Democrat Forrest Dunbar, running against Republican Don Young, campaigns in Sitka Aug. 7, 2014. Dunbar returned to town for Alaska Day. (KCAW photo/Rachel Waldholz)
Congressional candidate Forrest Dunbar says he will push to protect a key federal fishery law if he’s elected.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act governs harvests in federal waters. Some political observers say it could be altered, if the November election changes the balance of power in Congress.
Dunbar says Alaska fisheries need to be protected.
“We don’t want to see many large-scale changes. We think the act is largely working well now,” he said. “We’re worried about other large, powerful outside interests coming in and making significant changes. I do believe we can stop that, though. And I don’t think that it’s a particularly partisan issue.”
Dunbar, an Anchorage Democrat, is challenging Republican Incumbent Don Young for Alaska’s lone seat in the U.S. House of Representatives. Young and Alaska’s two U.S. Senators have voiced similar concerns about the fisheries act.
Dunbar visited Sitka last week to campaign during Alaska Day festivities.
He voiced concerns about British Columbia mines near rivers that flow into the ocean in or near Southeast Alaska. He said the U.S. State Department could do more to pressure Canadian officials.
“Every time they sit down with Canada, this should be one of the first things we bring up. These transboundary mines are going to damage our fisheries. They’re a real risk and we want you to stop them. Some of them we’re going to stop. Some of them have to have better containment,” he said.
The 30-year-old candidate faces 81-year-old Young, who has served 21 terms.
Dunbar got his law degree from Yale, where Sitka-based state Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins studied.
“I think I probably met him first when he was 19 years old. Of course, he was bald then too, but [an] incredibly impressive young man. [We] stayed in contact and I was very happy to see him run for the state House, Dunbar said.
Kreiss-Tomkins, a Democrat, is being challenged in the upcoming election by Petersburg Republican Steven Samuelson.
