Alaska Congresswoman Mary Peltola has been given a plum seat by Speaker Nancy Pelosi on the House Natural Resources Committee.
The committee, chaired by Arizona radical Democrat Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva, is where legislation that pertains to Alaska’s vast lands and resources is considered, and is also where bills and issues pertaining to Native concerns often are heard or originate. The Natural Resources Committee also deals with fisheries and climate change. In years past, Alaska Congressman Don Young, a Republican, had chaired the committee and was serving on the committee when he died March 18, 2022. Peltola will be the committee’s most junior member.
Peltola, a Democrat, ran on issues such as the right to abortion and the importance of healthy fish stocks. On the committee, Peltola will be soon be assigned to subcommittees and she will have just 10 working days between this past Tuesday and the Nov. 8 general election, when she will face three opponents on the general election ballot for the two-year seat.
With so much on the line for Democrats in Congress, who face the very real prospect of being in the minority in January, observers expect that Speaker Pelosi will look for other plum positions or even some favorable legislation to give Peltola, who is a Democrat representing a Republican-leaning state.
Peltola did a Facebook video with Speaker Pelosi earlier this week, as she gets introduced around to the national Democratic machine. Peltola will attend a candidate forum at Southeast Conference on Thursday by video. Sarah Palin will also attend by video. Nick Begich is at Southeast Conference and will attend in person.
