Cissna running to unseat Representative Young

A member of the Alaska Legislature who is vying for the Democratic nomination to face off against Republican incumbent Representative Don Young in November was in Wrangell last week to meet citizens and discuss topics important to residents in Southeast Alaska.

Representative Sharon Cissna, who represents District 22 in the University Heights area of Anchorage, is seeking to unseat Young, a member of the House of Representatives since 1973. Cissna’s district, which encompasses the neighborhoods around a number of medical and educational facilities in Alaska’s largest city, has been elected to seven terms in the legislature – and was involved in a pivotal protest against the Transportation Security Administration in 2010.

Cissna, a breast cancer survivor, was identified by a TSA screening device at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport as having an anomaly in her breast prosthesis. After being subjected to what she called an “intrusive” patdown and body search, Cissna said she vowed to never fly commercially again – barring a reformation of the TSA.

The story made national headlines and was the first in a series of high profile TSA searches of lawmakers – with a more recent scandal involving Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky bringing the issue to an international spotlight.

As a candidate for the at-large seat in the House, Cissna said her platform revolves mainly around an abiding respect for the Constitution, a belief in sustainable development, and in seeing the youth of Alaska trained for a future at home, rather than abroad.

“What has happened in Alaska, and across the United States, is that our adherence to, and support of the Constitution, has not been upheld,” Cissna said. “We are not taking care of or paying attention to our people and that is the entire reason for that document and the job of government.”

Cissna also said voters in the 2012 election should take notice of the difference between her and Young – and that it should give voters a reason to think about who they vote for in November.

“One of the biggest and most important problems with Representative Young and others in the Alaska delegation is that they are not serving the people, but serving themselves,” she said. “Their own personal interests seem to come first and they are not working to make sure our state excels. Alaska truly is the last new frontier and other countries, like China and Japan, are taking advantage of the openings we have to offer.”

As part of what she calls her belief in “Alaska first,” Cissna has also come out in support of sustainable economic development in the region by supporting the timber and commercial fishing industry.

“Sustainable development is what we, as Alaskans, should be focused on,” Cissna said. “What we have to have is the understanding that there will be a future in Alaska that is as long-term and as strong as it has been in our past. We’ve had people surviving here through thick and thin for thousands of years, not just since statehood in 1959.”

Looking ahead to an Alaska she says can encompass the use of natural resources, all while maintaining the pure, pristine nature of the state, is what Cissna believes will keep residents of the state in control of their own destiny.

“The ‘boom and bust’ mentality needs to end and we need a healthy, growing economy again that is focused on logging, fishing and sustainable development for years ahead,” Cissna added. “This truly is the last frontier and it will still be the most beautiful place in the world if we do those things, because we do it right.”

In terms of her education platform, Cissna said she proposes a shift in direction of the Alaska’s public education system that will both hone in on skills needed to serve rural and urban areas, and will keep high school and college graduates in-state for generations to come.

“For schools across the state, we need to be teaching skills that can be used locally first,” Cissna said. “We need to focus on our future generations running the community. For keeping our energy systems and other Alaska-centric programs in both Southeast and the Far North of the state functioning in a way that will keep our kids here in Alaska and growing strong.”

Cissna, who announced her candidacy in April, will face three other Democrats in the August 28 primary election.