East Anchorage Matters with Rep. Andrew Gray: Recent Episodes
Rep. Andrew Gray
Alaska State Representative Andrew Gray offers a weekly broadcast aimed at his constituents in the UMED district of Anchorage. The goal is to share important news from the Capitol, but also to offer frank conversations with Alaskans of interest, including many who work in the legislature.
The Mobile Home Owner Town Hall Episode
Today our show is about mobile home parks. As the state representative for house district 20, I have several mobile home parks in my district. Mobile home owners face unique challenges: they own their home but must rent the land on which their home sits. Every year that rent goes up – yet the value of their home tends to go down. This can create a vicious cycle that can be incredibly difficult for a mobile home owner to break out of. This podcast episode today is an edited version of the Town Hall that I held on Zoom on March 14, 2024. The main guest is attorney Charles Ward of Alaska Legal Services. He answers questions specific to mobile home owners. I also included an excerpt of an interview that I did with my younger brother David Andrew. He owns several mobile home parks and speaks from that perspective. Finally, we hear from Demetria Veasy the assistant director of workforce services at the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development. She discusses resources available through her Job Centers throughout the state which help folks achieve higher paying employment.
- To reach Alaska Legal Services, click here, or call Charles Ward at 907-373-3656
- To reach the Department of Labor and Workforce Development Job Centers, click here, or call the Midtown Anchorage Job Center at 907-269-0088.
- To read "‘We are in dire need’: Mobile home park residents urge Nevada lawmakers to stabilize rents," click here.
- To learn more about the the PBS documentary, "A Decent Home," click here.
All future podcast episodes will be on East Anchorage Book Club.
Chelsea Foster of Anchorage is a director on the board of the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association and a long-time cannabis advocate. She is COO for Birch Alaskan Naturals CBD, and a consultant for the Alaskan cannabis industry. She has successfully pursued regulatory and statuary changes for the Alaska cannabis industry with a focus on social equity and sustainability.
Bailey Stuart of Wasilla is co-owner of the the Matanuska-Susitna Borough's first recreational dispensary Green Jar. She also teaches a course at UAA called "Cannabasics." The class is a hands-on culinary course that covers proper cannabis terminology, techniques for decarboxylation and infusion, and utilization of the plant's anatomy. Stuart has been a trailblazer for the Alaska industry by advocating at the local, state, and federal levels to modernize the marijuana industry and treat it like any other business.
Visit the Alaska Marijuana Industry Association website by clicking here.
Facing Foster Care in Alaska (FFCA) is a non-profit group made up of folks with lived experience in the foster care system. As former foster youth themselves, these individuals can offer expertise to make Alaska's system better from the inside out. Today on the show we hear from the most recent FFCA board president, Angel Gonzalez, Mateo Jaime, Kxlo Stone, and then three sisters, Anna Redmon, Sarah Lewis, and Abby Redmon.
If you are interested in becoming a foster parent, click here to learn more.
If you are interested in working for the Office of Children's Services, click here to learn more.
NOTE: this episode contains discussions of child abuse, neglect, substance abuse, suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, drug overdose, and death. If you are thinking of harming yourself, call 988. Someone is waiting for your call.
Representative Gray's office is sponsoring two bills related to foster care:
House Bill 320 would protect foster youth sibling relationships when they get adopted. What this bill does is when a foster youth is adopted, they become a legal stranger to their biological family. But this bill would exclude their sibling relationships, which means that after they're adopted, they are still legally brother and sister with their biological siblings.
House Bill 363 would require that foster youth placed in a psychiatric institution would get a timely hearing in front of a judge to ensure that they actually require that level of care. This bill has been referred to Health and Social Services Committee.
To learn more or donate to Facing Foster in Alaska, click here.
Keri Ladner is the author of the 2024 book End Time Politics: From the Moral Majority to QAnon. She earned her doctorate in Divinity from the University of Edinburgh and much of her doctoral research focused on researching the theological roots of Jerry Falwell, the co-founder of the Moral Majority. She exposes the racism, contempt for the poor, and false patriotism of Falwell and his followers, as well as his commitment to "Biblical capitalism," which led Falwell to call for the elimination of all social welfare programs, including public education.
