On Sunday night, the Democrats of House District 38 selected three potential nominees to replace Representative Zach Fansler, who resigned earlier this month following assault allegations. Two of their three choices are Alaska Native women, and all three candidates have deep ties to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
The party’s nominating committee interviewed a total of five applicants yesterday, then voted on their top choices and ranked them in the order that they preferred. The committee’s first choice is Tiffany Zulkosky, an executive at Bethel’s Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation. When she was in her twenties, Zulkosky was also elected to serve as the youngest mayor in Bethel’s history.
The committee’s second choice is Yvonne Jackson. She grew up in the Y-K Delta’s villages and now manages job training programs at the Association of Village Council Presidents (AVCP), the regional Native non-profit corporation. Their third choice is Raymond “Thor” Williams, a former Bethel Mayor and current city council member.
According to Diane McEachern, a professor at the University of Alaska’s Kuksokwim University Campus who serves on the nominating committee, the seven-person committee was looking for someone with the experience to hit the ground running when they arrive in Juneau. In a series of 30 to 40-minute interviews, they asked applicants about their views on tribal sovereignty and subsistence priority. They also asked them whether anything of concern might come up after a thorough background check.
According to McEachern, the committee was asked to submit the three names by Wednesday, February 21. Alaska’s state Democratic Party must submit the three names to Governor Walker by March 5. Governor Walker must select Representative Fansler’s replacement by March 14, though he is not obligated to choose any of the candidates that the party organization recommends.