TOWARDS BETTER LOCAL GOVERNANCE IN ALASKA'S UNORGANIZED BOROUGH

Alaska's unorganized borough is the only unincorporated county-equivalent area in the entire United States, but the Alaska Constitution never envisioned that would be the case. The framers of the Alaska Constitution drafted a revolutionary article on local government that prioritized localism--...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inAlaska law review Vol. 40; no. 2; p. 305
Main Author Sherman, Jake
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Duke University, School of Law 01.12.2023
Subjects
Constitutional law
Evaluation
Government accountability
Incorporation
Interpretation and construction
Jurisdiction, Territorial
Laws, regulations and rules
Legitimacy of governments
Local taxation
Municipal government
Municipal home rule
Tribal government
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Summary:Alaska's unorganized borough is the only unincorporated county-equivalent area in the entire United States, but the Alaska Constitution never envisioned that would be the case. The framers of the Alaska Constitution drafted a revolutionary article on local government that prioritized localism--participation in local government--to further democratic engagement in the state. Recognizing that much of rural Alaska lacked the population and infrastructure to support incorporated and localized self-governance in the 1950s, the framers opted not to automatically incorporate the entire state under various borough governments. Even so, the framers made clear that the state was to play an active role in encouraging (and even compelling) the incorporation of rural sections of the state as time progressed.
ISSN:0883-0568
1930-6598