Known during the Assembly race as the candidate “Not Afraid to Say No,” Feldpausch says she also is “willing to learn to adapt.” (KCAW photo/Rachel Waldholz)
Lillian Feldpausch wants to see a tight ship at the Sitka Tribe of Alaska. She believes that if the organization stands by its policies and procedures, better quality service will result for tribal citizens.
Feldpausch is running for her second two-year term on the Sitka Tribe of Alaska Council.
In case you haven’t met her, this is Lillian Feldpausch.
Introduces herself in Tlingit, then she translates.
Feldpausch has three priorities guiding her service on the council.
“One is financial stability. Making sure that we have good foundation so that we can continue to grow. The other is subsistence. Subsistence doesn’t just affect tribal citizens, it affects the community as a whole. And then making sure that we have good, reliable health care.”
The Sitka Tribe has 4,000 enrolled citizens, many of whom reside here. She believes this is a compelling reason to keep the Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital open, and to avoid the further migration of jobs in the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium. She calls the phenomenon “Juneau Creep.”
“I’d like to be able to ensure that — and I said it before during my campaign for assembly — I want to keep SEARHC here.”
Feldpausch says that the purpose of tribal government is to make the lives of its citizens better, and health care is critical to that goal. The Tribe experienced few bumps during her first term — there were some financial issues, and high turnover in employees. She thinks the Tribe’s ability to both advocate for citizens, and deliver services, deteriorates when internal problems are a distraction.
“We want to be able to retain qualified staff. And then we also want to make sure that the quality of work that we put out is there, so that we don’t overstress our employees.”
Feldpausch herself has been one of those employees. She worked as a tribal youth program coordinator, and helped launch the Boys & Girls Club. She’s since moved on from the tribe for her paycheck — she works as a personal banker at Wells Fargo now — but her involvement in the organization has deepened since joining the Council in 2012. She chairs the finance committee, and holds seats on the herring and gaming committees. She’s also on the board of Sitka Tribal Enterprises, the Tribe’s commercial arm.
Her own relationship with the Tribe highlights her biggest concern: becoming spread too thin and losing focus on the mission.
“Everyone always comes up with great ideas, but we have to be able to step back and take a look at it, and make sure that the quality of the product that we’re delivering is not affected.”
That product is mainly social services, and resource advocacy and protection. Feldpausch’s husband Jeff runs resource protection for the Tribe. She’s particularly concerned about preserving Sitka’s rural status under federal subsistence rules, and she believes herring are more valuable to the ecosystem in the water than in nets.
It’s a tough line, but Feldpausch says disagreements — especially on the council — create movement.
“Not everyone needs to agree. That’s where we learn — from differences.”
Feldpausch is familiar even to Sitka residents who are not tribal citizens. She ran in October’s assembly race and finished 4th with 525 votes. She says people occasionally approach her and remind her of their vote, and “it doesn’t go unnoticed.”
She also says people remember her unofficial campaign slogan, but they might not have heard the rest.
“Of course I’m Not Afraid to Say No — we all know that — but I’m also willing to learn to adapt.”
Feldpausch was raised in Kake, but started her family in Sitka and now calls this town home. She and her husband have three children. Only the youngest is still in the local school system.
KCAW’s Emily Kwong contributed to this story.
