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Aleutian Islands: One district or two?

February 17th 3:23 pm | Hannah Heimbuch Print this article   Email this article   Create a Shortlink for this article

Alaska's Aleutian Islands are on the chopping block.

But whether or not the Chain gets split in two, remains to be seen.

In the current proposal, legislative districts are redrawn so the Aleutians are divided into two districts, instead of just one, with the split happening at Unimak Pass.

This is one of many redistricting measures being debated across the state and oral arguments for the Alaska Redistricting Board's current proposal will be heard in Alaska's Supreme Court on March 13 in Anchorage.

The proposal was already nixed earlier this month Superior Court Judge Michael McConahy.

In the proposed district map, the eastern portion of the Chain would remain paired with the Bristol Bay area, while the western Aleutians, including Unalaska, would slide into a district with Bethel and Nunivak Island.

The reasoning behind that decision is not completely rooted in the politics and demographics of the Aleutians themselves.

Rather, it stemmed from an attempt to satisfy a federal mandate that requires Alaska districts to maintain Alaska Native voting strength when redrawing district lines. Alaska is one of nine states covered in Section V of the federal voting rights act, which prioritizes the Native voice in state politics.

When the board was considering an earlier proposal that did not split the Aleutians, an element of that statewide plan paired senators Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel, and Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak.

So why does that matter?

The board heard considerable opposition from Alaska's Native community for a plan putting these two senators together, said Taylor Bickford, the executive director of the board.

The federal mandate requires consideration to Native incumbents when redefining districts, and the overlying concern heard from the community was that Hoffman could lose a re-election if pitted unexpectedly against Stevens.

As a cochair of the senate finance committee, Bickford said, Hoffman may well be the most powerful Alaska Native legislator in the state. Putting him in a position to lose his seat due to redistricting could put the board in violation of that mandate to maintain Alaska Native voting strength.

"The decision to split the Aleutians was certainly not the board's first choice," said Bickford.

That feedback sent them back to the drawing board and the new plan, which includes splitting the Chain was reached to save Hoffman and Stevens from being played against each other.

All of those considerations aside, it seems a majority of Aleutian leadership is against a decision to divide the region. That includes Rep. Bryce Edgmon, D-Dillingham, currently representing District 37. At this time, that includes the Aleutian and Bristol Bay regions.

"I support what the superior court has ruled," Edgmon said. "I would like very much for my district to be reconstituted and have the Aleutians back into the district."

A similar sentiment is echoed by leaders in the Aleutian East Borough, which took a formal stance against the proposal last June. Its opposition to the division of the Chain stems largely from a desire to keep all of the East Borough communities in one district, said East Borough Natural Resources Director Ernie Weiss. If the current plan is approved, Akutan would be split from its neighboring villages.

"Our communities have a very rich cultural heritage, and to split (them) doesn't make sense," said borough Communications Manager Laura Tanis. "Also, our economies are very closely tied together."

A division of the Chain violates redistricting law as much as any other consideration, said City Administrator Paul Day of Sand Point, which is the largest community in the East Aleutian Borough.

"This is a contiguous part of the state," Day said. "Part of the redistricting rules is you don't carve up like places. If there (are) any like places, Sand Point, King Cove and Dutch Harbor are certainly that."

The proposal on the table now would put Dutch with the western islands and Sand Point with the eastern.

This is one of several concerns the Supreme Court will hear in March. Until that time, it remains to be seen where those lines will actually go.

Whichever way the Supreme Court takes it, Bickford said he expects the process to be timely, with a decision coming before March is up.

 

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