The Haines Borough, like Petersburg before it, is objecting to being joined into a new Juneau-dominated legislative district.
The Alaska Redistricting board last week dramatically redrew Southeast Alaska’s election districts on the orders of the Alaska Supreme Court.
Now, instead of Petersburg being joined to Democratic Rep. Beth Kerttula’s downtown and Douglas district, Haines is being proposed to be added to Republican Rep. Cathy Muñoz’ Mendenhall Valley district.
That’s got Haines incensed, and resulted in an emergency Assembly meeting Friday to vote to challenge the new maps in court.
“We do not believe that we are socio-economically integrated with the Mendenhall Valley, we don’t have the same concerns, the same needs,” said Haines Mayor Stephanie Scott.
“We see Mendenhall Valley as a suburban community and we are a rural community,” she said.
The Redistricting Board’s action took Haines, and many others, by surprise Monday when it adopted new Southeast maps that grouped Haines with Juneau. The board had previously attempted to group enough Native voters together to ensure they’d have a strong, if not majority, voice in at least one Southeast district. Monday’s change meant that Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, would be in the same House district as Muñoz.
Scott said Haines fears being “swallowed up” by Juneau. There are only 3,000 people in the new district’s small communities of Haines, Skagway and Gustavus, compared to 14,000 in Juneau’s valley district, she said. Further, the valley district’s representative is likely to side with the downtown representative, she said.
“I can’t imagine that the representative is going to have as much time to listen to us as necessary,” she said.
Haines will be an even smaller part of the Senate district, made up of the two Juneau-dominated House districts.
Thomas, who now represents a district stretching throughout Southeast and all the way to Cordova, is easily accessible because he lives in Haines, but Scott said that’s not why Haines objects to the new plan.
“It’s not about Bill Thomas or not Bill Thomas, it’s about our voice,” she said.
Haines and other communities outside Juneau are much different than Juneau, she said.
“It’s an urban-rural question as much as anything else,” she said.
“It’s about the value of a rural lifestyle,” she said. “We don’t want the (Juneau access) road.”
Redistricting board members said the Alaska Supreme Court requirement to redraw the Southeast map came after court decisions elsewhere suggested what had been considered a “Native influence” district with about 35 percent Native voters wasn’t good enough to meet the requirements of the Voting Rights Act requirement to maximize minority voting strength.
With no way to draw a map in Southeast that reached majority Native, the Supreme Court instead wanted maps drawn to meet the Alaska Constitution’s requirements of compactness, contiguity and common interests.
That lead to the dramatic change, they said.
Scott said she didn’t know whether Haines could win its case or not.
“This is not an argument you can make because you can win, it’s an argument you make because it is the right thing to do,” she said.
• Contact reporter Pat Forgey at 523-2250 or at patrick.forgey@juneauempire.com.
Comments (17)
Add commentits
about suburban vs rural, they don't have the same concerns, we don't want the road. Ms Scott the road was not proposed to go to Haines, so what other concerns are you concerned about? I'd be willing to guess they're similar to those of most other SE communities, schools, transportation, growth opportunities, quality of life & lifestyles. Not so much different than those of Juneau. It'll be interesting to read the follow up article after your emergency meeting. Not to worry Juneau gentleman still prefer Haines, if for no other reason because your bars stay open till 5am hiccup.... errr belch
Only so many options
When a district has to include a certain amount of the population and you begin in Juneau there are really a limited number of ways to draw the lines. Then toss in some kind of consideration for a district that has some continuity and your ability to come up with a district becomes even more limited. If not Haynes and not Petersburg than what is the next option?
Districts from all over the state have similar problems when it comes down to who is included in what district. There are very few similarities when you have all these villages with less than 100 residents, a number of communities with less than 1,500 residents, and larger communities like Anchorage, Fairbanks and Juneau.
One thing for sure, I do not want is more legislators. And that is what a number of those in the legislature keep indicating as the solution. So I question if a hidden agenda by this Board is to keep irritating various communities to the point where those communities will be ready to rally for more politicians.
Some of us in Haines actually like this new district.
It is compact and contiguous. One of our Assembly members actually swam from one end of this district to the other.
A Northern Lynn Canal District has many interests and factors in common, including sustainable economic development, economic development and support in our native communities, and the native groups within our communities, regular reliable affordable ferries, including a common day ferry in the summer, healthy watersheds, wild fish stocks, fishing interests, tourism interests, glaciers in our back yard, whales, sea lions, hooligan, salmon, bears, eagles. Haines and Skagway are united by hydropower. Haines, Skagway, Klukwan share a public radio station.
Listening to each other respectfully will be a good exercise for all. We can embrace these opportunities and challenges.
Likewise, the new configuration is more fair to the rest of SE, who are also more united geographically and by their own common interests. The region as a whole has a chance to really pull together for what is best for all of SE.
Haines, Chilkat Valley and
Haines, Chilkat Valley and Klukwan will reeeeeeallly miss Bill Thomas based on 2012 CIP success.
