On the off chance...

Yes, we do appreciate when elected officials come to Nome. We do appreciate it even more when they announce their arrival in a timely manner. And, of course, it’s most appreciated when there are public meetings or townhall-style gatherings where a dialogue can take place. This did not happen, unfortunately, when Senator Dan Sullivan came with Coast Guard Admiral Zukunft through Nome a couple of weeks ago. They did however have a townhall in Shishmaref. Senator Lisa Murkowski also paid a brief visit to the region recently, but did not hold any townhall gatherings.
On Sunday evening around 6 p.m. an email arrived in my inbox, from the press secretary of California Governor Jerry Brown, asking if I was interested to meet up with the Governor in Nome, on the ‘off chance’ that I would be checking my email. Well. Suffice it to say, I missed the chance to ask the Governor of California what his interest was to visit Nome, Alaska and to find out for our readers whom he met with and what he learned from this part of the world to take home to California. We respect that elected officials have limited time and busy schedules. But so do we. Inform us in a timely manner. —D.H.—