What Ladner does well is demonstrate how Jerry Falwell and his associates -- including former Anchorage pastor Jerry Prevo -- with their promotion of end times prophecy and various conspiracy theories, laid the path for the Tea Party and QAnon, which thus led to the election of Donald Trump and ultimately to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U. S. Capitol.
Find End Time Politics here
Jena Crafton is the chair of the Governors Council on Disabilities and Special Education. She has been a vocal advocate for people with disabilities since she was young as Crafton has developmental disabilities herself. We discuss her childhood including how she learned about her own disabilities and what she most wants the community at large to understand about people with disabilities.
Former Alaska State House Representative Ivan Ivan of Akiak in the YK Delta replaced Lyman Hoffman in the state house when Hoffman was first elected to the state senate. Ivan served for a total of 6 years between 1991 and 1998. In 1996 Mary Peltola (Mary Sattler at the time) ran against him when she was just 24 but lost. She tried again in 1998 and defeated him. We discuss Ivan’s childhood in Akiak living a subsistence lifestyle, his decision as a Democrat to caucus with Republicans, and the importance of preserving the Yupiit language.
Ed Wesley was born in Bolivar County, Mississippi, on January 9, 1951. He moved to Fort Greeley, Alaska, in 1973 after being drafted into the Army. His wife joined him shortly thereafter and the two raised all five of their children here and the two have never lived outside Alaska since. He was elected president of the Anchorage NAACP in 1981 and led the charge to change the way the Anchorage Police Department uses deadly force. Wesley has served on the boards of numerous organizations such as treasurer for the Anchorage Council of PTAs, Worshipful Master of Mt McKinley Lodge #2 and Grand Jr Warden of Prince Hall Masons State of Alaska and its’ jurisdiction, chairman of the 3rd great Alaska high school basketball classic tournament, Municipality of Anchorage Zoning Board of Examiners and Appeals, vice president of Anchorage Board of Realtors, president of Alaska Black Leadership Conference, president of the African American Business Council, president of the African American Historical Society (sponsor of Juneteenth) and Board of Trustees for the State of Alaska Personnel Retirement System. A veteran’s advocate for many years, Wesley has served on the Veterans Volunteer Committee at the Alaska Veterans Administration Hospital. He is past commander of American Legion Post 34, where he sponsored activities for Veterans. He has raised funds for local Disabled Veterans to attend the National Wheel Chair Games. He has worked towards and championed youth activities continually in Anchorage. Wesley has been honored by the Alaska State Legislature as a nation builder for his community service and the National Association of Black State Legislators for his community service. He has also served as Deacon of the Shiloh Missionary Baptist Church and is here in the capitol with Shiloh Community Housing advocating for funds for their new Community Resource Center.
Delmonicia Shenee Williams is the President and CEO of Shiloh Community Housing, Incorporated, an organization she has been serving since its inception 24 years ago. Although her degree is in computer science and she has had a career as a computer programmer and systems analyst, her true passion is public service and she has helped bring the vision of Shiloh Community Housing to life. From its first affordable housing project through its transitional home for youth to today and its potential Community Resource Center, Shenee Williams has been at the center of these important projects that have diminished homelessness in Anchorage.
Link to Shiloh Community Housing
Today's episode is about Alaska's Charter Schools which were recently ranked #1 in the country. The lead author of the study is Dr. Paul Peterson of Harvard University, and he is our guest today.
Paul E. Peterson is the Henry Lee Shattuck Professor of Government and Director of the Program on Education Policy and Governance at Harvard University, a Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution at Stanford University, and Senior Editor of Education Next, a journal of opinion and research.
He received his Ph. D. in political science from the University of Chicago. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the National Academy of Education, he has received fellowships from the Guggenheim Foundation, the German Marshall Foundation, and the Center for Study in the Behavioral Sciences. He is an author or editor of over 30 books, four of which have been identified as the best work in its field by the American Political Science Association.
Peterson was a member of the independent review panel advising the Department of Education’s evaluation of the No Child Left Behind law and a member of the Hoover Institution’s Koret Task Force of K-12 Education at Stanford University. The Editorial Projects in Education Research Center reported that Peterson’s studies on school choice and vouchers have been among the country’s most influential studies of education policy.
