Political Quotes

“Mr. President, in the short history of Alaska as a State in our Union, there have been a handful of people--Bill Egan, Elizabeth Peratrovich, Jay Hammond, Wally Hickel, Ted Stevens--whose lives formed the fibers that wove Alaskans together. Another of those leaders passed recently. Byron Mallott stands among the best of us. Born in the small town of Yakutat, AL, to the Kwaash Ke Kwaan clan of the Tlingit, in 1943 when Alaska was still a territory, he went on to an amazing life and career. His father was the long-time mayor of Yakutat, and when he died unexpectedly, Byron returned home from college, campaigned to take over the job, and won the election in 1965 at the age of 22. He then went on to serve the State's first Governor, Bill Egan, as the commissioner of the Department of Community and Regional Affairs. When Egan lost his reelection campaign, Byron went back home to Yakutat and served on the city council. In 1968, he ran for a seat in the State house, losing by only 23 votes. In 1969, U.S. Senator Mike Gravel hired Byron to work on his staff in Washington, DC, where he had a hand in drafting the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, the foundational legislation that continues to define our State and the relationship with Alaska Natives. After ANCSA was signed into law, Byron spent 20 years working for Sealaska Corporation, 1 of 12 Native corporations which was created by the law.…”