Mary Sattler Peltola is an American politician and former tribal judge serving as the US representative from since September 2022.
33 Facts About Mary Peltola
2.
Mary Peltola 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.
3.
Mary Peltola was reelected to a full term in the regularly scheduled election in November 2022.
4.
Mary Peltola was born in Anchorage, Alaska, on August 31,1973.
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Mary Peltola was raised in the communities of Kwethluk, Tuntutuliak, Platinum, and Bethel.
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Mary Peltola studied elementary education at the University of Northern Colorado and later took courses at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Alaska Southeast, and University of Alaska Anchorage.
7.
In 1995, Mary Peltola won the Miss National Congress of American Indians pageant.
8.
Mary Peltola worked as the campaign manager for Ivan's challenger, Independent candidate Willie Kasayulie, in the general election.
9.
In 1998, Peltola was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives, after a successful rematch against Ivan in the Democratic primary.
10.
Mary Peltola appeared on the ballot under her maiden name, though she was married to Jonathan Kapsner at the time.
11.
Mary Peltola 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.
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Mary Peltola helped to rebuild the Bush Caucus, a bipartisan group of representatives and senators who represent rural and off-road communities in Alaska.
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Mary Peltola worked as manager of community development and sustainability for the Donlin Creek Mine from 2008 to 2014.
14.
In 2010, after incumbent Republican US Senator Lisa Murkowski lost her party's primary, Peltola helped run her successful write-in campaign.
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Mary Peltola was elected to the Bethel City Council in 2011, and served until her term ended in 2013.
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Mary Peltola was a lobbyist in Alaska from 2015 to 2017.
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Mary Peltola defeated Palin and Begich in the ranked-choice runoff tabulation.
18.
Mary Peltola sought a full term in the 2022 general election.
19.
Ahead of the November 2022 election, Mary Peltola announced endorsements from Don Young's daughters, Joni Nelson and Dawn Vallely, in addition to Young's former communications director Zack Brown.
20.
Mary Peltola was sworn in as Alaska's US representative on September 13,2022.
21.
Mary Peltola is the fourth Native woman elected to Congress, after Davids, Herrell, and Deb Haaland.
22.
On September 29,2022, Mary Peltola passed her first bill through the House.
23.
Mary Peltola said she could not support a contract that did not include paid sick days.
24.
Mary 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.
25.
In February 2023, Mary 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.
26.
On January 31,2023, Mary Peltola voted against the Freedom for Health Care Workers Act, a bill to lift COVID-19 vaccine mandates for healthcare workers.
27.
On February 1,2023, Mary Peltola voted against a resolution to end the COVID-19 national emergency.
28.
Mary Peltola 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.
29.
On February 9,2023, Mary 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.
30.
Mary Peltola voted against the Protection of Women and Girls in Sports Act.
31.
Mary Peltola is the first US Representative from Alaska born in the state.
32.
An Alaska Native, Mary Peltola is a tribal member of the Orutsararmiut Native Council.
33.
Mary Peltola is a member of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska.