Mary Peltola facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Mary Peltola
Akalleq
Co-Chair of the Blue Dog Coalition
Incumbent
Assumed office May 24, 2023 Serving with Jared Golden, Marie Gluesenkamp Perez
Preceded by	Jim Costa
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Alaska's at-large district
Incumbent
Assumed office September 13, 2022
Preceded by	Don Young
Member of the Alaska House of Representatives
In office January 19, 1999 – January 19, 2009
Preceded by	Ivan Ivan
Succeeded by	Bob Herron
Constituency	38th district (2003–2009) 39th district (1999–2003)
Personal details
Born	Mary Sattler (1973-08-31) August 31, 1973 (age 51) Anchorage, Alaska, U.S.
Citizenship	United States Orutsararmiut Native Council
Political party	Democratic
Spouses	Jonathan Kapsner ​ (divorced)​ Joe Nelson ​ (divorced)​ Buzzy Peltola ​ (died 2023)​
Children	7 (3 stepchildren)

Mary Sattler Peltola (/pɛlˈtoʊlə/ pel-TOH-lə; née Sattler; Yup'ik: Akalleq; formerly Nelson, formerly Kapsner; born August 31, 1973) is an American politician and former tribal judge serving as the U.S. representative from Alaska's at-large congressional district since September 2022. She previously served as a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council's tribal court, executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Bethel city councillor and member of the Alaska House of Representatives.

A member of the Democratic Party, Peltola defeated former Governor Sarah Palin and Alaska Policy Forum board member Nick Begich in an upset in the August 2022 special election to succeed Don Young, who died in March that year. In doing so, she became the first Alaska Native member of Congress and the only Russian Orthodox, as well as the first woman ever to represent Alaska in the House, the first person to have been born in Alaska to serve in the House, and first Democrat since Nick Begich Sr. in 1972. She was reelected to a full term in the regularly scheduled election in November 2022. As of 2023, Peltola is the only Democrat holding statewide office in Alaska.

Early life and education

Peltola is Yup'ik from Western Alaska. She was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 31, 1973. Her father, Ward Sattler, a German-American from Nebraska, moved to Alaska to work as a pilot and teacher. Her mother, Elizabeth "LizAnn" Piicigaq Williams, is Yup'ik from Kwethluk. Peltola was raised in the communities of Kwethluk, Tuntutuliak, Platinum, and Bethel. As a child, she traveled with her father around Alaska as he campaigned for Congressman Don Young. As a college student, she worked as a herring and salmon technician for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Peltola studied elementary education at the University of Northern Colorado (1991 to 1993) and later took courses at the University of Alaska Fairbanks (1994 to 1995), University of Alaska Southeast (1995 to 1997), and University of Alaska Anchorage (1997 to 1998).

In 1995, Peltola won the Miss National Congress of American Indians pageant. In the competition, she performed two Yup'ik dances and wore traditional clothing including a squirrel skin parka, wolf hair headdress, and mukluks.

Early career

In 1996, Peltola was an Alaska Legislature intern. Later that year, she ran for a Bethel region seat, losing to incumbent Ivan Ivan by 56 votes. Peltola worked as the campaign manager for Ivan's challenger, Independent candidate Willie Kasayulie, in the general election.

Peltola later worked as a reporter.

Alaska House of Representatives (1999–2009)

In 1998, Peltola was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives, after a successful rematch against Ivan in the Democratic primary. She appeared on the ballot under her maiden name, though she was married to Jonathan Kapsner at the time. She was elected and reelected mostly without or with only minimal opposition, with Ivan's return to challenge her in the 2002 primary the closest contest she faced.

In the House, Peltola served on various standing committees, including Finance, Resources and Health and Social Services. She helped to rebuild the Bush Caucus, a bipartisan group of representatives and senators who represent rural and off-road communities in Alaska.

In 2004, Peltola criticized No Child Left Behind Act rules which would impede the continuation of the practice of administering tests in some western Alaskan schools in the native Yupik language.

Peltola authored a law which allowed teachers to be given exemption from jury duty if they work at schools which had failed to meet adequate annual progress. This was signed into law by governor Frank Murkowski in July 2004.

Later career (2009–2022)

Peltola testifying before the Senate Committee on Indian Affairs in 2018

Peltola worked as manager of community development and sustainability for the Donlin Creek Mine from 2008 to 2014. In 2010, after incumbent Republican U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski lost her party's primary, Peltola helped run her successful write-in campaign. Peltola was elected to the Bethel City Council in 2011, and served until her term ended in 2013. She was a lobbyist in Alaska from 2015 to 2017. After 2016, Peltola served as executive director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission. From 2020 to 2021, she served as a judge on the Orutsararmiut Native Council's tribal court.

