OPINION: Young would be proud of Peltola as a successor

I considered Don Young a close friend of mine. I appreciated his quick wit, intelligence, commitment to bipartisanship and honesty. He was consumed with standing up for Alaska.

About five years ago, he and I were chatting. He confided that some of his closest supporters were suggesting to him that he should not run for reelection and it was time to retire. He asked for my opinion. I told him I thought he was still effective, and it would be a terrible loss to Alaska to lose his seniority and his capabilities. I asked if he wanted to retire and, if so, did he have someone he would like to have replace him? He didn’t hesitate.

No, he replied, he wasn’t really interested in retiring. He thought he was still effective. And, no, he did not have someone lined up to replace him. He then shared with me what I really want to share with you — his prerequisites for his replacement.

He was not interested in someone from either Anchorage or the Mat-Su. He feared their perspective would be urban only, and they would not have appropriate consideration for the needs of rural Alaska.

He was fearful of being replaced by someone who was really interested in using the congressional seat as a stepping stone to either the U.S. Senate or the governorship of Alaska.

He wanted someone young, ideally from rural Alaska — someone who would be prepared to stay in that seat for years to come, the same way he did, in order to accrue the seniority necessary in the U.S House of Representatives to effectively wield influence and be able to support and protect Alaska.

Lastly, he wanted someone who would practice the same kind of “hands across the aisle” political approach he practiced and found so effective.

Wherever Don Young is right now, I’ll bet he has a little grin on his face. Who would have foreseen it? Mary Peltola. She checks each one of Don’s criteria. Nick Begich and Sarah Palin check none of them.

Don Young was a straightforward guy. He understood Alaska. He knew what was necessary to effectively participate in the Congress in the past and in the future. I am sure his secret ballot would be for Mary Peltola. Please join me in voting for her as well this November.

Larry Cotter is retired from the seafood industry. He worked with, and was friends with, Don Young for many decades.

The views expressed here are the writer’s and are not necessarily endorsed by the Anchorage Daily News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)adn.com. Send submissions shorter than 200 words to letters@adn.com or click here to submit via any web browser. Read our full guidelines for letters and commentaries here.