OPINION: Murkowski creates a state where young people can thrive

We are young Alaskans – from Soldotna to Fairbanks and Juneau to Utqiagvik. While we often differ in our backgrounds, political positions and occupations, we’re united in at least one aspect: our support for Lisa Murkowski. While Lisa holds the title of Alaska’s senior senator, she doesn’t let that stop her from working for the future of younger Alaskans. Lisa has spent her time in the Senate advancing issues that benefit all Alaskan young people – including her own two children. Lisa has proven herself time and time again as a strong advocate for Alaska’s next generation. From leveraging her seniority to secure billions of dollars toward Alaska’s infrastructure to ensuring Alaska’s energy security in an all-of-the-above approach and protecting our fish for future generations, Lisa leads on making sure Alaska’s young people – us – have a bright future to look forward to.

More and more young people are choosing not to align themselves with a political party – and that rings true especially here in Alaska, where over half of all residents are registered as independent or unaffiliated. As young people, we care less about partisan bickering and political grandstanding. We want to see our lawmakers getting things done, plain and simple. Lisa is one of those lawmakers: She will work with anyone, no matter their party, as long as it is in Alaska’s best interest. She did exactly that when she led the drafting and negotiating of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which has delivered nearly $3 billion to Alaska.

Lisa knows that climate change presents a real threat to our way of life here in Alaska – and she knows that going cold turkey on fossil fuels would be catastrophic to Alaska’s economy and all the jobs and families it supports. That said, Lisa has worked in Congress to ensure we address the challenges posed by climate change head on, because she knows our generation’s future depends on it. Throughout her time in the Senate, Lisa has been a leader on energy, investing in both fossil fuels (and technology to capture carbon emissions) and renewable energy to make sure every Alaskan family can afford to heat their homes, cook their meals, and keep the lights on. Lisa has also worked across the aisle on bipartisan climate resilience legislation and passed transformative law, like the Energy Act of 2020. She has also supported our fisheries and coastal communities, safeguarding the vital jobs and sustenance that fishing provides in communities across Alaska. We look forward to her leadership in crafting bipartisan legislation, whether its addressing climate change, the economy, or our fisheries, once she returns to the Senate.

As young people in Alaska, we’ve grown up here, and we want to stay to one day raise our own families here, too. But, to make that dream a reality, we need to have confidence in Alaska’s future, and know that our politicians are working hard to ensure we can face the challenges headed our way. Lisa is one of those leaders that truly weighs the future implications of action–or nonaction–and works to safeguard the economic, social, environmental, and cultural opportunities that make Alaska such an incredible place to call home. She works in good faith every day to ensure the Alaska of tomorrow is a place that all Alaskans can thrive. We are young Alaskans, and we hope to be elder Alaskans one day, too. Lisa Murkowski’s work in the Senate helps to ensure that we will have that opportunity–that the promise of the Alaska of tomorrow stays strong for the young Alaskans of today.

This commentary was jointly authored by a group of young people from across Alaska: Jackson Blackwell, Soldotna; Portland Highbaugh, Juneau; Rinnah Andrew, Anchorage; Kobe Rizk, Fairbanks; Taylor Drew Holshouser, Eagle River; Parker Haymans, Anchorage; Emma Ashlock, Anchorage; Katherine Lessard, Anchorage; Daniel Heckman, Fairbanks; Sam Erickson, Eagle River; Hannah Delker, Soldotna; Reed Davidson, Girdwood; Gabe Crabtree, Anchorage; Anna Kardashyan, Anchorage; Eben Hopson, Utqiagvik; Marilyn Short, Bethel; and Sean Solie, Fairbanks.

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