U.S. House of Representatives (2022–present)

Elections

Peltola during the 117th Congress

2022 special

Peltola was one of the three candidates to progress to the general election of the 50 who ran in 2022 Alaska's at-large congressional district special election primary to succeed Don Young, and thereby become the fifth representative from Alaska in the U.S. House since statehood. She advanced to the runoff in fourth place, the only Democrat to do so. Al Gross, an independent in third place in the primary, dropped out of the runoff, leaving two Republicans remaining, former governor Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III. Gross endorsed Peltola after dropping out of the race. Three Alaska voters filed a losing suit to challenge the decision not to allow Republican Tara Sweeney, the fifth placer in the primary, to advance to the runoff. Sweeney subsequently withdrew her candidacy. Peltola defeated Palin and Begich in the ranked-choice runoff tabulation.

2022

Peltola sought a full term in the 2022 general election. She advanced to the general election in first place, receiving 36.8% of the votes in the primary. Alaska Republican Lisa Murkowski, running for her fourth term in the U.S. Senate, told Alaska Federation of Natives Convention delegates that she intended to vote for Peltola as her top choice in the 2022 election. Murkowski said: "I do not toe the party line just because party leaders have asked... My first obligation is to the people of the state of Alaska."

Ahead of the November 2022 election, Peltola announced endorsements from Don Young's daughters, Joni Nelson and Dawn Vallely, in addition to Young's former communications director Zack Brown. Various other friends and former staff of Young endorsed Peltola in a formal endorsement letter. Peltola, who received just under 49% of the vote in initial balloting, was declared the winner on November 23, defeating Palin again with 54.9% of the ranked-choice vote, after those votes cast for her as the second-place choice on ballots of the eliminated third-place candidate, Nick Begich III, were added to her total.

Tenure

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (left) swears in Peltola as her husband, Gene (center), looks on

Peltola was sworn in as Alaska's U.S. representative on September 13, 2022. Upon her swearing in, Congress had an Alaska Native (Peltola), Native Americans (Sharice Davids, Yvette Herrell, Markwayne Mullin, and Tom Cole), and a Native Hawaiian (Kai Kahele) serving simultaneously for the first time ever. She is the fourth Native woman elected to Congress, after Davids, Herrell, and Deb Haaland.

On September 29, 2022, Peltola passed her first bill through the House. The bill would create an Office of Food Security in the Department of Veterans Affairs. Peltola's bill passed the House in a 376–49 vote.

During the 2022 United States railroad labor dispute, Peltola was one of eight House Democrats to vote against a bill that would impose a new contract on railroad workers despite several rail unions voting against it. She said she could not support a contract that did not include paid sick days.

Peltola supports allowing ConocoPhillips to drill for oil in the so-called Willow project, and urged the White House and the Interior Department to approve the project, which they did.

In February 2023, Peltola announced that she had chosen Josh Revak, a former Republican state senator who ran against her in the 2022 special election, to run her Alaska office. Peltola's congressional staffers include Republicans. Her chief of staff, Alex Ortiz, was chief of staff to her predecessor Don Young. In April 2023, Ortiz left her congressional office to take a position with her campaign in Southeast Alaska.

Political positions

COVID-19 policy

On January 31, 2023, Peltola voted against the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill to lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.

On February 1, 2023, Peltola voted against a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.

Environment

Peltola is a supporter of the Willow Project and increased oil development within the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska.

Fisheries

Peltola focused on fisheries in her election campaigns. She supports reforming the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, to better protect fisheries and marine ecosystems. She believes that the act's focus on "optimum yield" has privileged economic considerations over environmental ones, and supports amending the act to prioritize the environment.

Gun rights

On June 13, 2023, Peltola, along with one other Democrat, Jared Golden of Maine, voted with Republicans for H.J. Res. 44, a bill which attempted to repeal the ATF's new regulations regarding pistol braces.

Immigration

On February 9, 2023, Peltola voted against a resolution condemning the Local Resident Voting Rights Amendment Act of 2022, the District of Columbia's plan to allow non-citizens to vote in local elections.

Syria

In 2023, Peltola voted against H.Con.Res. 21, which directed President Joe Biden to remove U.S. troops from Syria within 180 days.

Committee assignments

For the 118th Congress:

• Committee on Natural Resources
  • Subcommittee on Federal Lands
  • Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries
• Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
  • Subcommittee on Aviation
  • Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation

Caucus memberships

• Blue Dog Coalition

Personal life

Peltola is the first U.S. Representative from Alaska to be born in the state. She now resides in Bethel. Her third husband, Eugene "Buzzy" Peltola Jr., served as Alaska director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. He died on September 13, 2023, "awaiting rescue after the plane he was flying crashed" on the evening of September 12. She has four biological children and three stepchildren. An Alaska Native, Peltola is a tribal member of the Orutsararmiut Native Council. She is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska.

Electoral history

Note: election was to fill four seats with 2-year terms and two seats with 1-year terms. Candidates were given the choice of which to fill on the basis of their vote-count, with the highest vote-getters being given first-preference to decide which length of a term they wanted to fill. Mary Sattler (Mary Peltola), Richard D. Robb, Gene Peltola Jr., and Mark Springer filled two-year terms while Joseph A. Klejka and Kent Harding filled one-year terms.

See also

In Spanish: Mary Peltola para niños

• List of Native American jurists
• List of Native Americans in the United States Congress
• Women in the United States House of Representatives