LINK TO STUDY: "The Nation’s Charter Report Card: First-ever state ranking of charter student performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress"
AK State Senator Shelley Hughes of Palmer moved to Hoonah, Alaska, in the late 70s as a young adult to help establish a religious community with her parents. We talk about that experience, as well as her travels around Alaska with her husband and young family, and ultimately how she ended up involved in Alaska politics. We also discuss some of her policy interests.
Legislative Update for Monday, Feb. 5, 2024:
- My vote on HB 129 -- Rep. Vance's election reform bill
- Floor speech on difficulty of modelling all of public school on charter schools.
Representative C. J. McCormick of Bethel is 26 years old and the youngest member of the Alaska State House. Prior to serving in the legislature, he served on city council and as vice mayor of Bethel. Bethel is the 8th largest city in Alaska with just over 6,200 residents. Today, we discuss why his parents settled in the YK Delta, how he ended up in politics, And what it's like serving in the House majority, where he is just one of two Democrats.
This episode discusses suicide. Call 988 if you are thinking of killing yourself; someone is waiting for your call.Legislative Update, January 29, 2024:
-
Status of Senate Bill 140 (internet for rural schools, BSA increase, Charter School changes, etc)
-
Introduction of Rep. Gray's Alcoholic Beverages and Cancer bill (ABC) which adds language to existing alcohol warning signage that alcohol can cause cancer including colon and breast cancer.
Lesil McGuire is a lifelong Alaskan, former state senator, women’s and rural rights advocate, and mother. She lives in Anchorage and works as a consultant in the aerospace, technological innovation and Arctic policy sectors. We discuss why she became a lawyer, why she identifies as a Republican, and how she served for 16 years in the House and Senate by "leading with love." She served as the Senate Rules Chair, Co-Chair of the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, and House Judiciary Chair.
The legislative update discusses:
- Joint Session attempted veto override
- House Bill 140 to increase the base student allocation
- My special order honoring the late great AK State Senator Vic Fischer
To contact me, email rep.andrew.gray@akleg.gov or call 907-465-4940
Margo Bellamy was recently elected by her fellow board members to serve as president of the Anchorage School Board for the third time. Ms. Bellamy grew up in Coconut Grove – an all African American neighborhood in Miami, Florida. At the end of her 8th grade year in 1964 she was chosen as one of eight Black students to integrate the nearby all-white high school. We discuss that experience and how it informed her life afterwards including her move to Alaska and her almost 50 years of work in the Anchorage School District.
AK State House Representative Cliff Groh, II, was born and raised in Anchorage. Although he himself is a life-long Democrat, his father Cliff Groh, Sr., the son of illiterate Polish immigrants, was an important Republican figure in Alaska State politics. In fact, the Groh Gallery in the Alaska Senate is named after him. We talk about the younger Cliff's childhood, why he is a Democrat, and his journalistic coverage of corruption in the Alaska legislature and by US Senator Ted Stevens, who was a close family friend of the Grohs.
Alaska State House Representative Maxine Dibert was born to Koyukon Athabascan parents in Fairbanks and grew up dividing her time between the urban experience of downtown Fairbanks and the bush experience of her Athabaskan elders. After graduating with a degree in education – a degree her college guidance counselor had tried to dissuade her from pursuing due to the lack of teaching jobs – Maxine got her first job at an elementary school in Fairbanks, and this fall she will begin her 23rd year at that school.
Representative Ashley Carrick (D- Fairbanks) spent her childhood in south Anchorage. She graduated from the University of Alaska in Fairbanks and began work as a substitute teacher. She ran for the Fairbanks School Board at the age of 24, and although she lost, ended up as staff to Representative (now Senator) Scott Kawasaki, and later Representative Adam Wool. When Wool decided not to run for re-election, Carrick found herself well-positioned to run for his seat. We discuss all that as well as her bisexuality and her decision to be open about it during her campaign.
“Drinking Games: How much people drink may matter less than how they drink it” by Malcolm Gladwell, from February 7, 2010, issue of The New Yorker:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2010/02/15/drinking-games
State Representative Sara Hannan spent her childhood in West Anchorage. She graduated from the University of Alaska and took a job teaching at Mount Edgecumbe High School in Sitka. When oil prices crashed, the school cut back, and she lost her job. She moved to Juneau where she has been ever since, minus a brief foray to Vladivostok, Russia, where she was brutally assaulted and almost killed. We talk about all of that as well as her life in politics.
