Unity among contenders about opportunities for state under Trump, division when it comes to willingness to criticize competing party candidates

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

Instead of relying on city plows to remove snow from streets, a vast network of citizens with their own plows can “crowdsource” the job using a real-time app.

That suggestion during a candidate forum Saturday featuring 10 of the 12 Republicans aspiring to be Alaska’s next governor came from someone not generally mentioned among the top contenders. But on a day when much of the state was besieged by intense winter storms it illustrated how those gathered expressed support for policies favoring business/individual actions while minimizing government involvement.

There were plenty of agreements and disagreements among the candidates during the 90-minute forum at the inaugural Alaska Young Republicans State Convention in Anchorage. There was a plea to offer no criticism of fellow Republicans and a candidate whose made attacks on current party leaders a focal point. All offered full-throated support for President Donald Trump, but some broke ranks on individual issues he’s promoted.

Participating in the forum were former state senators Click Bishop and Shelley Hughes, former Department of Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum, former state Attorney General Treg Taylor, former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, current Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Edna DeVries, Alaska State Medical Board member Matt Heilala, lab technician James Parkin, former Mat-Su Planning Commissioner Bruce Walden, and business owner Bernadette Wilson.

Not participating were Lt. Gov. Nancy Dahlstrom and author/fisherman Hank Kroll.

The citizen snowplow suggestion came from Heilala, who said technology offers an opportunity to “start looking at government and its function and looking at the opportunity to decentralize things.”

“Why are we bogged down on the idea that we have to have roads cleared by a system with deferred maintenance equipment and things, and they're not getting the job done,” he said. Establishing an Uber-like service involving service "we could have a crowd sourcing to the 1,500 private snowplows here (in Anchorage) many people would be happy to partner with. It could be an app, a real-time app, so you could maybe give people a credit for property taxes, something like that."

Most of the forum focused on broader issues such as the state’s overall economic health, current Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s performance in office the past seven years, and what opportunities and challenges are ahead for the next governor.

A gauntlet was thrown down by the first candidate to speak as Wilson, a conservative activist touting her "outsider" credentials, declared in her opening statement "there are people up on the stage that have failed us miserably and that is why we are in this situation that we are in."

That would be contested by the former Dunleavy administration officials and state lawmakers throughout the forum, as they cited accomplishments they felt elevated them above their competitors.

"I'm the only candidate with a proven track record of fighting on behalf of Alaska and winning," Taylor said, citing numerous legal actions against the Biden administration and other entities he presided over as attorney general.

Crum argued Alaska needs to act quickly in what is currently a favorable national political climate and "there’s no time for someone to figure out what it is to put up a functional government."

"As a business owner in the private sector, as well as having extensive experience in the government, I understand what it takes in order to lead at the government," he said. "I've had to lead multibillion-dollar budgets and thousands of employees across the board, had to make decisions at a time of global consequence. I understand the weight of governance. I'm not going to have to figure this out."

The two former senators took different paths in presenting what they’ve done and how they would take on what they consider to be the state’s biggest challenges.

Bishop, in response to a question about what he supports that might not be popular, said the large Permanent Fund dividends sought by Dunleavy and some other party members under a so-called "statutory" formula are no longer realistic. Bishop said the $1,000 PDF last year was based on a budget that depended on oil prices at $64 a barrel, and the current forecast is prices could be at or below $60 a barrel for the next two years.

"You might not have anybody wanting to run for governor wondering where the money is coming from,” he said.

Hughes, reiterating past arguments the state’s problem is inefficient spending rather than a lack of funds, continued her advocacy for a sunset commission that automatically abolishes state agencies unless lawmakers decide to support them after undergoing review.

"We've got a lot of great potential in this state, but one of the things we do have to is get the budget under control," she said.

Bronson argued being mayor of Anchorage’s biggest city gives him the closest equivalent executive experience to being governor, and that he’s had to cope with a council with largely different political views — similar to the situation Dunleavy has faced with the Legislature. DeVries asserted a strong conservative agenda implemented under her leadership in the Mat-Su Borough — such as eliminating municipal business license requirements since the state also requires them — is why that’s the fastest-growing area of the state.

While there was a general tone of supporting more private enterprise and less government, Parkin did propose a policy he asserts will give the state a stronger bargaining position with companies interested in extracting natural resources.

"I'd like Alaska to have a corporation that is able to develop our own natural resources — that gives us a trump card, if you pardon the pun, in negotiations," he said. "If you don't want to give us a fair price for our resources, if you don't want to have fair hiring policies that focus on Alaskans, if you don't want to do the things that we want to do, if you won't give us a fair deal, then we have a resource. We can develop it ourselves."

Walden, who described himself as "a career Special Forces soldier" in his opening remarks, also suggested a course of action where government might provide development benefitting Alaska that might not occur via the private sector — on the high-profile issue of a natural gas pipeline being touted by Trump, Dunleavy and many others.

"That pipeline — I hate to break your heart — it does not pencil out. It's not going to be built," he said. However, Trump’s commitment to heavy military investments in Alaska can make roads and other infrastructure to remote communities practical, thus providing them with both jobs and facilities that provide benefits.

Alaska’s open primary system, where the top four candidates advance to the general election, likely means two or three Republican candidates are likely to advance. Two Democrats — state Sen. Matt Claman and former state Senate Minority Leader Tom Begich have also entered the race so far.

DeVries said that, despite the large number of Republicans in a highly competitive race, attacks should be directed outside and not at party members.

"The one thing that I had taken a pledge at the very first public event that I did…was that I will not speak ill of anybody up at this table or anybody that has registered to be a Republican," she said. "But I encourage all of you to take that a step further. And when you do hear somebody saying something about a fellow Republican, please don't agree with them. We are all in this together."

Wilson was among the candidates not adhering to that plea.

"Your greatest threat to the state in the next five years is if, God forbid, we continue to have a lack of leadership," she said. "I don't want to hear about how we don't have stability or affordability, how we have a high cost of energy, how we don't have the infrastructure. The reason we don't have those things is because we have failed to lead."

One of the reasons for that failure, according to Wilson and some other candidates, is because Republicans in both the state House and Senate have aligned with Democrats in forming bipartisan majorities that have often been at odds with Dunleavy.

"A long-standing Republican — and a guy I actually like — said, ‘Well, we’ve got to get along with the Democrats,’" Walden said. "No, we didn't send you down there to get along with them. We sent you there to stop them and it's time. We need to move the Legislature right up here where you can keep them right under your thumb."

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.