Rep. Jennifer Johnston of Anchorage today apologized on Facebook for statements made to a reporter from the Alaska Journal of Commerce, which implied that people in rural Alaska are not responsible enough to get their Permanent Fund dividends early.
In an op-ed by reporter Andrew Jensen earlier this week, the author quoted Johnston asking Jensen, “Have you ever been to the villages at dividend time?”
Jensen wrote, “Johnston went on to state that part of the reasoning for not paying the dividend early was because it would be too much money in rural Alaska on top of the federal payment that was approved in the CARES Act. She further claimed the congressional delegation actually discouraged the Legislature from paying a spring dividend because they shared the same concerns.”
But when he asked the offices of Rep. Don Young, Sen. Lisa Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan, all denied such a message was conveyed to the Legislature either by them or members of their staffs.
Today, Johnston was more circumspect in her comments as she provided an explanation on Facebook:
“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. 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 wrote.
Johnston is serving her second term as a Republican legislator. She also served on the Anchorage Assembly for several years, where she was known as a fiscal conservative. In the Legislature, she has caucused with the bipartisan majority that is dominated by Democrats, for whom she serves as co-chair of the House Finance Committee.
