Of Bears and Ballots: An Alaskan Adventure in Small-Town Politics

by Heather Lende

"This book will inspire people to work with and for their neighbors in all kinds of ways!" -Bill McKibben, author of Falter

The writer whom the Los Angeles Times calls "part Annie Dillard, part Anne Lamott" now brings us her quirky and compassionate account of holding local office.

Heather Lende was one of the thousands of women inspired to take a more active role in politics during the past few years. Though her entire campaign for assembly member in Haines, Alaska, cost less than $1,000, she won! But tiny, breathtakingly beautiful Haines - a place accessible from the nearest city, Juneau, only by boat or plane - isn't the sleepy town it appears to be: from a bitter debate about the expansion of the fishing boat harbour to the matter of how to stop bears from rifling through garbage on Main Street to the recall campaign that targeted three assembly members, including Lende, we witness the nitty-gritty of passing legislation, the lofty ideals of our republic, and how the polarising national politics of our era play out in one small town.

With an entertaining cast of offbeat but relatable characters, Of Bears and Ballots is an inspirational tale about what living in a community really means, and what we owe one another.

• ISBN10: 1643751409
• ISBN13: 9781643751405
• Publish Date: 25 May 2021 (first published 30 June 2020)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Algonquin Books (division of Workman)
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 288
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jeff Sexton]

Reminiscent of The American President, To A Point. This is a tale of a small town grandmother's one and only City Council run in a small rural Alaskan town that happens to have a couple of major connections: It is the home of Glacier Point -a major Alaskan cruise stop -and it is the hometown of Parker Schnabel of Discovery Channel's Gold Rush family of shows. Both of which actually play heavily into the narrative here, as they both came up repeatedly in Lende's singular three year term from 2016 - 2019.

Overall Lende is at times hopeful, at other times remorseful, and at still others a bit wistful. In both her politics and her overruling desire for basic decency, she even manages to evoke Michael Douglas' portrayal of President Andrew Shepherd in The American President, again, at least to a point. She manages to be seemingly honest about at least her thoughts and motivations during the various events and controversies of the three years, and in so doing provides an insight into what being on a small town City Council really can be like. Very much recommended.