Haines leaders say they misunderstood vote to hire lobbyist, seek to reconsider

The Haines Borough Administration Building, March 3, 2025. (Will Steinfeld/Chilkat Valley News)

By Will Steinfeld

Chilkat Valley News

Some assembly members are hoping to reconsider their vote last week to hire a new federal lobbyist after learning that the candidate they thought they were voting on is not a lobbyist at all — and is also the managing director of a mining company. 

Since 2022, the borough has paid federal lobbyists $3,000 per month, mainly to help secure federal grant money for big borough projects like the public safety building and Lutak Dock rebuilds. 

During last Tuesday’s assembly meeting, borough manager Alekka Fullerton announced a change to the borough lobbyist position: the borough was dropping its previous federal lobbyist, Jay Sterne. 

“I was having a hard time reaching [Sterne],” Fullerton told assembly members. “I finally told him it looks like he isn’t able to fit us into his roster, and he suggested perhaps he would be able to facilitate the transfer of our representation to Kaleb Froehlich.” 

The resolution in front of the assembly to transfer from Sterne’s firm to Froehlich’s firm used similar language, stating that “the manager recommends the Haines Borough enter into a contract with Kaleb Froehlich and the Holland & Hart LLP firm for federal lobbyist services…” 

The assembly voted unanimously to approve that contract, which maintained Sterne’s rate, $3,000 per month, for the six months left on the old contract. 

But when reached by email this week, Froehlich told the Chilkat Valley News he would not be the borough’s lobbyist, because he is not a registered lobbyist at all. 

He also described the borough’s resolution as “not correct,” in a Facebook message to community member Sheri Loomis, viewed by the Chilkat Valley News. 

But Froehlich does have some role to play in Holland & Hart’s potential representation of the borough; he’s employed by the firm as a “senior policy advisor,” and was listed first among a four-person representation team on Holland & Hart’s lobbying proposal to the borough. 

Froehlich was a registered lobbyist from 2014 through 2020, including with Holland & Hart, according to federal lobbying disclosures. 

Holland & Hart this week declined to clarify who would be representing the borough, and how, beyond that Anton McParland would be the lead lobbyist. The company instead directed questions to Fullerton. 

McParland was the chief of staff to former U.S. Representative Mary Peltola, who is also listed as part of the Holland & Hart representation team in the documents sent to the borough. McParland, however, was not mentioned by name during the assembly meeting or in the resolution the group ultimately voted upon.  

And while Holland & Hart says McParland will be the lead lobbyist on the team, it seems Froehlich was presented to the borough as the team’s point person.

Fullerton said her conversations with Holland & Hart made it clear to her that a team would be working to represent the borough. 

But she said Froehlich’s was the specific name given to her by former lobbyist Jay Sterne, and she said she was — and still is — under the impression that Froehlich will be taking the lead. That was reflected in her pre-meeting work. When Fullerton was pointed in Froehlich’s direction by the former lobbyist, she said she “called six or seven people on both sides of the aisle to ask them about (Froehlich).” She said she did not make any similar calls about McParland.

It was only on Monday of this week that Fullerton learned Froehlich was not a registered lobbyist. 

What Froehlich’s role will be representing the borough is significant to those who have taken issue with his mining-industry involvement.

Froehlich, a former chief of staff for Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, is also currently listed as the managing director of mining firm Ambler Metals. Ambler Metals has holdings in the Brooks Range and is partnering with the state to fund a road project to facilitate mine development in the area. Froehlich also lobbied for multiple mining firms prior to joining Murkowski’s team in 2020. 

Mining is a controversial topic in general in the Chilkat Valley, including as it relates to the Lutak Dock rebuild, which has been linked by some residents to potential ore transport. 

According to both Fullerton and the lobbying proposal, the new lobbyist will be involved with securing federal funding for the Lutak Dock. That could include a $12.5 million grant the borough is currently applying for, Fullerton said. 

“Lobbyists act as a connector to their network,” former borough assembly member Natalie Dawson said earlier this week. “When you choose a lobbyist, you’re choosing a network. The borough has now chosen the mining network as their network for getting money for the Lutak Dock project.” 

Dawson isn’t the only one connecting Froehlich and his firm to resource extraction. In Holland & Hart’s proposal to the borough, the lobbying firm pitched a two-part strategy: one part titled “federal relationship-building,” and the other titled “frame Haines as an ally of unleashing Alaska’s resource economy.” That second category also proposes “(framing) access to Haines as foundational to successful resource development in remote, resource-rich regions.”

Assembly member Kevin Forster said he found out about Froehlich’s mining involvement only after last week’s meeting. Had he known, he said, he wouldn’t have voted to approve the hire. Assembly member Craig Loomis said the same. 

“This is exactly what this community doesn’t need,” Forster said Monday. “It felt like a watershed meeting (last Tuesday) where the dock project could become less of a third rail and people could come together on it. I feel like this was a major oversight, and would not have voted the way I did had I understood Kaleb’s involvement in the (mining) industry.” 

Fullerton, however, said Froehlich’s mining connections did not play into her decision to recommend the Holland & Hart hire and downplayed its significance. As for the resource development section of the firm’s proposal, Fullerton said it was “probably some of the canned portion of their proposal.”

Ultimately, Fullerton said, the borough government would be responsible for directing the activities of the lobbyist. If a lobbyist offered to secure dock funding that was tied to mining, Fullerton said she would say no. 

“My response would be, I don’t believe this community is interested in catering to an ore terminal, for instance. And then they’re not going to say, screw you, we’re going to do what we want. They work for us.” 

“If that were to change, it would need to be very explicit,” Fullerton said. “We would need a lot of public input and there would be a very long road to get there.”

Assembly member Richard Clement made a similar point this week, saying that “if (Froehlich) is a good lobbyist, he’ll take direction from the borough and do the borough’s business.”

“The borough is not in the business of shipping ore and never has been,” Clement added. 

Clement also made sure to push back against claims that Froehlich’s mining involvement would be disqualifying. 

“People bring up things that are absolutely legal and claim that they are the work of the devil,” Clement said. “Mining is a legal activity. It’s not like he’s selling heroin.”

Both Forster and Loomis are planning a motion to reconsider the vote during next week’s assembly meeting. A majority vote would be required to even bring the matter up for reconsideration. Of the five assembly members who voted on the original motion, two — Cheryl Stickler and Gabe Thomas — said they understood they were voting on a team, and not just Froehlich as an individual. 

The contract with Holland & Hart is currently unsigned, and Fullerton said she doesn’t plan to move forward until after the assembly discussion. 

• This article originally appeared in the Chilkat Valley News.