In two weeks, voters in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta will choose between two candidates to represent them in House District 38. Darren Deacon, a Republican from Upper Kalskag, lays out his views on public safety, the Donlin mine, climate change, and a controversial salmon habitat ballot initiative.
Deacon doesn’t bring legislative experience to the table. But he says that his experience as tribal chief, a city council member, and a private sector employee can fill that gap. Deacon hails from Upper Kalskag, with roots in the Yukon village of Grayling. He’s Athabascan and Yup'ik, and points to his traditional upbringing as something he can bring to the Alaska Legislature.
"When I was real young, two years old, sadly I lost my father, you know, and my grandparents and my aunties and my uncles took me up [to raise me] in the summers," Deacon said. "I was lucky that my dad now, Fred, brought me up in a traditional manner. We would learn about traditions, about respecting elders and about respecting the land, the people, the animals."
Deacon says that he’s a lifelong Republican, but feels that he can transcend parties to represent the needs of House District 38. If elected, he plans to focus on defending the Permanent Fund Dividend, protecting the subsistence lifestyle, and public safety.
Public safety is obviously a top concern in the Y-K Delta, and making sure that villages can recruit and retain village public safety officers and other law enforcement is one of the biggest public safety challenges. Deacon says that a solution would be multi-tiered.
"I believe we need to probably do away with SB 91, [which deals with] catch-and-release," Deacon said. "We need to have more time off; paid time off for VPSOs in the villages. We need to have a collaboration with health corporation to where you have people working toward not just suicide prevention and awareness, but to where you have counselors in every village."
He also supports higher pay for VPSOs and tribal police officers. As for protecting the Permanent Fund Dividend, Deacon doesn't agree with the Legislature’s decision to dip into the fund for the state budget this past fiscal year. Deacon argues that the state could instead trim fat from its budget and encourage oil development on the North Slope as one way to generate more revenue.
"But we need to sit down and look and not just cut the money off," Deacon said.
He says that residents should get the highest dividend possible based on the traditional method of calculating it.
Those aren’t the only controversial issues in the Delta. There’s also natural resource development, protecting salmon habitat, and climate change. The biggest environmental flashpoint in the region is the proposed Donlin gold mine, which could be one of the largest in the world, if completed. Deacon earned Calista Regional Native Corporation's endorsement a couple weeks ago because he supports the mine.
"I believe that choice to develop or not to develop the Donlin gold mine was made 20 years ago. What it comes down to is we need to have a couple different plans," Deacon said. "One, to try to make sure that we maximize if Donlin goes through, that we maximize local hire, and not just on the small jobs, but we need to put local people into very high positions so they are the ones making decisions on environmental issues. They could be the ones that really make a difference, and that ties in that we need to maximize the environmental safety."
Deacon also plans to vote against a salmon habitat ballot measure (Ballot Measure 1) that would toughen protections. He says that he is voting no because he thinks it will extend government overreach which, as a Republican, he’s against. As for climate change, Deacon acknowledges the seriousness of it, and if elected he says he will look for ways to maximize federal funding for village relocations.
The article has been updated to reflect that Darren Deacon is both Athabascan and Yup'ik.