With the legislative season at an end and no special sessions left in sight, candidates for Alaska’s primaries and general elections have already put themselves forward for voters’ consideration.
By the end of the June 1 filing deadline, House District 36 – an area of representation encompassing Ketchikan, Wrangell, Metlakatla, Saxman and other outlying communities – had three candidates for voters to choose between in the coming election. Two of them will be running unopposed in their prospective primaries against the incumbent, the politically unaffiliated Rep. Dan Ortiz.
Ketchikan resident Trevor Shaw will be running on the Republican ticket. Though young – he was first elected to serve on the Ketchikan School Board in 2013 at the age of 19 – Shaw has been actively involved in municipal and state-level politics. He is the vice chair of the district Republican group, and to run for statewide office Shaw stepped down from his post as assistant secretary for the statewide party.
“I spent a lot of time
watching the legislature, being a member of the school
board. Because most of our funding comes from the state,” Shaw explained. “I kind of had to ask myself, ‘Is this the
legislature that is doing the best job for our community?’ And I don’t think it is. Kind of looking at the status quo and what’s going on, that’s what prompted me to jump in. I kind of think we need a legislature that spends more time working on a vision for the future. Right now, I don’t think the legislature spends much time looking at the long-term, strategic plan, it just kind of works year to year, which I don’t think is effective.”
Ghert Abbott, also of Ketchikan, will be running on the Democratic Party ticket.
A historian, his research into the social history of his home town in the early 20th
century contributed to object selection at the Tongass
Historical Museum. Similarly to Shaw, he is also vice chair of his district’s Democratic
Party, and has participated at the state level as a primary
delegate. He felt inspired to run in part due to legislators’ approach to reducing the state’s deficit, after tapping earnings from the Permanent Fund to bring a multibillion-dollar loss down to around $700 million.
“I believe the current course that Alaska is on with the tapping of the Permanent Fund to pay for the state government is wrong. The PF program was never designed for the state to siphon money,” Abbott explained. “Doing that hurts a lot of Alaskans and creates a very unfair tax system which places the primary burden on middle- and working-class households, as well as people who are trying to start families, as well as elders who are trying to retire and live on a fixed income.”
His driving platform would include restoration of a full individual dividend, instead closing the gap with a “full, progressive income tax and an end to austerity.”
Shaw was more supportive of legislators’ approach, called Senate Bill 26. The bill had passed both the House and Senate with wide support from both chambers’ caucuses. “I do think part of addressing the fiscal crisis is using a portion of the PF earnings, but I still think we should pay a strong, healthy dividend,” he agreed. However, Shaw noted the additional revenue was accompanied by an increase in spending in this year’s budget.
“I don’t think that’s a smart use of the people’s money,” he commented. “I think we have to look at the role of government first and how government is structured.”
Shaw felt the imposition of new taxes would hamper economic growth. “Before we start looking at new statewide taxes we need to address some of the disparity that already exists,” he said, pointing as an example to unincorporated communities not being required to make direct funding contributions to education.
Running for a third term in the House, Ortiz suggested the coming election will in some ways be a referendum on his performance in Juneau.
“My voting record’s clear. I think I’ve done a good job of standing up for the fishing industry, and a good job of standing up for education,” he commented. “Since I took office the fiscal situation for the state has been the primary issue. I made my positions clear that we flat-out needed a fiscal plan.”
He noted the Democratic-led caucus he votes with had in 2017 proposed such a plan, which included a restructuring of the PF similar to what was finally passed this year. He acknowledged this year’s budget still leaves a sizable deficit, which leaves a problem for the next session’s members.
One way he suggests to fill that gap would be to reexamine oil production taxes as a potential source of revenue.
“I feel we could do a little bit better job getting more of a fair share from those resources,” Ortiz said. “Not a big increase, but just a little tweak.”
Looking ahead, the three candidates plan to meet with constituent communities in the run-up to the general elections in November.
“I definitely hope to come to Wrangell three or four times, if not more, that’d be really great,” said Shaw. He planned to take a door-to-door approach to meet with voters, and said a stop in Wrangell could be expected around the end of the month.
Ortiz plans to be in town over the July 4th festivities, and will likewise be taking his campaign to people’s doorways.
“My plan is pretty much to follow what I’ve done in the past,” he said. “I’ve made it a point to get to as many doors as possible in the district, sometimes twice.”
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