Jeannette Lee
Jeannette Lee was Sightline's Alaska Research Director, based in Anchorage and focused on democracy and housing issues. Prior to Sightline, Jeannette consulted at the Adaptation Fund and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, and worked as a federal natural gas researcher. She was also a business and policy journalist for The Associated Press in Alaska and Hawai'i, Atlantic Media Company in Washington, DC, and the former Alaska Dispatch News (previously and currently the Anchorage Daily News). Jeannette earned her BA in history from Yale University and her MA from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she focused on economics and Arctic energy and climate issues. Jeannette is very pro-noncontiguous states, having moved to Alaska in 2005 from her home state of Hawai'i. She spends many hours trying to be a decent cross-country skier, mountain biker, and gardener. Find her research here.
SwatchJunkies
SwatchJunkies
Three Ways Anchorage Leaders Could Unlock More Homes
The ordinances under consideration offer commonsense solutions to address the city’s longstanding housing shortage.
Read More
Alaskans Keep Their Model Election System
The open primaries and ranked choice voting that have delivered more representation for independents and moderate Republicans survived a repeal effort.
Read More
What’s Different in Alaska Since Election Laws Changed
How Alaskans have responded to nonpartisan open primaries and ranked choice voting.
Read More
Despite Candidate Dropouts, Alaska Elections Are Becoming More Competitive
A dozen candidates removed themselves from 2024’s general election, but voters still have plenty to choose from.
Read More
A Guide to Alaska’s November 2024 Election
Ranked choice voting for president and other offices, plus deciding on whether to keep open primaries and ranked choice voting.
Read More
Open Primaries and Ranked Choice Voting Strengthened Moderate Republicans in Alaska’s Legislature
Fewer hardliners won office, leading to an overwhelmingly bipartisan Senate majority, a hard-fought win on education funding, and the ability to neutralize culture warriors.
Read More
Voter participation jumped when Alaska opened its primaries
2022 turnout for every candidate contest reached a decade high.
Read More
Nonpartisan Open Primaries Let Alaskans Choose Values Over Party
More than half of voters in the 2022 midterm primaries split their tickets between candidates from across the political spectrum.
Read More
Lawmakers Across the Political Spectrum Should Help More Alaskans Vote
A host of laws to make voting easier would benefit Independent, Republican, and Democratic constituents.
Read More
Anchorage Removes Barriers to Small Multifamily Homes
City leaders take another step toward allowing more new homes, in more sizes and varying price points, in Alaska’s largest city.
Read More
Recent Reforms Could Make a Real Neighborhood of Downtown Anchorage
A vibrant downtown needs residents. And residents need housing. Convenience stores wouldn’t hurt either.
Read More
A Fairer Election System in Alaska Helped More Independents Win Office
Open primaries and ranked choice voting likely led to greater political diversity in the Alaska legislature, while their effect on age, gender, and race was less apparent.
Read More