The idea of renaming”the Port of Alaska the “Don Young Port of Anchorage” has been met with little public discussion, up to the Anchorage Assembly’s most recent meeting.
This is when the Assembly had to wrestle with a panel’s suggestion and the possibility of a compromise mis and then decided to delay taking a decision for an indefinite time. There there was no consensus at the December. 19 Assembly meeting on what, or what, to do the next.
The prior Assembly was able to change the title of “Port of Alaska” in 2017 in an act of symbolism partly in order to show lawmakers who fund infrastructure projects that the port’s importance to the state in general. Most of the freight, fuel and other consumer goods that travel to Alaska pass via the port.
The day that congressman Don Young died in the month of March in 2022, Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson suggested a different renaming to pay tribute to Young.
Mayor and Assembly set up a committee to investigate the issue and come up with an recommendation. The panel was unanimously suggested “The Don Young Port of Anchorage.”
On the night of December. 19, several issues prevented the Assembly from deciding.
Then, there was a suggestion that Don Young could behave like an obnoxious clown.
“Don Young was a good guy for Alaska However, he changed into a person who was narcissistic as well as a bully who was a womanizer,” said Assembly member Karen Bronga. “Rewarding public figures for his bad conduct due to the fact that he benefited from state’s money is not in the best interests of our city. The name of a volcano in his honor is according to me far more appropriate.”
The crowd was laughing.
Representative George Martinez said he struggled with the plan. Martinez acknowledged Young has helped many people. However, Martinez who is an African-Latino has also stated that Young disregarded people who look similar to him. He also made use of a racial slur against Latinos in an interview in 2013..
There was also a the issue of switching “Port of Alaska” back to “Port of Anchorage.”
“Ports as well as airports have names that are derived from cities rather than states.” declared Jim Jansen who is chairman of Lynden transport companies, and an active member of the panel for port renaming. “Alaska has 17 ports that are active and airports, with Anchorage being the biggest, with a capacity of 50% of Alaska’s total shipping goods. However, it’s not the port that covers the entirety of Alaska. It’s not right for the port to be named in honor of our state.”
The city code prohibits renaming the public space within 20 years from the previous change.
Many Assembly members were dissatisfied with the way in which a single-minded committee’s renaming had been. The Assembly’s member Anna Brawley said the recommendation was a preordained conclusion from the start.
“Practically in the real world, it’s impossible to turn down the grieving members of a family after the name has been put known to the world,” Brawley said. “That is the truth.”
The procedure exposed flaws in the city’s old ad hoc change of name procedure, Brawley said.
The Assembly approved the new procedure in September, which was intended to develop a more deliberate fair, responsible, and consistent procedure for naming requests such as this one. The new process is expected to be vetted by the brand new Public Naming Commission.
The most recent port renaming plan began before the process was established, however. The new commission only has a paper-based constitution. The members aren’t selected yet.
Director of the Bronson’s staff Mario Bird argued that abandoning the panel’s plan would negate the work of the panel, and Young’s long campaign of winning elections as well as the current Alaskan congressman’s desires.
“Love him or dislike the man, Don Young achieved an amount of accomplishment as a politician in Alaska which should be acknowledged,” Bird said.
The office of the mayor did not reply to an inquiry for comments regarding its next move on the renaming plan. The Assembly is expected to consider a reconsideration of its vote to delay the vote indefinitely at the next meeting scheduled for January. 9.. If the reconsideration passes, Assembly Chair Chris Constant states that he will have a meeting to look at options prior to an official vote in February.
Young was age 88 when he passed away. Young was the longest-serving representative in Congress in the moment, having represented Alaska within the House of Representatives continuously since 1973.
