Juneau Inaugural Ball Comments:
Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott spoke about his short time as mayor of Juneau between 1994 and 1995, when he left his elected office to serve as CEO of the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation. Egan took Mallott’s place as mayor.
“I thought maybe I would do something that would bring me back to Juneau … and do away with that minor blot on my record,” Mallott joked during his speech.
He said that he has “had in my heart a special place for those who step up for public service,” having originally moved to the capital city from Yakutat for a state position. “Juneau represents the center of that public service,” Mallott said.
Gov. Bill Walker had more glowing things to say about the capital city. He said he and his wife “love being in Juneau.” “I think I made that very clear to a reporter the other day,” he said to cheers from the crowd, referring to his recent statement about keeping the Alaska Legislature in Juneau.
He also spoke briefly on the challenge of low and dropping Alaska crude oil prices, on which the bulk of the state budget is based.
“Byron and I asked for a recount after oil started dropping,” Walker joked.
On a more serious note, he spoke about his mentor, former Gov. Wally Hickel, and the importance of staying positive and pulling together as a state to get through financially tight times.
“Before we had money, we had guts,” he said, speaking of Alaska’s history.
Mallott said later, that his last month in office has “been a kaleidoscope.”
“The idea of dealing with oil prices where they’re at — it’s not exciting but hopefully it focuses us as Alaskans,” he said. He likened the challenge to the Great Alaska Earthquake of 1964 and the Fairbanks Flood of 1967. “We worked our way through those,” he said.
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image credit Michael Penn, Juneau Empire
