Harry Crawford, Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives, visited Haines Oct. 12.
Crawford has served 10 years in the state House of Representatives, representing an Anchorage district. He’s been a member of the House finance committee six years.
Crawford, 58, is an ironworker by trade. He’s running to unseat incumbent Republican Don Young, who has held Alaska’s lone Congressional seat since 1973.
Crawford said Young has been stripped of powerful positions, including one on the House Transportation Committee, since he was caught inserting an earmark in a bill after it was sent out of committee, breaking House rules.
“Young has no seniority left. He has a lot of campaign contributions, but not like he had in the past,” Crawford said.
Crawford said his experience in the state legislature shows he can work with members of the opposite party to pass legislation.
Crawford said he authored legislation that created a “red stripe” driver’s license for repeat DUI offenders that tips off vendors that the individual can’t legally purchase booze.
He and fellow legislator Eric Croft co-sponsored the initiative that requires open U.S. Senate seats in Alaska to be filled by voters, not by appointment. The previous arrangement became an issue in 2004 when then-Gov. Frank Murkowski appointed daughter Lisa Murkowski to the U.S. Senate.
He also claims co-authorship of a campaign finance reform initiative in 1994 that reduced Alaska campaign contributions to $500 for individuals and $1,000 for political action committees.
Other legislation he’s proud of includes an anti-stalking law previously limited to cases of domestic violence he broadened to protect people from stalking by strangers.
An anti-animal cruelty bill he co-sponsored protects animals outside of the boundaries of municipalities.
“Every once in a while, I get to do some good,” Crawford said. “I think I can do more good in the U.S. Congress than in the Alaska Legislature. I really don’t like the way I’m being represented by Don Young. He doesn’t represent me. He represents corporate interests.”
Young received $77,000 in contributions from oil giant BP in the last campaign cycle, he said. “When Young made a statement that the Gulf oil spill wasn’t an environmental disaster but a natural phenomenon, that speech was bought and paid for by BP.”
If elected, Crawford said he’d seek a constitutional amendment to reverse the personhood of corporations, making them liable for their actions.
He said he’d also seek a universal, defined-benefit pension plan for all U.S. citizens. “Everyone would get a retirement. We could buy up our own bonds instead of owing to foreign creditors. It would make us a nation of savers instead of a nation of debtors.”
Crawford also faulted Young for missing the House vote on the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which passed the House by a single vote.Young also has voted for the Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) and the General Agreement on Trades and Tariff (GATT).
“They don’t help working people in our country or other countries. They benefit large corporations like Wal-Mart,” Crawford said.
Crawford said dependence on foreign oil was the “800-pound gorilla” directing U.S. foreign policy. He said he’d pursue hydrogen technology.
He said local mines should be taxed to create “permanent funds” of wealth, similar to the state’s permanent fund from oil. “Mining is non-renewable. That’s how you make it renewable, so it benefits your community tomorrow and the next day.”
He stuck to a schedule of writing from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., and finished the book by June.
“When I realized that it was going to become a book, actually, then I got to thinking, ‘What about publishing?’” Hodnik said. “Not that, initially, that mattered at all. Making any money never was part of my motive.”
He browsed the Internet for some options and at first showed little interest in self-publishing, which he considered “too vain.” Eventually, he found Xlibris to be “never pushy,” and looked into a self-publishing package from that business.
“You know what that number was?” Hodnik asked. “It was almost exactly what our dividend check was going to be.”
The agreement with Xlibris allowed “Lessons from Alaska” to be sold through sites such as Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, plus the Babbling Book in Haines, where a paperback version sells for $20.
Hodnik said he is looking forward to receiving more feedback from the community.
“Here are the two reactions that I would find most heartening: ‘Jack, I read your book. Thank you for the insights. They were really helpful.’” Hodnik said. “No. 2, most important to me, ‘Jack, I read your book. You know what you’re talking about.’ From an Alaskan, ‘You know what you’re talking about.’ Those would be two compliments that I would really like to hear.”
Hodnik, though, said he is disappointed with some parts of the book.
“I give an acknowledgment in there to my cousin Bruce, who, when he caught wind of my writing a book, wanted to be my editor,” he said. “I told him – and I shouldn’t have, but I did – ‘Bruce, I was an English teacher. I’m sure I can handle the mechanical stuff. I want you to react to the content, that kind of editing.’ And he did. The book, as I say, is a better book because of his observations, but I should have been much more careful with the editing.”
The book is broken into nine chapters: “Boom and Bust,” “Rural Lifestyle,” “Influential People,” “Weather Or Not,” “The Alaska I Came to See,” “Yupik Culture As I Experienced It,” “Lessons From the Classroom: The Power of Myth,” “This Land is My Land; This Land is Your Land,” and “Where Money Goes to Hide.” The conclusion is titled, “Almost an Alaskan.”
“In every chapter, I was totally honest,” Hodnik said. “I didn’t fudge, at all.”
He said “Lessons from Alaska” includes a “no-holds-barred” analysis of public education, with a focus on his heightened expectations for Yupik students, who called him “Mr. H.”
Hodnik said he was nervous about a chapter that centered on Yupik culture.
“One must always be careful in discussing another’s culture since it is tantamount to discussing another’s family,” he wrote.
Hodnik has remained close to some of his Yupik students, including one top scholar. “I got a wedding invitation from her three years ago, and I surprised her by actually showing up,” Hodnik said.
“Lessons from Alaska” also describes Hodnik’s longtime love of hunting and his stated reverence for nature.
“When I go out into the wilderness, I am going to church,” he said. “If you ever see me at a streamside or in the forest, you’re going to notice how quiet I am, which I’m normally not in this society.”
Hodnik has been a taxidermist and said those efforts aim to “faithfully reproduce what God created.”
He likes a challenge and said, “I catch fish because they’re trying to be not caught, and I fool them.”
“Lessons from Alaska” was another challenge, and Hodnik said he was relieved when it was finished.
“It’s exactly like being responsible for producing a child, and I’ve produced a couple,” he said. “You’re proud and fascinated, but then there’s the second thought, ‘Now, this is going to go out to the public.’”