Politics

Over the years, Margaret “Tootsie” Guinn has worn many hats. Those have included Senior Vice Chair for the Auxiliary Veterans of Foreign Wars, wife of Vietnam War veteran John Guinn, and mother of their four children. She has most recently worked as a tribal court judge for the Orutsararmuit Native Council. But year in and year out, she has worked as City of Bethel Election Day worker for the past 40 years. KYUK Municipal Reporter Christine Trudeau sat down in the studio with Guinn this week after she received special proclamation recognition by the Bethel City Council for four decades of dedicated service at the polls.

Faced with a bigger local price tag than they asked for, the Bethel City Council rejected a federal grant to bring piped water and sewer lines to the Avenues neighborhood by a tie vote, with one council member absent.

The outcome of the Alaska House of Representatives' power structure appears to hang on one vote. Also at stake is the role that Tiffany Zulkosky, who represents most of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta in House District 38, will have in the new House organization.

At the end of the vote count over the weekend, the Alaska Division of Elections certified the election on Tuesday with a tie in the race for House District 1 in Fairbanks. Republican Bart LeBon and Democrat Kathryn Dodge both had a total of 2,661 votes, but there was one final vote discovered this weekend which could swing the election to Dodge. However, there are questions surrounding the legality of that vote and a recount is expected to be completed by Friday. KYUK’s Krysti Shallenberger reached Andrew Kitchenman, the political reporter for KTOO and Alaska Public Media, to get a better understanding of the forces at play as lawmakers attempt to organize a new majority in the Alaska House. The interview has been condensed and edited. 

Tiffany Zulkosky, a Bethel Democrat, successfully held on to her seat representing House District 38, but Western Alaska's representation in the House majority is in flux right now, thanks to a tight race in Fairbanks. The battle over House District 1 could determine whether or not Zulkosky will be in the House majority.

Zulkosky's priorities will be public safety and protecting the budget for programs affecting rural Alaska.

Alaska’s recently appointed Lt. Gov. Valerie Narr’araaluk Davidson took her first trip back to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta earlier this week, and KYUK’s Christine Trudeau sat down in the studio with her to find out what’s next for the state's first female Alaska Native lieutenant governor.