Governor and Lieutenant Governor Candidates
Dave Bronson and Josh Church
Energy is too expensive in Alaska because we keep saying no to the projects that would make it cheaper.
The state should say yes to responsible oil, gas, hydro, nuclear, coal generation and transmission that serve Alaskans first. In-state gas, more power on the Railbelt and real infrastructure to the Bush will do more for a family’s bill than another study. Stop burying projects in process. Set a clock on permits. If a project provides heat, power and jobs for our state, the default answer from Juneau should be go.
Rural Alaska pays the highest price for delay. A gallon of fuel and a kilowatt should not decide whether a village can stay. Develop what we have. Build what we need.
Stop saying no to projects that provide for our state. That is how you bring the cost of energy down.
Jonathan S. Kreiss-Tomkins and Zac Johnson
Lowering energy costs is one of simplest ways to make life in Alaska more affordable.
Our energy is expensive because we’ve under-invested and under-coordinated for decades. We need to take an all-of-the-above approach to building new, cheap energy sources. In many cases, the cheapest kilowatt will be renewable energy: wind, solar, hydro or battery storage. Other times, it will be natural gas. The state should protect ratepayers while also making sure our air, water and land are safe from unnecessary pollution.
On the Railbelt, I’d aggressively push the four utilities to cooperate — shared transmission, joint dispatch, a unified grid — which would lower bills without building a single new power plant. I’d fast-track permitting for renewable and storage projects, and keep working toward affordable natural gas for the Railbelt as Cook Inlet supplies tighten. In rural Alaska, I’d protect the Power Cost Equalization program and invest in the local wind, solar and microhydro projects already cutting diesel dependence.
Treg Taylor and Candi English
When energy costs go up, everything goes up. Families pay more to heat their homes. Businesses pay more to operate. Groceries, transportation and basic necessities become more expensive.
Alaskans shouldn’t have to choose between heating their home and paying another bill.
We need an all-of-the-above energy strategy: more Southcentral gas production, the gas pipeline, major hydroelectric opportunities, new baseload generation, stronger transmission infrastructure and innovation across every form of energy.
Alaska has enough energy to power a continent, it shouldn’t struggle to power the Railbelt.
Bernadette M. Wilson and Michael K. Shower
Candidate declined to answer questions.
Dave Bronson and Josh Church
Alaska has always lived with hard weather. The question is whether Juneau shows up for the communities that take the hit.
The state should stand with coastal and river towns the same way it stands with any Alaskan in a disaster: quickly, without the runaround, and with respect for people who know their own ground. That means working with local leaders, not talking over them. It means using state tools to backstop what federal agencies are slow to deliver.
Jonathan S. Kreiss-Thompkins and Zac Johnson
Alaskans across the state, and particularly in the communities hit by typhoons Merbok and Halong, have watched the ground literally give way beneath them. Climate change is rapidly increasing the rates of erosion and flooding across our state, and we can’t abandon families and villages to face these threats alone.
The state’s job is to be a reliable partner instead of an absentee one. That means coordinating emergency response so communities aren’t navigating a dozen federal agencies on their own. It means making sure Alaska receives our fair share of funding for resilience and adaptation. And it means planning protection — and, where necessary, relocation — with the people who live there. That also means partnering with critical groups across our state, like Association of Village Council Presidents and others, who understand the needs of local communities best. Finally, we have to make sure critical infrastructure — water systems, tank farms, airstrips — is up to spec so it can withstand the next record-breaking storm.
Treg Taylor and Candi English
When a storm destroys someone’s home, damages a community or threatens critical infrastructure, this isn’t an abstract policy debate. These are Alaska families watching their communities change in front of them.
The state needs to be there with practical solutions, helping communities assess risks, coordinate resources and protect lives and critical infrastructure.
Every community is different. Alaska needs solutions that respect local priorities and put people first rather than trying to force every community into the same model.
Bernadette M. Wilson and Michael K. Shower
Candidate declined to answer questions.
U.S. SENATE CANDIDATES
Do you support or oppose granting federal permits for a road to connect the Ambler Mining District to the Dalton Highway?
Gerald Heikes
We made several attempts to contact the candidate, but the candidate did not respond.
Mary Peltola
No two resource development projects are the same, and it’s critical that projects have social licensure to operate, but I will always defend the right of Alaskans to develop our own resources so that we can lower costs and create good paying jobs that support Alaska families.
Alaska communities need to be in the driver’s seat when it comes to critical decisions about big projects like Ambler Road. I will continue to fight for the right of Alaskans to make their voices heard and the right of Alaska communities to have the final say on this project, not DC politicians or ultra-wealthy corporations.
