Election Day is Nov. 5. This week, KYUK is airing interviews with candidates who will be on the ballot for seats in the Alaska State House and in Congress.
There are four candidates on the ballot to represent the lower Kuskokwim, House District 38, in the Alaska State House. They are incumbent Rep. Conrad “CJ” McCormick (D-Bethel), Nellie Unangiq Jimmie (D-Toksook Bay), and Willy Keppel (VA-Quinhagak). Victoria Sosa (D-Bethel) will appear on the ballot, but has dropped out of the race.
Newcomer candidate Nellie Jimmie was the top candidate in the primary election, securing 44% of the vote. She has declined to do a standalone interview with KYUK before the general election, saying she’s “already spoken about the issues more than once.”
KYUK has compiled some of Jimmie’s answers to questions posed during KYUK’s 2024 House District 38 Candidate Forum on Oct. 24. Those questions were similar to the questions we would have asked if Jimmie had agreed to an interview.
Here is a transcript of those questions, which were asked by Evan Erickson of KYUK, Steve Strait of KEDI, and Kelly Lincoln of the Delta Discovery.
KYUK (Evan Erickson): Why are you running to represent House District 38?
Jimmie: I'm running because I believe that there needs to be an advocacy for the rural as well, as much as Bethel, and to protect our way of life and to just give that … strengthening the communities, not to divide, but to bring together and to show that there is strength in District 38, that we all can work together and accomplish as much as we can for each community that we need to make sure that they survive and thrive. Not survive, but thrive as well, so our people do not have to leave the village and be where they want to be.
KEDI (Steve Strait): What makes you the best candidate to represent the Kuskokwim Delta in the Alaska State House?
Jimmie: Well, I believe that what makes me a good candidate is living out in the rural area, seeing all the infrastructure needs and the basic living needs that our communities need, that are lacking, and why isn't it being addressed and put forth in motion to have villages, to have running water, more housings, and better public safety, even for the health aides, and safety for the community.
Delta Discovery (Kelly Lincoln): What's the biggest issue facing the Kuskokwim Delta, both in the short term, over the next two years, during the term you'd be serving, as well as the longer term?
Jimmie: For me, it's going to be housing. There's not enough homes and water and sewer infrastructure. It's all been proven too many times that that's a health issue, and we need to be able to provide housing and water and sewer for communities because it is a health issue and we need to keep our people healthy and strong.
KYUK: How should the state and Feds balance management of subsistence resources, and what should change about current management of fish or game to protect subsistence for future generations?
Jimmie: The people that we need to ask and get answers from are the Elders. They're the ones that have been here, and they've been taught from generations back. And they're the ones with the knowledge and carry it, and for us to survive we have to depend on them for their knowledge. I think it's important, because there's a lot of Elders that are passing away at a high rate, and to lose one Elder is to lose a book, a book of knowledge. So I think we do need to turn to our Elders and take as much advice from them [as possible].
KEDI: What's your stance on the proposed Donlin Mine project, and can you give us a yes or no answer to the question of support for the mine, followed by a why?
Jimmie: I cannot say yay or nay, but I will say I'm neutral, as I've spoken to many people in the communities, different communities, [about] what they think about the mine as well. So that's my stance.
Delta Discovery: What is your opinion of the state of health care on the Kuskokwim Delta? What do you think is working, and what do you think isn't working?
Jimmie: I'm very satisfied with how [the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation] has reached out to other communities and serves every community very well, and the support of getting new clinics out in villages. But the one thing that I keep hearing is that we need a medical examiner out in Bethel due to the fact of the cost of sending loved ones into Anchorage and not getting their loved ones back because they cannot afford it. So we need to shorten that process for families once they lose their loved ones, that they will not be held and they will be returned in a timely fashion for families.
KYUK: What do you think the biggest public safety concerns are on the Kuskokwim Delta, and how can you help address those and make communities safer?
Jimmie: I feel very deeply for anybody who is a [village police officer], a [village public safety officer], just the lack of support that they get, even from in their own village, because they have to go arrest their own family and they have to put them in handcuffs. That's the toughest thing that I know that they, what they have to go through. And they don't get the support. They need the mental support from organizations so they can care. And there's such a high turnover rate due to the stress and what they go through. And I commend all of them. And for villages that still don't have [a village police officer], who do they turn to? They have nobody to call when they're in distress. So we need to find more funding and promote, encourage our people to get into the [village public safety officer] program, the [tribal police officer] program, and get properly trained. And it's a different time, now that there's more stuff going on, these guys still don't have protection for themselves, as in carry a firearm, but I think we do need to support them more better.
