OPINION: It’s hard to imagine Alaska without the contributions Arliss Sturgulewski made, writes Charles Wohlforth
Many achievements made Arliss Sturgulewski among the most important and interesting leaders in Alaska history, but the one that popped into my mind when I learned ofPoliticians almost never admit error. Doing so gives opponents something to hit you with. That’s poison for politicians motivated by the desire for power and prestige — big egos are never wrong.
There was nothing for her to gain by being involved. This was obscure, thankless work, she didn’t live in the area, and she had already accomplished everything needed for a place in Alaska history.One of Mountain View’s problems, I believed at that time, was that too many large, multi-family buildings had been allowed on small lots, without enough space for parking or children’s play. Arliss listened and, to my astonishment, took some of the blame for that.
In 1958, Arliss began her career in public service, with the League of Women Voters. She never stopped. Sixty-one years later, she was a co-chair of the petition drive to recall Gov. Mike Dunleavy.Anchorage’s existence as a modern city began with the unification of several local governments into the municipality that exists today.
In 1982, she authored the legislation that set up management of the Alaska Permanent Fund. Much of the fund’s success is due to that structure, which she developed with Elmer Rasmuson, Alaska’s most successful banker. In 1986, Arliss ran for governor, breaking out of the pack with a cute TV ad in which children struggled to pronounce “Sturgulewski” before giving up and saying, “Let’s just call her governor.”In 1986, Steve Cowper won with a large gender gap in the polls. Journalists wrote about Arliss’s weight and said she looked like a scolding schoolmarm. In 1990, Republicans Wally Hickel and Jack Coghill mounted a third-party challenge rather than support a female candidate, and won.
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