We expect whoever represents this new district
will keep the interests of the newly added rural areas and their needs in mind, as well as the needs and interests of folks in North Juneau. Jobs, opportunity, health, boat harbors, and the beautiful lands in which we live should be important to all. The rural areas will want their rural subsistence rights respected and supported. Haines folks are always treated well in Juneau. Juneau folk always welcome in Haines. Gustavus, we love you also. And Klukwan, the heart of our cultural heritage, we can all support your goals and needs.
None of our neighbors want to be associated with us????
Juneau needs to take a time out and re-evaluate itself. None of our neighbors want to associate themselves with us politically? What is up with that? Is Juneau too far gone that Alaskans cannot stand the thought of being part of our social-economic collective?
Wake-up, our neighbors think WE SUCK!
not only the neighbors
To bj there are many right here in Juneau that think this town SUCKs Many wish they could get out but no one is willing to pay what it would take to sell out so they are stuck here.........
57
channels & there's nothing on
Let's be like Nebraska
OK, first I'll admit that I haven't really thought this all the way through, but... Why do we need a bicameral state legislature? 60 legislators, a unicameral legislature, smaller districts, problem solved.
A bicameral legislature makes sense at the national level... Alaska's senator's have just as much say as California's. But here, it's just, "let's combine 2 House districts into a Senate district." There's practically no difference between the apportionment in the House and in the Senate.
Obviously, you could point to the Senate standing the way of the Governor's oil tax giveaway as a reason for a bicameral legislature. Any other good reasons?
Why Haines and Juneau share more similarities than not
They both are run by Green Mayors
They both are not sustainable without massive help from the legislature
They both fight every chance to build a road
They both have aging populations that want more services like swimming pools but exempt Seniors from taxes whenever possible
They both take more than their fair share from rural Alaska
Then VOTE
Last election Munoz received 5,461 votes. She was unopposed.
When she won against Andrea Doll she received 4,315 votes to Doll's 3,875. That's a difference of 440.
I would bet that the votes in Gustavus, Haines, and Skagway will be of great interest to anyone running for that seat.
El Boorba
In 2008, with 53% of the vote, Representative Munoz was the only Alaska Republican to beat an incumbent Democrat. And that year Juneau voted entirely Democrat - Begich instead of Stevens, Berkowitz instead of Young, etc. - except for that state house race. Representative Munoz had a primary opponent in 2008 which left her completely without campaign funds in August whereas her opponent for November had no primary opponent and a record amount of money. When aggregate spending by her 2008 opponents is compared with how much she spent she was easily outspent by a ratio of 4 to 1, yet she won! I think that best explains why there was no opponent to Rep. Munoz in 2010; she is extremely well liked and a tireless campaigner.
I don't think there is any other legislator that has helped so many constituents solve problems they have with government over the past 4 years. Additionally, Rep. Munoz is the person to see when people identify needed legislative fixes, and many people will tell you that. Finally, I cannot imagine anyone doing as well standing up and debating the issues as well as Representative Munoz does.
baffling that what I wrote above gets thumbs down...
So saying that the votes in Gustavus, Haines, and Skagway will be valued and fought for, Munoz's actual results, and urging people to vote gets thumbs down?
huh?
and gdog... i just put forth numbers without any judgment. I think your thinking is flawed. I think there could be a much better Rep. than Munoz, but there could also be a lot worse...like Doll. Doll lost that election based upon a sober comparison by voters of the candidates. Being in Juneau for a long time I will never vote for Kathy Engstrom... However, it is a rare Republican that I will vote for. I can name two: Sturgulewski and Stevens. I went to school with Kathy Engstrom. Silver spoon "business successes" like her do not impress me. She is at best and worst, inept.
The better candidate won in 2008. I am not in that district, but I would have been hard pressed to vote for Doll. I don’t think I could have done it. That is big for me given how many times I have voted against Kathy Engstrom rather than for someone else, but Doll was horrible.
My mother always voted for Don Young. She had watched him, live on CSPAN, get his hand stuck in a trap he had just described as painless. for the next several minutes staff struglled to get it off his hand while he was in obvious pain and agony. My mom said idiots like that do more damage than help to the causes they support. Doll was just like Don Young.
Whoever runs in that district will fight for every vote. Given that there are probably around 1/3 of the votes in those three towns, it would be a safe bet that they will not be ignored.
Glacier Dogs
Thank you for the comment. But since I, nor others know your identity, could it be that you are a friend, relative associate of Rep. Munoz and that is why you so strongly support her??
If you are a relative, then what you say is understandable: family fights for family interests. But if so, please don't try to appear to be an objective, outside, independent commentator.
Glacier dogs
When you say "I don't think there is any other legislator that has helped so many constituents solve problems they have with government over the past four years" does that mean that other elected representatives like Rep. Kertulla, Sen. Egan, Sen. Stedman, Sen. Kookesh, Rep. Bill Thomas, Rep. Peggy Wilson, have done nothing for their constituents and people of Southeast - and that only one representative has done so?
El Boorba, don't fret....
I've had the same thing - so I'm pretty sure there are a few who just thumbs-down every comment made by a particular person, as opposed to the merit of the comment itself. Some folks just never grow out of the playground.
:)