The Other US Election November 8th: America’s Arctic Senator

As Americans go to the polls on Tuesday November 8^th, the presidential election isn’t the only vote that will affect Alaskan and Arctic policy in the years to come.

In the first U.S. Senate debate to ever take place above the Arctic Circle, all four candidate present agreed on one thing: America needs to pay more attention to the high north.

Held at Barrow High School on October 26^th, sitting U.S. Senator Lisa Murkouski joined hopeful rivals Independent Margerat Stock, Democrat Ray Metcalfe, and Independent Breck Craig on the stage for a debate on the issues that matter most to America’s northernmost citizens. Libertarian candidate Joe Miller, currently polling at second, did not attend. The debate, moderated by Rhonda McBride, was sponsored by the Unit Arctic Business Alliance and broadcast by KBRW, Alaska’s public radio station for the North Slope.

Independent Ms. Stock began the debate with a note of accord between all the candidates. "I think we'll agree that the federal government should be paying more attention to the Arctic,” Ms. Stock pronounced to the audience. “I think we will agree that the federal government should be increasing its research on the effects of climate change on subsistence, on resource development and on national security in the Arctic. I think we will agree that the federal government should be building more icebreakers."

While Ms. Stock’s prediction was correct in the candidate’s accord in strengthening the Arctic’s profile in Washington DC, they differed on the best way to Alaskans what they need most when it came to Arctic security, climate change, and a national champion.

A Candidate with an Eye for Icebreakers

With an eye towards the East, the candidates began their Arctic security discussion with the shared need of more attention given to the Arctic region in national security planning. Incumbent Senator Murkowski voiced particular concern over China’s interest and activity in the North, highlighting her ongoing efforts to fund an ice break and other infrastructure projects like navigational aids, ocean charts, telecommunications, and deep-water ports.

Her efforts for the Arctic region in DC have been substantial over her tenure, taking on renewed vitality during the 2015-2017 US Arctic Council Chairmanship. In March 2015 she launched an Arctic Caucus in the Senate, calling her colleagues to “embrace your inner-Arctic self” on the Senate floor. She fought for the successful Senate Defence Appropriations allocation of $1 billion to fully fund the construction of the first US polar icebreaker in 25 years. And she has attended Arctic Council meetings alongside the US Delegation, including at the US Department of State and President Obama’s GLACIER Conference in Anchorage last fall.

Despite these accomplishments, Independent Ms. Stock disagreed that any allocations for Arctic infrastructure would come from Republican leadership due to a lack of funding. “If you have a political party that is dedicated to austerity and cutting taxes for the wealthy, then we’re not going to have the resources to do the things that I expect we will all agree here that we need to get done.”

Climate Change, Relocation, and the Big Price Tag

Perhaps the biggest differences came during the climate change section of the debate. At least 31 villages face an imminent threat of destruction from erosion and flooding. Many of these villages like Kivalina, Newtok, and Shishmaref have 10 to 20 years of livability before their streets, schools, and homes become uninhabitable. At least 12 have already decided to relocate – in part or entirely – to safer ground to avoid an emergency evaluation.

But such moves come with a high price tag. The US Army Corps of Engineers estimates that moving an entire community to a new, dryer site miles away can cost anywhere from $80 million to upwards of $250 million. Mr. Metcalfe suggested that the cost should be picked up by oil companies. “I think the people who got rich bringing about all this global warming are the people that need to pay for moving the villages,” he argued during the debate.

For her part, Senator Murkowski is trying to get a bill passed in the Senate to create revenue sharing from federal oil and gas production both on and off shore to create a tribal resilience fund, available for not only relocating villages but general resilience measures to make communities the safest they can be. The bill, the Offshore Production and Energizing National Security Act, or OPENS Act, was introduced to the Senate in 2015 but has not yet moved to pass the senate.

While Ms. Stock agreed with Senator Murkowski that revenue sharing was a viable option, with more of the share going to Alaska, she was frank about just how high the costs would be. “But to be direct the federal government is not going to have enough money to fully mitigate the huge costs of climate change in Alaska. We’re talking about $1 million per person in Kivalina to relocate, and Kivalina is going to be underwater in the next 10 years.”

The Looming Top of the Ticket

In this election cycle, it seems impossible to skirt the question of who current or hopeful politicians will be voting for to be the next president of the United States. Ms. Stock has fully endorsed former Secretary of State and US Senator Hillary Clinton. Mr. Metcalfe and Mr. Craig will also be voting for Secretary Clinton with some reservations, with Mr Craig noting that “Unless he [Donald J. Trump] can put a hotel here, he’ll probably will have no interest in knowing anything about it [the Arctic].”

As for Senator Murkowski, she declined to state who she was voting for at the debate, saying she favors neither candidate. Senator Murkowski disagrees with Clinton’s approach to drilling in the Arctic, arguing that it “will not only hold back the Arctic, it will hold back Alaska.”

Still, on October 8^th shortly after a recording was released documenting Donald Trump’s objectifying and degrading remarks towards women, Senator Murkowski released a statement call for his removal as the Republican Party’s nominee. "Offensive and inappropriate statements made by Donald Trump throughout this campaign have caused me to withhold my support or an endorsement,” the statement said posted on Alaska Dispatch News. “I have always supported the Republican presidential nominee and I had hoped to do the same in 2016. The video that surfaced yesterday further revealed his true character. He not only objectified women, he bragged about preying upon them. I cannot and will not support Donald Trump for President – he has forfeited the right to be our party's nominee. He must step aside."