Dan S. Sullivan
A representative for the candidate acknowledged receiving the questionnaire, but the candidate did not fill it out.
Dan J. Sullivan Jr.
As a staunch advocate for subsistence rights, I would support a road if it addresses the concerns of the communities that have used the land for generations.
What policy changes or government actions would you support, if any, to improve ailing salmon runs in Alaska’s rivers?
Gerald Heikes
We made several attempts to contact the candidate, but the candidate did not respond.
Mary Peltola
As someone who grew up salmon fishing on the Kuskokwim River with my father, I know firsthand that fish is more than food — it’s central to our Alaska way of life. But that way of life is under attack, and the fish that fill our freezers are becoming harder to find thanks to out-of-state factory trawlers and excessive bycatch. I will fight for practical, Alaska-first solutions to save our fish so the next generation can experience the same abundance Alaskans have enjoyed for generations.
I’ll fight to ban factory trawling and keep mid-water trawlers off the ocean floor. I’ll work to secure real fishery disaster funding and get it to Alaska fishermen immediately. I’ll demand that NOAA enforce the rules on bycatch reduction. And I will fight tooth and nail to get survey dollars back to Alaska so our managers aren’t flying blind. I’ll push for federal investment to help Alaska build a fish by-product economy and strengthen our mariculture industry, so we can keep leading the blue economy like we always have. I’ll fight to create Tribal seats on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, lock in the composition of the federal subsistence board, and ensure our communities have a voice in managing the resources we depend on to live.
There is no Alaska way of life without our fisheries. And that’s why I’m in this fight — to restore our fisheries, bring back abundance, and stand up to the rigged DC system that’s failing Alaska.
Dan S. Sullivan
A representative for the candidate acknowledged receiving the questionnaire, but the candidate did not fill it out.
Dan J. Sullivan Jr.
I am a firm believer in science and oppose any cuts to research or active management of our fish stocks. The DOGE cuts that impacted NOAA and other agencies will almost certainly affect our ability to monitor and respond to changes in our fisheries. I also support government programs for infrastructure to our fishing industry, particularly for marine facilities and vessel efficiency and safety.
Do you like Alaska’s nonpartisan primary and ranked choice voting system? Why or why not?
Gerald Heikes
We made several attempts to contact the candidate, but the candidate did not respond.
Mary Peltola
Alaskans don’t subscribe to Lower 48 partisan politics, we’re independent. I will always stand up for the will of Alaskans, the democratic process, and what makes our state unique. The people of Alaska have spoken on this, and chose a non-partisan primary and ranked choice voting system. Alaskans know what works best for us, and every Alaskan will have the opportunity to make their voice heard this November.
Dan S. Sullivan
A representative for the candidate acknowledged receiving the questionnaire, but the candidate did not fill it out.
Dan J. Sullivan Jr.
I support open primaries and RCV. There are 16 people running for the U.S. Senate seat, 16 running for governor and 14 for the House seat. From the professional political class to truck drivers, teachers, and small business owners, and even some who I am not sure of what they do. What open primaries allow is not only for citizens to have a real spectrum of choices, it also allows ordinary citizens the opportunity to stand up, have a voice and make a difference.
What would you do to address the high cost of energy, housing and food?
We made multiple attempts to reach the candidate, but he did not respond.
Alaska workers and families are being crushed by D.C. price hikes – but I will stand up to anyone to put Alaska first and fight for lower costs.
Energy: Alaskans should not be paying some of the highest energy prices in the country. I’ll fight for in-state refining capacity so we stop buying back our own oil at a markup, permitting reform so Alaskans benefit from Alaska’s resources, and tax credits to accelerate development of lower-cost renewables in every region – including renewable energy options for our homes to bring down heating costs.
Housing: Renters spending more than 30% of their income on housing deserve a tax credit. Alaska Native communities deserve fully funded Indian Housing Block Grants to increase rural housing supply.
Food: We need an Essential Freight Service, modeled on the Bypass Mail Program that rural communities depend on. Shipping a pallet of groceries to Anchorage, let alone Kotzebue, costs more than the groceries themselves. I’ll fight to stop companies from price gouging and ripping off Alaskans in need, and I’ll stand up to anticompetitive mergers that would raise grocery prices.
I’ll also fight to increase wages and put more money back in Alaskans’ pockets. MyWages-First plan will reward companies that pay workers well and charge more to the ones that don’t. I’ll fight to eliminate federal income tax for more than half of working Alaskans and end taxes on Social Security. And I’ll fight for a tax credit up to $3,600 for parents raising kids to make growing a family in Alaska affordable.