KEDI: What do you see as the biggest of our educational needs in the district, and what legislation will you submit or support to address these needs?
Jimmie: Our biggest issue is having properly maintained schools, with poor infrastructure, with some, some of them are not safe to be used. And what bills I would pass is for [an] education push for the teachers, the employees to be paid at the rate that they deserve, and the cap per student needs to be raised back up so that teachers can stay. They don't want to leave, but if they do not have the retirement that they are expected, which is their earned right, taken away, they will have no choice, and that will cause them to want to leave. And my children have benefited from the parent as teacher programs, as well as my grandson. And my daughters have benefited from the Head Start program. So we need to keep those programs going strong.
Delta Discovery: In the coming years, how should the state set the [Permanent Fund Dividend] amount? Should the state follow the constitutional formula or something else?
Jimmie: I think it should be allocated as what can be divided equally among the whole state of Alaska, and not at a set base rate, too, because that will be taking funding from education funding and others as well. So we need to not base it on and try to get the biggest [Permanent Fund Dividend], because we need to be realistic and set it at a rate that is exceptional and that can keep going on for years.
KEDI: What should the state do that it's not currently doing to address the high rates of domestic violence, sexual assault, and missing and murdered Indigenous people in the [Yukon-Kuskokwim] Delta and statewide. And how can you as a legislator influence these issues?
Jimmie: Well, being a survivor of domestic violence, it is important that we do have the services available in all communities, not just based in one. And we also need shelters for people to go to when they don't feel safe, not just to fly out and wait. But I would support allocating funds so our people can be safe and have missing, murdered Indigenous people be supported more better. Downstates, they really provide search items for them, for the people who go out searching for their loved one. So we do need to bring up more stuff for the people to be looked for in their cases, to be not forgotten and kept in the view of the public eye.
Delta Discovery: What, if anything, should change about the way the state interacts with tribal governments?
Jimmie: [What should happen] is to take the perspective of all the tribal governments of what the needs are in the villages and how to better serve to give support to the tribal tribal governments for them to work together in a better light.
KYUK: Whether from permafrost or erosion or both, how should the state address the needs of communities that need to partially or fully relocate because of climate change?
Jimmie: Well, we need to keep our communities safe. They should be moving villages that need to move. The flooding is getting worse. And Newtok was moved, they're now Mertarvik, that move is going very well. So I'm very happy to see that the state stepped in and then helped Newtok relocate. So there are other villages, such as Atmautluak that need to relocate, and Nunapitchuk. So I think we do need to support villages to keep going so people can live in a safer environment, [rather than] wait for a disaster to happen.
Delta Discovery: How do you plan to deal with conflict among legislators if elected to represent House District 38?
Jimmie: I would want to find a baseline for everybody to have an agreement with and be on the same page. Everybody from different parts of Alaska has issues, and we all want our issues to be addressed and taken care of, but we all have to do a give and take for everybody to accomplish needs in their own areas as well.
KYUK: First to give her closing statement will be Nellie Jimmie.
Jimmie: As I was saying, my name is Nellie Jimmie, “Unangik,” from Toksook Bay. I reside in Toksook Bay and I'm running because I want to give a real perspective to the state Legislature of our way of life out in the rural area. There's a dire need for our people to be seen and heard, and we do have a voice. We are a sleeping giant. We need to encourage everyone to get out and vote. Our numbers have gone down by half since the [19]80s. And just like me being a new, running for this position, just like our voters, I do feel like a sleeping giant. So we all need to wake up and start moving for our people so that we can survive and thrive out here in the area. Thank you.
Find interviews with other candidates running to represent the lower Kuskokwim in the state House, and running to represent Alaska in Congress under the “Elections 2024” tab here.
In Bethel, voters can vote early through absentee in-person voting until Election Day, at the Orutsararmiut Native Council building from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday.
Anyone who has received a mail-in ballot must have it postmarked on or before Nov. 5. Mail-in ballots also need to have a voter signature, a witness signature, and a voter identifier like a drivers’ license number or the last four digits of a social security number.
