Snow-dusted Copter Peak, at the northern edge of Noatak National Preserve in Arctic Alaska, is seen from a valley. The mountain is near the boundary between the Northwest Arctic Borough and the North Slope Borough, which are combined into sprawling District 40 in the Alaska House of Representatives. (Photo provided by National Park Service)
The person who represents the nation’s northernmost legislative district in the Alaska House of Representatives is tasked with achieving a special balance.
Sprawling and remote House District 40 encompasses both the oil-rich North Slope and the less-wealthy Northwest Arctic Borough. That means it has two separate hub communities – Utqiagvik and Kotzebue. While both regions are majority Inupiat, they have significant differences in their economies, histories and cultures.
The incumbent House member, who is from Kotzebue, and the two candidates challenging him , one from Kotzebue as well and the other from Utqiagvik, acknowledge that the district’s makeup creates a special challenge. But all three – all of them Inupiat — say there are ways to bridge those differences.