on Tuesday morning.
The Republican senate primary captured national headlines this past week as both campaigns sought to cast the returns in the most favorable light.
Miller’s candidacy was boosted early when he won the endorsement of former Governor Sarah Palin.
“Do you believe in miracles?!” Palin said in a Twitter message shortly after Murkowski’s announcement. “Thank you for your service, Sen. Murkowski. On to November!”
Miller, a Tea Party favorite, also had won the endorsement of Fox TV host and former GOP presidential candidate Mike Huckabee.
Throughout the campaign, Miller had chided Murkowski for being too liberal.
Murkowski had run strong in Anchorage and various other parts of the state, including Southeast. But Miller led in Fairbanks and in much of the Mat-Su Valley.