AM 890 and kbbi.org: Serving the Kenai Peninsula
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Margaret Stock: All Work No Party

Margaret Stock is running for U.S. Senate as an Independent candidate, challenging Republican incumbent Lisa Murkowski who has been in office since 2002. The Harvard graduate is a retired Lieutenant Colonel and has served in the Army Reserve. In 2013 she was awarded a MacArthur Genius Fellowship for her work on immigration and national security. Stock campaigned in Kenai, Soldotna, and Homer on Sept. 21 and 22. 

There are only two Independents in the U.S. Senate: Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Angus King of Maine. Alaska Independent candidate Margaret Stock wants to make it three.

Stock is running against Senator Lisa Murkowski for one of two seats representing Alaska. The other seat is held by Dan Sullivan who is not up for reelection. Stock says she is challenging 14-year incumbent Murkowski because she has not adequately represented Alaskans in Washington, D.C.

“She’s more beholden to her political party, the national Republican party, than she is to ordinary Alaskans who elected her to office the last time. She’s broken her promises to Alaskans, flip-flopped on a number of issues of importance to Alaska and she’s part of the problem in Washington right now. Washington is dysfunctional,” said Stock.

Stock has a list of ways that she says Senator Murkowski is not fulfilling her duties.

“Right now the United States Senate won’t pass a budget and they won’t authorize the use of military force and they won’t fill vacancies on the courts. When Antonin Scalia passed away earlier this year initially she said she agreed with her prior written position and then two days later she flip-flopped and said, ‘no it’s an election year and we are not going to hold any hearings until after the presidential election,” said Stock.

Margaret Stock has lived in Alaska for 30 years.

Her resume is impressive: Stock graduated from Harvard and Radcliffe Colleges  in 1985 (A.B, with honors in Government); Harvard Law School in 1992 (J.D., with honors); Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2001(M.P.A.); and U.S. Army War College in 2006 (Masters of Strategic Studies).

She served in the Army Reserve for 28 years before retiring with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. She also taught in the political science department at UAA and the United States Military Academy at West Point.  

Because Alaska state law prohibits independents from running in a primary, Stock’s campaign had to collect a lot of signatures to get on the ballot. Her campaign collected more than double the signatures necessary (2,854).

The 54-year-old is originally from Massachusetts, where she grew up in a large family.

“My parents were not really well off. My dad got sick and eventually passed away when I was 15 years old. [The] Family fell apart and I ended up in foster care. I was in a homeless shelter for three months as a teenager. I dropped out of high school. Eventually a guidance counseler intervened and got me admitted to Boston University even though I was a high school dropout. And after I completed a year at Boston University my high school awarded me a diploma and then I joined ROTC,” said Stock.

Stock went on to have a military career which brought her to Alaska.

“I was the military police operations officer when I arrived in Alaska in May 1986. And I was expecting to be up here for a three-year tour of duty but of course I fell in love with Alaska and more importantly I met my future husband,” said Stock.

Stock was admitted to the Alaska bar in 1993. She has worked on a variety of cases involving everything from oil and gas to Alaska Native issues. After taking a pro bono immigration case, she became known for her work as an immigration attorney.

In 2013 she was the fourth Alaskan and the only attorney to be awarded a MacArthur Genius Award for her work on immigration and national security issues.

Stock says her experience has prepared her to work on national issues.

“When I was working on the projects that gave rise to the award of the MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, I worked on a lot of legislation at the national level – I worked on bills that senators and congressmen were introducing, I drafted bills, I commented on bills, I testified in front of Congress,” said Stock.

Stock says, as she campaigns, she is listening to the concerns of Alaskans and they sound like this:

“They are concerned about jobs, they are concerned about the environment, they are concerned about energy, they are concerned about education and climate change is a big deal – and those are all issue on which I will do a much better job in Washington than any of the other candidates who are running for the U.S. Senate,” said Stock.

Stock’s campaign slogan is, “all work and no party” and she says she’ll live up to those words if Alaskans elect her on November 8.

“I’m a very hard-working individual. I don’t come from a privileged background. I’m not a politician. I wasn’t born with a silver spoon in my mouth. I got where I am today through hard work and education and I will bring that approach to my work representing Alaskans in the United States Senate,” said Stock.

Democrat Ray Metcalfe, a former Republican state legislator is also challenging Senator Lisa Murkowski along with Libertarian candidate Joe Miller.

Senator Murkowski campaigned in Kenai and Soldotna on Oct. 13 and in Homer in on Oct. 14. Miller campaigned in Kenai and Soldotna on Sept. 12 and 13. He campaigned in Kenai again on Oct. 6 and 7.

Metcalfe nor Miller had campaigned in Homer at the time this story was published, but both say they plan to campaign in Homer before the election on Nov. 8.

Other candidates which will appear on the ballot to represent Alaska in the Senate include: Non-affiliated candidates Breck Craig and Ted Gianoutsos. 

Tags
Local News 2016Senator Lisa MurkowskiMargaret StockIndependentU.S. Senate
Daysha Eaton holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College, and a M.A. from the University of Southern California. Daysha got her start in radio at Seattle public radio stations, KPLU and KUOW. Before coming to KBBI, she was the News Director at KYUK in Bethel. She has also worked as the Southcentral Reporter for KSKA in Anchorage.