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Andi Story says talk about Alaska’s resource development needs to include workers, students
- Mark Sabbatini
- 1 day ago
- 5 min read
Juneau Democrat seeking fifth term representing District 3 cites achievements such as education funding increases, but wants to keep pursuing goals such as public employee pension reform
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
While development of natural resources such as petroleum and mining dominate much of Alaska's political discussion these days, state Rep. Andi Story says investing in resources such as students and workers is key to solving many of the area's economic, workforce, outmigration, and other issues.
Story, seeking a fifth two-year term in District 3, says meaningful changes such as education funding increases have passed during her current term representing the northern part of the Southeast Alaska Panhandle. But there’s also been some near misses on issues such as reviving public employee pensions, which is why she wants another term.
"We have so many resources in our state that are important," she said. "Our salmon, the land where we live. But I just don't want to lose the focus on people and are they thriving? And that is what drives me to serve. We want to create an environment where people want to live and work here and play. Our outdoor economy keeps people here, is one of the things that we elevate here, but we also need to set up the things that's going to stop the outmigration. We have to appeal to our younger families and our individuals here. So that's what I'm working on."
Education has been a central issue for Story, who served five terms on the Juneau Board of Education and was president of the Alaska Association of School Boards before being elected to the House in 2019.
She was co-chair of the House Education Committee during the past two years, which helped pass significant increases in per-student and other funding during that time. But a bill of hers seeking to give school districts more reliable data for budget planning by allowing them to use enrollment figures from previous years rather than the current year stalled in the Senate after passing the House, and thus is among her goals for another term.
Another priority Story said she wants to revisit is restoring a traditional pension system for public employees, rather than the 401(k)-style plan that replaced it in 2007. A bill doing that passed the Alaska Legislature in April after years of contentious analysis and debate, but was vetoed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy and an override vote failed 33-27.
The House passed the bill by a 21-19 vote, reflecting the narrowly divided caucuses that consist of a 21-member mostly Democratic majority (with two Republicans) and 19-member Republican minority. Story is facing Republican challenger Annette Kreitzer — a longtime former legislative staff member, Department of Administration commissioner and Haines borough manager — and the incumbent says she’s concerned about the possible effects of a swing toward a Republican majority.
"I'd be really concerned because our Republican minority has not focused on defined benefits," she said, referring to the pension bill. "They have not said that's a priority for them, and that's going to make a difference on workplace shortages. And we can afford it…It's not perfect, but we need to get it back in the house door and in our state door. And so that's key. The focus on education — lots of people think ‘Oh, we don't need more money. We just need to reform the system.’ You always need to reform the system, but you need more resources."
Kreitzer, citing dropping test scores in recent years, has said she believes management of schools rather than funding for them needs to be an area of emphasis. Story, a member of a joint bipartisan Task Force on Education Funding, notes legislators on the task force are looking at other issues, such as teacher retention, declining enrollment and program offerings.
"We have a 27% teacher shortage," she said. "We have to retrain these teachers all the time when they move and so then we lose money. If you can make a structural change like offering defined benefits and keeping your teachers here you don't have to retrain them. You're not doing professional development all the time. They're going to stay more. You have more relationships."
Story said she expects two other issues that were priorities of the House majority — energy and protecting the Alaska Permanent Fund — to again be a focus if a similar coalition is presiding in January.
Shortage of natural gas in Southcentral Alaska and skyrocketing costs statewide resulted in energy issues dominating much of this year’s legislative session. Among the actions that got through the Legislature and accepted by Dunleavy were energy relief payments to school districts, and a $200 energy relief payment to Permanent Fund Dividend recipients on top of a $1,000 dividend.
But Dunleavy’s efforts to pass legislation to incentivize a natural gas pipeline failed despite calling three special sessions this year on the issue. Story said she’s among the lawmakers who questioned the size of the tax breaks the governor proposed for the project’s developers, as well as the projection that production from the pipeline would be at least a few years away even if construction began now.
"We have an energy problem," she said. "Seventy percent of the population relies on natural gas to heat their homes to use electricity. So we need a solution to this right now."
Story said she also believes the state should be getting more revenue by raising oil production taxes that were sharply cut by lawmakers in 2013.
"I think the oil companies aren't going to leave and they can afford it," she said.
The incumbent said the push by some policymakers for more oil, mining and other natural resource production doesn’t make sense if the breaks given to companies mean the state isn’t getting sufficient revenue.
"(Workers) might shop here and there, and buy a home and stuff like that," she said. "But how does the state get more money, because if we don't have a revenue means — through adjusting your taxing scheme somewhere or through putting in a progressive income tax of some kind — we're not going to get any more money."
If the gasline happens with massive tax breaks, Story added, "we're going to get a whole bunch of people to our school, but no way to pay for those kids."
Among the new resource projects being proposed is the New Amalga Gold Project north of Juneau, with Story saying she’s keeping an open mind as she follows it through the permitting process. She’s less supportive of an associated project — the proposed Cascade Point Ferry Terminal, with the mining company wanting to use the site to ship gold ore, because "it doesn't seem viable the way it is now."
Housing and infrastructure have been persistent issues for the state and region, which Story said she would like to see addressed through a general obligation bond. Another need in her district is mitigating annual glacial flooding of the Mendenhall Valley.
She said she co-sponsored a bill imposing a 20-cent-per-barrel tax on oil "to get a climate resistance fund, kind of like disaster assistance, so we can have some state money to help out with things like that. I would love to do that."
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
