VOICE of the Candidates
CANDIDATES FOR THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
2018 elections in the United States will be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2018. Sol de Medianoche sent federal congressional candidates Alyse Galvin (Independent) and Don Young (Republican) questions about what we thought were essential topics: immigration, education, public safety, health, and jobs/finance. We received replies from congressional candidate Alyse Galvin (Independent).
Alyse Galvin |
don young |
IMMIGRATION/MINORITIES: 1) What is your stance on immigration, in general, to the United States? 2) Do you think states should be involved in the enforcement of immigration laws? 3) What resources, if any, would you allocate to recent arrivals to the United States? (i.e. Refugees, Permanent Residents, Asylees and United States Citizens born abroad). 4) How do you plan to protect the rights of naturalized citizens? 5) What state programs directed at minorities would you keep/scrap/change? 6) What do you think is the role of minorities in Alaska?
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ALYSE GALVIN:
1) I believe immigration brings great value to our country. Anchorage has the three most diverse census tracts in the Nation, and that is in large part due to immigration. We are a nation of immigrants, and I am proud of that fact. We need to ensure that we have legal processes that work for applicants and that the processes are well-functioning and well-funded. We also must finally take action on a comprehensive immigration bill that will allow a path to citizenship for those who have been law- abiding, tax-paying citizens and who have been in our country for a long time. Furthermore, I support the DREAM Act, and we must allow our young people brought into the country under no fault of their own a path to legalization. I also respect the right to asylum and will protect that right as your Congresswoman. 2) Immigration enforcement is the duty of federal agencies. State law enforcement should turn immigration cases over to the federal agencies that are responsible. 3) Recent arrivals come with many needs. Safety must be among the highest priority, especially for persons that have risked their health and life to be here. Beyond a safe environment, there are many important services that are critical in ensuring a successful transition into American life. These can include language services, cultural orientation, technical training, legal support, healthcare, and other services to ensure that they can become self-sufficient. I understand that these sorts of services play an integral part in supporting new arrivals short-term, and positioning them to support themselves and their families in the long-term. Not providing this sort of support while arrivals transition is setting them up to fail, and will only result in dependence on state and federal services for a lifetime. It is not only humane to provide them, it is also pragmatic. 4) Citizenship, once earned or given at birth, is a status that brings with it inalienable rights provided by our constitution. Citizenship, once earned or given, cannot be taken away, should not be taken away.Measures which jeopardize this status and these rights are un-American and will not receive my support. 5) As your next Congresswoman, I will make decisions about national programs, and so I will speak to those, not state programs. I am concerned about the disproportionate incarceration and high school dropout rates in our Latino communities. This why it is absolutely vital that we provide quality public education to all Americans, as well as investments in technical and vocational schools. Quality public education has the potential to restore meritocracy to America, and provide young people of all colors and backgrounds with equal opportunity. I also support programs for minorities that provide assistance in technical and vocational training and post-secondary education. I oppose national registration programs based on national origin. We have used them in the past under the Bush administration and it proved to be ineffective for improving national security and also marginalized immigrants from particular regions. 6) We are a country of immigrants. Our nation was once known as a “melting pot” of cultures. Our diversity gives us strength, and it comprises a part of who we are as Americans. Hispanic communities enrich our state with their stories and their culture, they strengthen our state economy through their work, and their families contribute to our churches and schools. The role of minorities in Alaska is the same as the role of the majority, they are Alaskans and Americans the same, they are an equally important thread in the fabric of our society. |
DON YOUNG:
Don Young did not return our questionnaire. |
EDUCATION: 1) What is your plan for addressing public education funding? 2) What is your plan for high-quality education for our children, youth, and adults? 3) Do you support Pre-K? Discuss why, and specifically, what would you do to improve educational outcomes for our Alaska students, and to encourage minority students? 4) Education College debts are still devastating to our young citizens. What is your plan to provide incentive and relief for those seeking higher education, and to encourage bringing their newly acquired expertise back to Alaska?
