Alaska Congressman Nick Begich visited the Southeast Alaska communities of Wrangell, Petersburg, Ketchikan and Juneau last week between March 10 and March 13. In the capital, he spoke to the Alaska Legislature for his annual address.
His Communications Director, Silver Prout, said in an email that the Congressman’s trip focused on meeting with local leaders, industry representatives and community members. She said they discussed local priorities and economic opportunities in each community.
In Wrangell, he met with the borough manager and toured the Public Safety Building, Deepwater Port, Wrangell Harbor Basin and Water Treatment Plant. And he visited Angerman’s Clothing and Sporting Goods, Prout said.
Visiting Petersburg and Ketchikan
His visit to Petersburg was similar, where he talked with the school superintendent, the hospital’s CEO and the harbormaster.
Petersburg borough officials said they discussed infrastructure needs, housing, timber and healthcare.
According to Begich’s Facebook page, he visited the JAG Marine shipyard in Ketchikan.
His team did not want his visits to Wrangell, Petersburg and Ketchikan announced publicly. Prout said the goal was to “spend as much time as possible in direct conversations with local officials, business leaders and community partners.”
Local newspapers and radio stations were not informed of the visits either. Each community held a campaign fundraiser that local supporters shared by email.
Nick Begich is running for reelection on the Republican ticket.
KSTK’s Colette Czarnecki conducted a survey on how many people knew about Begich’s visit. She posted it on the Wrangell Facebook Community page. 24% of participants knew about his visit and 76% did not. A total of 54 people participated.
Olivia Rose contributed reporting from KFSK in Petersburg.