Republican Justin Ruffridge represents Soldotna in the Alaska State House and currently co-chairs the Freshmen Caucus with the host of this podcast. Justin moved to Kenai, Alaska, when he was 9 years old so that his parents could run a small Christian school there. Raised in a very conservative environment – no rock music, no mainstream movies or television, no dancing – he brings a unique perspective to the House Education Committee which he co-chairs.
The first half of this episode was recorded at the Anchorage Airport. The second half was recorded today, April 17, 2023, at the Capitol.
Democrat Jennie Armstrong is from just outside of New Orleans, Louisiana. Although she grew up working class, she did not allow her background to narrow her ambition and after her undergraduate degree at Louisiana State University she earned a Master’s degree from Oxford University and has since worked in Nepal, Myanmar, Rwanda, and Egypt. She started two companies, both of which she still owns. She met her husband Ben while facetiming with a friend in early 2019. Ben invited her on an Alaska road trip on that initial call. Jennie said yes, and never left. We discuss that and how she ended up as an Alaska State House Representative.
Senator Elvi Gray-Jackson of Anchorage. Born and raised in New Jersey, Sen. Gray-Jackson came to Alaska 41 years ago as a young single mother. Through a series of what at first appeared to be unlucky events, she found herself leap frogging her way up the Anchorage political ladder eventually landing as chair of the Anchorage Assembly – the first minority to hold that office. We talk about that and how she got to the Senate. We had this conversation in her office on the ground floor of the Capitol and you will hear some street noise
When she was 19, Representative Rebecca Himschoot dropped out of college in the Midwest and moved to Sitka. After she was crowned Miss Southeast in 1990 – a title that came with a scholarship -- she went back to school to earn her teaching credential. Decades later she was elected to the Sitka Assembly, and now serves as State House Rep for District 2. As you are about to hear, there were many detours along her path. This interview was recorded in Rep. Himschoot’s office at the Capitol.
Alaska State Representative Julie Coulombe represents the hillside in Anchorage. Raised in a conservative Christian household in the suburbs of Chicago and later Atlanta, she met her husband her freshman year of college in Alabama. They married and moved to Anchorage over thirty years ago. Although always involved in the community, it wasn’t until she joined the conservative Facebook group Save Anchorage during the Covid shutdowns that she became especially active. This ultimately led to her running for the State House. She is a member of the Republican House Majority Caucus and the Freshmen Caucus. She serves on the coveted House finance committee.
State House Representative Stanley Wright of Anchorage is originally from South Carolina. He is a Navy Veteran and a Republican which, in both regards, makes him an outlier in his own family. After working in Governor Dunleavy’s administration, he took a job working for Mayor Dave Bronson before being elected to the state house where he represents northeast Anchorage.
Republican Will Stapp was born and raised in a suburb of Seattle; he decided at an early age that he wanted to serve in the military and joined the Army right after high school. He was first stationed at Fort Wainwright but deployed almost immediately to Iraq, and as you will hear, was in the midst of bloody battles from the moment he landed in Falluja, where he received a Purple Heart. We will discuss how he earned that award as well as his decision to make his permanent home in Fairbanks with his wife and their two young daughters.
And the update for Monday, March 6, 2023: my first meet-&-greet, the Anchorage delegation's town hall, and what's been happening on judiciary committee.
Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance grew up the oldest of seven children in Palmer, Alaska. After a career in telecommunications, she was elected to the Assembly to represent South Anchorage 6 years ago. She is eligible to run for a third term but she has decided not to do that.
Assembly member Austin Quinn-Davidson is also eligible for re-election but has decided not to. She currently represents West Anchorage on the Assembly. She and her wife Stephanie appeared on my previous podcast last year: East Anchorage Book Club, and since that interview they have become the proud mommies of an adorable baby boy.
Both Chair LaFrance and Assembly Member Quinn-Davidson are known for speaking truth to power and this interview is no exception.
State Senator Bill Wielechowski moved to Anchorage 24 years ago because of his sense of adventure and love for the outdoors. After practicing law in New Jersey and later at a private practice in Anchorage, he eventually took a job as the attorney for the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers where he has been for 18 years. After losing an East Anchorage Assembly race in 2004, he was elected to his first term as a state senator in 2006. He is known for his fearlessness in standing up to the oil industry and for advocating for a full permanent fund dividend.