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ALYSE GALVIN:
1) The past five years I have led Great Alaska Schools, the non-profit I co-founded. Most of our efforts were focused on organizing a grassroots effort to fight back against proposed cuts to the Base Student Allocation (BSA) and unallocated cuts to public education in the state of Alaska, but as an organization, we also worked on the national level in opposition to the nomination of Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. I successfully worked with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents to hold the line against harmful cuts to public education, and when I represent you in Congress, I will do the same. 2) As your next Congresswoman, I will prioritize investment in scholarships and grant programs to make post-secondary education and technical and vocational training more accessible. 3) I support pre-K. Research unequivocally shows that pre-K drastically reduces a child's risk for incarceration, increases their chances of economic success later in life, and saves our country money on programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), welfare, and Medicaid. Pre-K has the potential to both reduce crime, reduce dependency on federal programs, and invigorate our economy with better students, and better workers. 4) Raising my four children, I saw the challenges they faced as young adults pursuing post-secondary education and navigating their own way through the job market. There are not the same opportunities available as there were when I was a kid, and technical training and college have become increasingly expensive and inaccessible for too many families.I support increased investment in scholarship and grant programs to help make college, technical, and vocational schools more accessible for low-income and underrepresented youth, as well as expanding tuition-free and loan forgiveness programs. |
DON YOUNG:
Don Young did not return our questionnaire. |
PUBLIC SAFETY: 1) What is your position regarding violence against women in Alaska? What would you do to improve it? 2) What is your plan for addressing public safety funding? 3) How would you address Anchorage, and Alaska’s opioid crisis? 4) What is your plan to remedy our state’s crime increase? What specifically would you do to reduce crime in our minority communities? 5) Currently Alaska over-incarcerates Alaska Native, Hispanic, and African-Americans at rates two- and three-times over Caucasians. How would you address this disparity?
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ALYSE GALVIN:
1) The rate of domestic and sexual violence against Alaskan women is a statewide crisis that must be addressed by Congress. I will work to ensure that the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) is reauthorized and strengthened in later iterations. 2) It is clear that there is not adequate law enforcement in Alaska right now. Our State Troopers and Village Public Safety Officers (VPSOs) are understaffed and underfunded. There are ways that the federal government can support Alaska as we work to improve law enforcement in our communities.I support federal community policing grants that help cities and villages hire officers who can not only respond to crime as it happens but prevent crime with strong youth mentoring and local partnerships. We need a strong re-entry program from prison and from drug treatment programs so people have the support they need to stay in recovery, find meaningful work, go back to school, reunite with their families, and live full lives. 3) The ravaging effects of opioid addiction are tearing through our families and communities. Alaska has the country’s highest percentage of teen drug users and the second highest percentage of adult users. In Congress, I will fight to put an end to this epidemic and get support for Alaskans whose lives have been devastated, including:
5) Implicit bias and systemic racism can impact every step in the criminal justice process -- from encounters on the street all the way through to sentencing -- our leaders should be looking at ways to eliminate the impact of this bias. I also support measures to improve the quality of our officers and ensure that they are fairly enforcing the law regardless of ethnicity, including higher standards of training for longer periods of time. |
DON YOUNG:
Don Young did not return our questionnaire. |
JOBS/FINANCE: 1) Do you have any strategies to create employment that would get our at-risk youth away from delinquency and/or drug addiction? 2) What is your long-term fiscal plan for Alaska? 3) What role do you plan for clean energy in Alaska?
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ALYSE GALVIN:
1) In addition to the educational opportunities mentioned above, we need to ensure that we are investing in diversifying our economy beyond the price of oil. Our state has an abundance of natural beauty and natural resources, and it is appalling that our unemployment rate is twice the average in the lower 48. In Congress, I will fight for increased investment in Alaskan infrastructure (including additional deepwater ports and broadband internet) and new energy technology like tidal and wind to ensure that we bring our economy up to speed and improve our job growth. 2) I won’t speak to the state budget, but on the Federal level, we’re seeing some serious issues as well. Under our current administration, our national debt has risen to over $21 trillion; a result of payouts and tax breaks to corporate CEOs and the richest members of society that my opponent voted for. The deficit has gotten out of control. As your congresswoman, I will work to restore fiscal responsibility to Congress, and I will advocate for a budget that prioritizes affordable healthcare and quality education for all Americans, not just one that favors a few. 3) Renewable energy is one of our greatest untapped possibilities in the state of Alaska. We have unparalleled opportunities here in our state for the development of tidal, geothermal, wind, and solar energy, and we should capitalize on that. For too long our economy has been dependent on oil, resulting in the boom and bust cycle we still have today. Investing in and developing renewable energy is a concrete way to diversify our economy and create new jobs. As your Congresswoman, I will work to increase investment in development opportunities for green energy in our state. |
DON YOUNG:
Don Young did not return our questionnaire. |
LATINO COMMUNITY: What is your message for the Latino community in Alaska? Why should we vote for you?
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ALYSE GALVIN: I believe that no matter your background, your ethnicity, your color, the language you speak, you are an Alaskan, and you deserve respect. My opponent has referred to Latinos using racial slurs, refers to migrants seeking asylum with disrespect, supports the border wall, and votes with President Trump’s agenda more than 90% of the time. He has shown time and time again a clear disrespect for the Latino community.
When I am your Congresswoman, I will represent you with pride, I will listen to the needs of your community, I will care about the issues you face on a day to day basis. More importantly, I will fight to protect your rights, not to take them away. |
DON YOUNG:
Don Young did not return our questionnaire. |