The candidate declined to answer questions.
Our current inflationary period is directly tied to poor economic decisions (tariffs) combined with an ill defined foreign incursion. Prior to that, it appeared out economy was looking towards period of growth and stability. Spending on infrastructure, education and health care trumps spending on wars.
US HOUSE CANDIDATES
How would you work with Alaska Native Tribes and organizations to shape federal policy?
What policy changes or government actions would you support, if any, to improve ailing salmon runs in Alaska’s rivers?
Should the federal government change the way it regulates trawling in waters near Alaska?
Nick Begich
Yes. We must be committed to restoring abundance in Alaskan waters. Bycatch as well as habitat impact from large scale trawl, including salmon, halibut and crab that never reach Alaska’s coastal, subsistence, and small-boat fisherman, has hurt our fishing communities and rural residents who rely on this resource. We need more transparent observer coverage, firm bycatch caps, and changes to the structure of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council composition that reflects all user groups. Fisheries management practices must protect every Alaskan who depends on these resources for their livelihoods and culture.
Eric Hafner
Senator Dan Sullivan’s current & continuing efforts are bringing this concern into focus. The Bycatch Reduction Act and the Alaska Salmon Research Taskforce Act have been a long effort now seeing fruition. There remains ongoing work to be completed but this is in the right direction-I support working together on these issues and finding solutions benefitting all Alaskans.
Bill Hill
We need more action to crack down on bycatch. Alaskans are calling for accountability. I am a lifelong fisherman ready to take on trawl bycatch. Here’s where I’d start:
We need a tribal seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Subsistence users must have a seat at the table.
We need to set strict, low bycatch limits, and we need to hold bad actors accountable. If an operation can’t meet updated limits or bottom contact regulations, they shouldn’t be fishing in our waters. If subsistence fishermen and small, in-state operations can play by the rules, so can out-of-state industrial trawlers.
We need to redefine “midwater.” If a midwater operation is scraping the bottom up to 80% of the time, that’s no longer midwater and we need to update our definitions.
Finally, we need a congressman who spends more time on the docks and backdecks with Alaska fishermen, and less time in DC listening to out-of-state lobbyists.
James C. “Jim” McDermott
Yes, but with specific/narrow guidelines to help ensure against future over regulation by government. From subsistence fishing to recreational/tourism fishing, to our small business AK fishing men and women, these trawlers catch a heck of a lot of fish, but they also kill a lot of fish. FYI: we need to ensure these fishing industries “corporate fishing raiders” need to stop bottom netting within our AK protected waters. It’s a good place to start incorporating fair policies where everyone wins.
What role should the federal government have in helping communities adapt and respond to climate change?
Nick Begich
We live on the front lines of a changing climate. From coastal erosion to permafrost thaw to Glacial Lake Outburst Floods (GLOFs) and the remediation or event relocation challenges for communities located on both rivers and on the coast, the issue is real and in need of urgent attention. The federal government has a legitimate role funding and permitting resilient infrastructure and helping communities adapt, particularly in instances in which the federal government was itself responsible for the original site selection of communities! The climate has been changing in Alaska for thousands of years and will continue to change for thousands more. Because of this, adaptation is critical, and federal support, adaptation research, and improved infrastructure that actually connects our communities through both road and rail will help us to more effectively and efficiently respond to these changes over time.
Eric Hafner
Stop denying- embrace positive agenda to counter the more intense weather extremes Alaska experiences. Typhoon Halong’s community damages are again being ravaged by continuing storms. FEMA loopholes deny common sense proactive approaches to potential & inevitable damages. Relocating vulnerable Alaskan communities with their input is common sense. Learn from other countries what has worked- ex:Japan faces flooding-sea walls can help. Alaska Native communities can lead the way working with nature via environmentally proven directions.
Bill Hill
We need a proactive approach when it comes to climate change.
I would fight for a dedicated federal resilience package for Alaska covering relocation, seawalls, elevated infrastructure, landslide monitoring, and flood control, and I would cut the paperwork and red tape required of communities.
I’ve been on the other side of a federal disaster relief payment, and waited more than a year for that payment to come through. When Alaskans are facing a disaster, they need immediate support.
I would also protect Alaska’s public radio stations, which are the emergency communications system across most of this state. My opponent Nick Begich voted to gut funding for our public radio.
James C. “Jim” McDermott
My goodness, maybe we can start with an intense learning course about geology for these crazed nuts in power throughout DC. We have a lot of DC power players who have played a lot of Americans.
SOURCE: ADN.COM