Lifelong Alaskan Representative Genevieve Mina was elected to the Alaska state house of representatives for the first time in the election held this past November. At just 26 years of age, she is the second youngest person currently serving in the legislature. But, she has seven years of political experience, much of it working in the legislature, the last few years as staff to Representative Ivy Spohnholz where Mina helped steer some of Rep. Spohnholz’s major health care bills. She is also the president of the Alaska Young Democrats. Genevieve is a Filipino-American, and only the second Filipino-American woman ever elected to the Alaska State House
Jesse Sumner is a lifelong Alaskan who is a career homebuilder in the Matanuska Susitna Valley where he owns his own construction company with his brother. He served on the MatSu Borough Assembly and as deputy mayor of the borough, before being elected to the state house this last election cycle. He first ran for the Alaska State House in 2020 where he was narrowly defeated by the incumbent Rep. David Eastman. Because of redistricting prior to this most recent election cycle, he found himself in an open house seat that he successfully ran for. He is part of the Republican House majority, and today we discuss housing, Covid, and education.
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE: U-Med resident Janice Strickland has been teaching at Bettye Davis East Anchorage High School since 1991, but she started her teaching career in West Texas in 1973. Besides teaching Spanish and French, Janice is currently the head of the English department at BDEAHS. I met with her in her classroom last week to discuss challenges Alaska faces hanging on to good teachers.
Lifelong Alaskan, Robert Myers Jr. is a long-haul truck driver and the state senator for new senate district Q which includes North Pole, Badger, and Eielson Airforce Base. Robert considers himself a Conservative Republican and was first elected in 2020 when he defeated longtime incumbent John Coghill in the Republican Primary election by just 14 votes. This year he is in a superminority in the Senate with just two other Senators. We discuss that choice as well as his childhood growing up in Alaska.
INTERVIEW:
Alaska State Senator Löki Tobin is a life-long Alaskan who was born in Nome and is named after her dad Charles Lewis Tobin, who goes by the nickname "Lew." In our most recent statewide election, Löki won the senate race to represent downtown Anchorage. That seat had been held by former senate minority leader Tom Begich. Löki had been a staffer for Tom since 2019. Today we discuss what it was like growing up in rural Alaska as what she describes as a "hyper minority."
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE, 23 January 2023:
I had thought that after November’s election, I’d have a break from the crazy schedule of the campaign; but I was wrong. The past couple of months have been overflowing with meetings with all kinds of organizations. Also, the state offered new legislators like me over 40 hours of orientation.
The orientation sessions were in person which gave me the chance to meet some great new lawmakers from all over Alaska. I will be working with some really wonderful new representatives – many of whom I hope to have as guests on this podcast.
This past Wednesday a Republican-led House Majority was formed when Rep. Cathy Tilton from Wasilla was elected as our speaker of the house. Although I myself am in the House minority, many of my new friends are in the majority, and I’m confident that we will find plenty of space for collaboration.
We got our committee assignments late last week, and I will be serving on the house judiciary committee as well as the community and regional affairs committee. My first judiciary committee meeting will be this coming Friday and we will be discussing a couple new pieces of legislation including a proposed spending cap. Tonight, I will be attending Governor Dunleavy’s state of the state address.
As far as particular issues of importance that my office is tracking, the most alarming deals with SNAP benefits. On January 20, the State of Alaska was sued by 10 residents over unacceptable delays in providing SNAP benefits. SNAP is the former Food Stamp program and stands for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are from Anchorage, Wasilla, Bethel, and Nome. Over 80,000 Alaskans receive SNAP benefits, but many Alaskans are not receiving the benefits they qualify for and are potentially going hungry. The current estimate is that about 8,000 people are not getting the assistance that they absolutely need and qualify for. The reason is that the Alaska Division of Public Assistance is dealing with a backlog of recertification applications due to a staffing shortage. On January 3, the Anchorage Daily News published a story citing anonymous sources that "blame the backlog on chronic understaffing and say deep workforce cuts in 2021 sent the division into chaos." Normally, the Division has 30 days to process recertification applications. Now, according to The Anchorage Daily News, this backlog is resulting in delays of 2 to 4 months. If you or someone you know needs assistance with SNAP benefits, call the Alaska Virtual Contact Center at 1-800-478-7778.