On Dec. 10, candidate Tom Begich visited the Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta on his campaign trail for Alaska governor.
Begich is one of two Democrats running for the seat, which will be on the ballot this coming November.
Begich is from Anchorage and works as the Government Affairs Director for the Coalition for Education Equity. He was also a state senator. Begich said that he’s been to the Y-K Delta many times before, through his careers in education policy and tribal court development. He said that at the state level, he’s continually brought up the resilience of the region’s districts, referencing the Lower Kuskokwim School District’s preschool program’s connection to better performance in students at later grades.
“When you know that that innovation is happening in rural Alaska, it is part of the plan,” Begich said. “It's not a neglected stepchild. It is the child. It is the standard that you use to set the rest of this, this policymaking on. You base it on where it works in the best and most difficult climates.”
In Bethel, Begich met with local leaders and spoke with students in the ANSEP program.
“You have to learn from what you're listening, from what people are offering you, and then that helps form decisions that are actually emerging from community as opposed to being imposed on community,” Begich said. “And that's why I'm here in Bethel.”
Begich said that conversations during his visit revealed both short-term and long-term needs. He referenced the power outage and water system failure in Napaskiak that overlapped with his visit.
“We have to have a state that is stepping forward immediately to respond to all our residents, not just those that are in the rail belt or those who are in Southeast, but all of our residents deserve the same consideration when these kinds of things happen,” Begich said.
Begich said that the list of longer-term priorities of the Y-K Delta includes food security, like the ability to harvest subsistence foods and navigate the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers' declining salmon populations.
“We know from the last few years because of climate change and global warming — which I do believe in — we know that our we're not only losing the ability to, if you will, grow our stock because of warming of the Bering Sea, we're also having it overfished,” Begich said. “And we have to be able to respond to both of these crises in the long term.”
Another topic Begich said has come up during his visit is the state's role in providing quality education and adequate school building infrastructure. Begich said that he’s been involved in school building relocation efforts, referencing a relocation project in the Northwest Arctic Borough community of Kivalina.
Begich said that he believes in working with tribes and communities on the Y-K Delta and beyond to address the impacts of a warming climate. He said that his approach is to follow each community's lead, to listen and support local experts with relocation efforts and fortifying rural school infrastructure.
“I want to reach out to communities across the state, in particular those that are threatened because of global warming and climate change, and say, 'Where should you be moving? How should we fix this? How do we make this work from your perspective?'” Begich said.”
If elected as governor, Begich would pick up the torch leading the state through recovery following Typhoon Halong. He said that his priorities would be to make sure there is continued federal government support, such as through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), and continued prioritization of state resources to help over the coming years.
“It takes a night to destroy a town. It takes a decade to rebuild it,” Begich said. “That means that commitment cannot be one time you're out of the news we're not going to pay attention to you anymore.”
Begich is one of two Democrats currently running for the governor's seat, along with Alaska State Sen. Matt Claman.
Begich has also said publicly that if former congresswoman Mary Peltola were to decide to enter the race, he would step out and support her.
“What is most important is that we elect the next governor to change the direction our state is moving in, which will mean a governor who does have rural interests at heart,” Begich explained. “And to compete with each other would end up creating a situation where both of us could lose. And so should she jump into the governor's race? I'd be right there with her.”
Begich said that he feels the two are especially aligned politically on education and Y-K Delta specific issues, including understanding climate change’s impact on the region and the challenges facing subsistence fishing. He also said that he considers Pelota a friend.
Begich said that he will be back in February 2026 as part of his campaign trail when he hopes to venture to Akiachak on the ice road and play guitar at a Bethel open mic.
