Anchorage state representative apologizes for village dividend comment

Anchorage Republican Rep. Jennifer Johnston has apologized for telling the managing editor of the Alaska Journal of Commerce that “social services would be overwhelmed” in rural villages if the Alaska Legislature paid a supplemental spring Permanent Fund dividend.

“Have you ever been to the villages at dividend time?” Johnston asked managing editor Andrew Jensen on April 1 after the publication of an opinion column criticizing the lack of a spring payment. Jensen shared Johnston’s comments in a second opinion column published this week, and critics immediately called her comments racist.

A 2019 study by the Institute of Social and Economic Research concluded that there is an increase in substance-abuse crimes at the time of the annual dividend payout, but Johnston emphasized rural villages, where the majority of the population is Alaska Native. Johnston’s House district is 85% white and the wealthiest in the state.

Contacted by phone, she referred to an explanation she wrote on Facebook after the publication of Jensen’s column.

“The conclusion of a recent opinion piece does not accurately express my values and beliefs. I have a deep love and respect for our Alaska Native community, and I sincerely apologize for my comments,” Johnston said.

“This is a learning process. In the future I will be educating myself and will do a better job communicating my respect for all Alaskans,” Johnston said.

Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, represents a rural district and is the first Alaska Native to lead the Alaska House of Representatives. In a written statement, he said, “I can assure you that Representative Johnston’s comments are not in line with our caucus values. But she’s always been a strong supporter of issues important to rural Alaska and to our state’s first people. I don’t for a moment think her comments were meant to be harmful in the way they were portrayed to be.”

Johnston is a prominent member of the coalition majority led by Edgmon that controls the House.

Three years ago, the House of Representatives voted to censure Rep. David Eastman, R-Wasilla, after he claimed that women in rural villages try to get pregnant so they can get a free trip to the city for an abortion. Edgmon voted in favor of censure, Johnston voted against.

When asked why Johnston’s comment is being treated differently, Alaska House majority spokesman Austin Baird responded on behalf of Edgmon. The difference, he said, is that Johnston apologized.

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Correction: This article has been updated to correct a typo in Edgmon’s written statement and to correct the voting record for Eastman’s 2017 censure. Johnston voted against censure.