Difficulties accessing Juneau -- the Need to Move the Capitol

By Representative Vic Kohring

From the onset 20th Alaska Legislature, I was in a race with the weather to get to Juneau. The first couple weeks, I made two trips to our beautiful capital city--the first to set up my office, and the 2nd to drive my motorhome (my residence) to Juneau. Both trips proved eventful.

My first trip was delayed due to major surgery in December, which prevented me from traveling and thus being a part of the Jan. 13th swearing in ceremony. When well enough to travel, I missed my flight because freezing rain conditions on the highway delayed traffic considerably. After barely catching a flight later that day, I was finally in the air. However, again because of the weather, the plane was unable to land in Juneau, due to a heavy cloud cover.

After circling Juneau for 45 minutes, the pilot made a decision to divert to Petersburg. I then found myself on the "milk route"--meaning the Petersburg- Wrangell-Ketchikan-Seattle connection. After landing in Seattle late that night and having my luggage misplaced in the process, I spent the evening there. I departed early the next morning, and finally arrived in Juneau--but 2 days late.

My second adventure involved flying back home in a jam-packed plane, where I felt like I was packed in a sardine can--kind of like in one of those Alaska Airlines commercials. This trip was to participate in two legislative town hall meetings for constituents. My return trip though was via the highway system. Perhaps I would have better success reaching Juneau by road rather than by air, I figured. Not quite.

After driving all night alone (nearly 20 straight hours) and then sleeping in my vehicle, I attempted to reach Haines to catch the ferry into Juneau. The problem was again the weather, preventing me from getting through the notorious "pass", between Haines Junction and the port town of Haines. It's just as well, because a driver ahead of me who made the attempt ended up upside down in the ditch--car wrecked. I therefore missed the ferry. I had thought of taking a chance of traveling the pass that evening, but decided it wasn't worth risking my life to drive in the middle of the night in near white-out conditions through mountainous terrain.

Once again after sleeping in my vehicle, I drove the pass into Haines, along a very slick highway and under heavy fog. Arriving in Haines, I theorized that if I caught a commuter flight into Juneau, I could avoid missing further House Floor sessions. Not a chance. The "ceiling" was about 400 feet, so no planes dared to fly. That meant waiting it out yet another day.

Now my challenge was trying to get on the next ferry, the Taku. Problem was, it was a smaller boat, and I was told it was unlikely my motorhome would fit. Luckily, they let me on, at 5:00 AM, and as the last vehicle on board--barely squeezing on. Finally, all wiped out, I arrived in Juneau several hours later. My second adventure was history.

The result of these delays was missed House Floor sessions, Majority Caucus and committee meetings. After contemplating what I experienced, I realized how much better it be to have the capital closer to home, instead of in such a remote an inaccessible location as Juneau.

There actually are numerous valid reasons why Alaska's Legislature should be relocated, including safety considerations for those traveling, access for constituents wishing to visit their elected representatives, and the cost of Legislators and staff traveling to and from Juneau.

There are two bills before the Legislature (HB 15 and HB 42) which call for moving the Legislature to Anchorage, both of which I intend to co-sponsor. There have also been efforts in the past to move the capital, which I also supported. For example, in 1976, the year I was eligible to vote for the first time (upon turning 18), I cast my ballot to relocate the capital to Willow. More recently was former Rep. Pat Carney's efforts in 1994, who's ballot initiative called for moving the capital to Wasilla, which unfortunately failed.

Let's get going, and move the capital--to make government not only "of the people, by the people, but accessible to the people"!

Note: I just made another trip home to the district, and on the return trip...........you guessed it, was delayed. This time the flight was diverted to Sitka, where I was forced to board a charted boat to Juneau. I arrived back at the capitol 2 days late. Third time in a row!