This week, reports revealed that Rep. Don Young violated ethics rules for decades, hiding his inherited interest in a California family farm tied to secret financial deals with oil and gas companies. It took him more than 20 years to disclose the asset to Congressional ethics officials as required by law.
This certainly isn’t the first time he broke the rules — we just don’t know what else he’s been hiding.
While Rep. Young has not chaired a single full congressional committee since 2007, the unreported leases were signed on land he owned while he was chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources — which has direct jurisdiction over oil and gas exploration.
After selling the land for up to half a million dollars last year, Young took 14 more months to finally disclose his land ownership to Congressional ethics officials.
Public records also suggest at least one top congressional aide to Rep. Young was aware of his undisclosed deals with energy companies, having notarized an unreported lease in 2001.
These deals — and the fact that he has gone out of his way to shield them from the public — are a clear conflict of interest, and another violation of public trust.
Between this, the FBI investigation into Young’s $10 million earmark for a top donor, and a Congressional ethics investigation that forced him to repay nearly $60,000 in illegal trips, gifts, and misused campaign funds, this is the latest in a continuing pattern of unethical behavior that shows Rep. Young is unfit to represent Alaska in Congress.
In April, I announced my campaign for Congress because Alaska deserves ethical leadership and a representative that will always put Alaska first. That starts with being accountable to the people you represent.
As the General Manager of Alaska Public Media from 2007 to 2015, I inherited $2 million in debt, balanced the budget, and built $3 million in reserves over 8 years while strengthening our programming and public television and radio networks.
As the head of the Alaska Humanities Forum, I worked on projects in Alaska communities and Native villages across our state. That ranged from founding Leadership Anchorage, a civic leadership programs for young Alaskans, to language preservation projects and cultural exchanges in every corner of the state. I’ve spent my life partnering with Alaskans to bring people together and make our state a better place to live — and that’s what I’ll do in Congress.
At a time when Alaska’s economy is facing economic challenges we’ve never seen before – when people are losing their jobs and worried about paying their bills — Don Young is hiding land deals, oil and gas leases, and getting caught for accepting illegal gifts.
We deserve more from our representatives. In Congress, I’ll not only fight for tougher ethics rules, but also work to pass an infrastructure bill to build new ports, bridges, and roads to help put Alaska at the center of the new Arctic economy.
I’ll work to expand drilling to keep our pipeline full, increase investment in alternative and renewable energy, and support small businesses with tax incentives and micro-financing loans. We’ll invest in broadband networks, make college more affordable, and strengthen rural economic development. It’s time for leadership that’s focused on rebuilding Alaska’s economy, not filling their own pockets and violating ethics rules.
Most importantly, it’s time for leadership that puts Alaska first again.
• Steve Lindbeck is the Democratic candidate for Congress, running against Rep. Don Young this fall. He is formerly the General Manager of Alaska Public Media, Associate Editor at the Anchorage Daily News and Executive Director at the Alaska Humanities Forum.
