Listen to this interview
Ben Townsend
Today we're joined by Tyler Ivanoff. He's running for a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives in District 39. The district encompasses a large portion of the south and west of the Seward Peninsula, as well as the northern part of the YK Delta.
Tyler, welcome to KNOM.
Tyler Ivanoff
Thank you.
Ben Townsend
Thanks for joining us here today. You've run a few times now, this is now your third time hoping to earn the seat in District 39 in the House of Representatives. Can you give me a little bit of your background, and then also what inspired you to come back and run for a third time?
Tyler Ivanoff
They say third time's a charm, right? Anyways, after running in 2022 and feeling the incredible support from support voters across the district, it's inspired me to step up again and run for the Alaska House of Representatives. On the voices and passion for change have motivated me to keep fighting for the issues that matter most to everybody in rural Alaska, and I'm committed to making a difference with supporters, supporters across the district and to make our communities a better place to live.
Ben Townsend
I should note that you formerly served as the Mayor of the City of Elim. You were also the President of the Native Village of Elim. You're currently serving as a Board of Director for the Bering Straits Native Corporation, and at this time, you're living in Shishmaref. Can you tell me about how that experience prepared you for serving in the house?
Tyler Ivanoff
As a Board of Director for the Bering Straits Native Corporation, I have the privilege of working with a diverse range of companies, managing large budgets and overseeing a talented team of people. With that being said, I feel that I can handle working with a group of legislators in Juneau.
Ben Townsend
You mentioned that you got a lot of support in that last cycle. In 2022 I'll note, Neal Foster got 51.3% of the vote, you got 48.7%. You were really, really close.
You mentioned some issues that are important to you. Tell us about some of those priorities that you would address if elected to represent District 39.
Tyler Ivanoff
I'm committed to finding ways to protect the salmon in our district. This is crucial for our subsistence way of living, and also the local economy for our commercial fishermen.
I also aim to protect the permanent fund dividend, ensuring it remains a reliable source of financial support for people across our district.
And lastly, I'm dedicated to improving education in Alaska, striving to provide a better opportunities and resources for our students to thrive.
Ben Townsend
You mentioned the permanent fund dividend, the PFD. What are some other policies that you hope to propose to help boost the local economy and create jobs in places like rural Alaska, western Alaska, where jobs are hard to go around?
Tyler Ivanoff
There are a lot of job needs in our region. Infrastructure needs to be improved. We've got to expand and improve our transportation networks.
The cost of flying from villages to the local hubs, it's very, very expensive. We've got to maintain roads, airports, the Port of Nome coming up next year, that's going to be a very large boost to the local economy within the Bering Straits region.
We've got to find ways to promote our sustainable fisheries to protect our salmon populations. Because, you know, commercial fishing has been hit hard by the decline of salmon. We could find ways that we could encourage renewable energy projects throughout the region, because we've got a lot of wind. We got the sun that's up to nearly 24 hours day.
Those are some things that we can do. The cost of diesel is anywhere between five to $10 so any way we could drive that cost of energy down would really help our people.
Ben Townsend
And I'll note that you worked for the Bering Strait School District for 15 years as an educational aide. You were also a fourth grade teacher. So I know that education is really near and dear to you. What sort of policies in education would you seek to improve the quality of education in this region?
Tyler Ivanoff
Improving education goes way beyond just increasing funding for Alaska. We've got to develop incentive programs to keep our teachers retained. That's a really huge gap that we've had across Alaska.
We got to find ways to keep our teachers retained, our admin retained. Find ways to support culturally relevant education that incorporates our local culture and traditions, and we've got to find ways to promote also vocational career. Training that, you know, help our students be ready to go out in the fields when work is available in Alaska during the summer. I think those are really huge issues that improve education.
Ben Townsend
You were born in Anchorage, you were raised in Elim. You're living in Shishmaref now, obviously you've spent a lot of time being immersed in in the culture here. This is your culture, your heritage. What sort of efforts would you promote to preserve that culture that's so unique to western Alaska?
Tyler Ivanoff
You know, preserving culture is huge. I myself cannot speak my language fluently, my language of our ancestors, but we got to find ways to integrate indigenous languages and traditions and schools.
We could work closer with tribal councils and cultural organizations to identify priorities and initiatives that support cultural preservation, and we can also advocate for federal, state and local funding dedicated to cultural preservation and promotion.
Ben Townsend
I mentioned earlier, you've been running against Neal Foster for this seat, this would be the third year running. Can you help me understand what sets you apart from from Neal and any other candidates that may run for this position?
Tyler Ivanoff
I come into this race with a fresh perspective and new ideas. The salmon issue is not a new issue. It's been around for for decades. So despite Neal being in office for 15 years, you know, he hadn't really made any progress in the past to address the salmon issue, until it has recently become political.
This critical issue impacts our economy, our way of life, and requires proactive solutions.
Also, we as voters sometimes have a short, short term memory, but you know, Neal initially opposed the permanent fund dividend, and he helped alter the original formula. As as a result, we're only receiving half of what originally would have gotten today this year.
And this has affected families, you know, financial well beings, we use this money throughout the whole winter.
My opponent also voted against the bill, House Bill 183 that protects girls sports. And as a basketball coach, I believe in importance of maintaining separate teams for boys and girls. We need fairness and opportunities for all athletes, including girls.
I'm committed to bringing new energy and solutions on issues, focusing on what truly matters to our community.
It's time for a change. I'm ready to advocate for the interests of our district.
Ben Townsend
What else would you like voters to know about you and why they should come out and vote for you this November?
Tyler Ivanoff
I'm just a regular person from the village. I I relate to a lot of people throughout the district, and I see our issues firsthand, not just somebody who lives in, you know, probably an urban setting in Nome or Anchorage, but rather somebody who comes from the district and understand our needs and what we need in our our villages.
Ben Townsend
You just heard from Tyler Ivanoff, candidate for Alaska House District, 39. Tyler, thanks for joining us.
Tyler Ivanoff
Thank you.
