Upper Lynn Canal leaders Representative Sara Hannan (left) and Senator Jesse Kiehl (right).
The Upper Lynn Canal’s representatives in the state legislature will hold virtual town hall meetings this week to discuss issues of concern with their constituents. KHNS spoke with Senator Jesse Kiehl and Representative Sara Hannan by phone to hear their thoughts on the state’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
When asked what he thinks of the health mandates issued by Governor Mike Dunleavy, Senator Jesse Kiehl said that unprecedented measures need to be taken to protect Alaskans.
“There are authorities here that we would never stand for as Americans if it wasn’t an emergency situation. We would never stand for the kind of restrictions on our movement, for singling out certain businesses to be closed, but in this pandemic we absolutely have to be able to save Alaskans lives,” Kiehl said.
Kiehl was critical of some aspects of the state health mandates. He disagreed with the governor’s decision to include elective abortions in the list of medical procedures that were suspended to conserve medical equipment and personnel for handling COVID-19 patients.
“When it came to non-emergency stuff, they followed the medical advice of the American College of Surgeons on every single procedure except one and it happens to be one that the governor has a personal objection to. That’s an abuse of the authority,” Kiehl said.
The state has developed penalties for violating health mandates related to the pandemic, but how they will be enforced is less clear.
Representative Sara Hannan said there have not been many instances where citizens have been cited for not following shelter in place orders or quarantines.
“So far we have not had massive defiance to these rules and regs. I think the answer is, ‘We don’t know,’ and we won’t know how much authority we have until we have a conflict where someone is arrested, detained, charged and sues over it,” Hannan said.
As for the state budget, Hannan said she was disappointed by the governor’s decision to veto funding for school bond debt reimbursement, the Alaska Marine Highway System, and the state’s community assistance program. Both Kiehl and Hannan agree that the most pressing issue is to figure out how to appropriate more than a billion dollars in federal relief for the coronavirus pandemic.
Hannan said the tricky part is figuring out how the legislature can safely meet during the pandemic.
“Alaska’s constitution has provisions about us meeting face to face and sort of never really envisioned a circumstance where we weren’t together making these decisions,” Hannan said. “So they’re working on those logistics of how do we do that. To take action on appropriation items, it’s going to need to be done.”
Senator Kiehl and Representative Hannan will host a virtual town hall meeting for Skagway residents on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. and on Friday at 5:30 p.m. for Haines and Klukwan residents. To participate dial 844-586-9085. Lines will be open ten minutes before the meeting begins.
