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[Page S3307]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
REMEMBERING BYRON MALLOTT
Ms. MURKOWSKI. Mr. President, in the short history of Alaska as a
State in our Union, there have been a handful of people--Bill Egan,
Elizabeth Peratrovich, Jay Hammond, Wally Hickel, Ted Stevens--whose
lives formed the fibers that wove Alaskans together. Another of those
leaders passed recently.
Byron Mallott stands among the best of us. Born in the small town of
Yakutat, AL, to the Kwaash Ke Kwaan clan of the Tlingit, in 1943 when
Alaska was still a territory, he went on to an amazing life and career.
His father was the long-time mayor of Yakutat, and when he died
unexpectedly, Byron returned home from college, campaigned to take over
the job, and won the election in 1965 at the age of 22. He then went on
to serve the State's first Governor, Bill Egan, as the commissioner of
the Department of Community and Regional Affairs. When Egan lost his
reelection campaign, Byron went back home to Yakutat and served on the
city council. In 1968, he ran for a seat in the State house, losing by
only 23 votes. In 1969, U.S. Senator Mike Gravel hired Byron to work on
his staff in Washington, DC, where he had a hand in drafting the Alaska
Native Claims Settlement Act, the foundational legislation that
continues to define our State and the relationship with Alaska Natives.
After ANCSA was signed into law, Byron spent 20 years working for
Sealaska Corporation, 1 of 12 Native corporations which was created by
the law. Sealaska is based in Juneau, and its shareholders are
primarily Tlingit, Haida, and Tsimshian. Over the course of his tenure
with Sealaska, Byron was a director, chairman, and then spent a decade
as president and CEO of the corporation. He helped fulfill the vision
of ANCSA by supporting not just the economic vitality of the Native
people in the region, but a cultural renaissance as well.
His additional business experience was extensive. Byron was a
director of several commercial banking institutions, including 6 years
on the Seattle Branch Board of Directors of the Federal Reserve Bank of
San Francisco, multiple years as a director of the Alaska Air Group,
and on the board of the National Alliance for Business. He also served
as president of the Alaska Federation of Native, a brief stint as the
mayor of the city and borough of Juneau, and executive director of the
Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation.
But Byron was far more than a summation of his resume, impressive
though it was. He was a good man and a good friend. When I made the
decision to run as a write-in candidate in 2010, I called to ask him to
be the cochair of that campaign. His response was instant, ``Yes,
absolutely.'' When I said I was making the announcement in an hour, he
said, ``I'll be there.'' There was no hesitation, no concern that he
was a lifelong Democrat, supporting a long-shot Republican candidate.
He exemplified in the best way Ted Stevens' philosophy: To hell with
politics, do what is right for Alaska. With Byron's help, I was able to
make history by winning the second write-in campaign for U.S. Senate in
the country's history. I don't know if I would have been successful
without him.
In 2014, Byron made history himself when he won the Democratic
nomination for Governor of Alaska, then sacrificed his own ambition by
joining with the Independent candidate for Governor to create a Unity
Ticket. Byron agreed to serve as the candidate for Lieutenant Governor,
with Bill Walker leading the ticket. Again, we did what he felt was
right for Alaska, rather than his person political gain.
The Unity Ticket won the 2014 election, but faced some serious
challenges, with low oil prices and a tough deficit situation. The
fiscal crisis unfortunately dominated the 4 years of the Walker-Mallott
administration and created rough political seas for them to weather,
necessitating some hard decisions. Through it all, Byron continued to
do what he had always done, work for Alaska and Alaskans. In the end,
Byron held himself strictly accountable, which is something few people
do, especially in politics.
A friend of mine, Dr. Rosita Worl, says that the Tlingit mourn the
passing of a leader by noting, ``In our forest, a great tree has
fallen.'' That is a fitting metaphor for Byron, who stood strong for
decades, serving as both shelter and a guide for people in Alaska.
Byron was a strong and proud man, not in a boastful way, but as a true
leader whose passion allowed him to put all Alaskans first. His heart
was Alaska, and mine is stronger for having been blessed to call him my
friend. I will miss him. Alaska will miss him.
____________________