of my constituents to the best of my abilities while also looking out for the best interests of Alaskans as a whole. I base my responsibilities on my values. In turn, they inform my policy prior- ities, particularly because of the fiscal crisis the state is facing and how this predicament will affect what we provide our citizens. The top challenge facing the legisla- ture is how to fund government agen- cies, the education of our children, and services as basic as plowing roads and keeping ferries in service while also balancing the budget. In recent years, annual spending has been cut dramat- ically, so much so that we now risk setting up agencies to fail, stripping the value from the dollars we do spend. My priorities will be to diversify and increase state revenues. Alaska has all but exhausted its easily accessible sav- ings and now faces tough choices when it comes to delivering budgets that pro- vide for our citizens’ needs. The fiscal crisis has persisted too long and has already eroded cornerstone government responsibilities and the quality of life for Alaskans. We must establish long- term solutions to provide stable, suffi - cient, and sustainable state budgets so that Alaskans can once again anticipate a prosperous future. House District 34 Ed King, Non-partisan Candidate As a professional economist spe- cializing in resource economics, I can’t thank you enough for the contributions miners make to our economy, commu- nity, and way of life. I’m a strong advo- cate for responsible resource develop- ment, and I see opening Alaska as a key to meeting the growing global need for the resources we are blessed to have. As a legislator, my top priority will be stabilizing our budgeting process. We simply can’t keep scaring off investors and employees that don’t know how the government plans to pay for pro- grams. The looming threat of taxes puts a question mark beside every project’s economics and every employee’s take home pay. I know that we can solve this finan - cial crisis without destroying our econ- omy through misguided tax policies. If you want to talk more about how, I’d love to hear from you.
House District 29 Paul Dale, Nonpartisan Candidate I am a lifelong Alaskan, raised in Palmer, and residing in the Kenai area since 1968. I was interested in politics as a young man and served a term on the Kenai Borough Assembly and worked as a legislative aide for a local lawmaker in Juneau. I was also a young father and had started a fledgling seafood business; I decided to concentrate on those two priorities, and that politics could wait. My wife and I sold most of those busi- ness assets last year, and I can now turn my attention to serving in the Alaska legislature. I tried beach gold mining briefly near Yakutat, which was lots of fun, hard work, and expensive! I really do appreciate mining in Alaska though, the Kenai Peninsula had very produc- tive gold mines for several decades early last century, and a chromium mine on the outer coast. Travelling north it has been a great pleasure to visit the Yu- kon gold fields, dredges, and historical landmarks related to the gold rush. The Kennecott mine has also been great to visit and explore. As a youngster in Palmer we had a coal room in our home, and hauled coal from the Jonesville mine for heating. And of course, Inde- pendence mine had only recently closed when I was a child, so talking to miners in Palmer was common and easy. We had replicas of blasting caps and dy- namite on display at school to serve as reminders to give any we found a wide berth. Responsible resource extraction has always been and should remain a strong component of Alaska’s overall economic enterprises. Mining is easy for me to support. Alaska certainly has its challenges today; mining will be part of the solution. House District 33 Sara Hannan, Democrat Candidate We’re facing challenging times, but a bright side is that Alaska remains resource rich. In Juneau our two local mines, Greens Creek and Kensington, are important drivers in our economy. They are the two largest property tax- payers and provide the highest average wage among local industries. They pro- vide strong stable incomes for families across the region. I support their in- dustry and hold the contributions they make to our region in high regard. My responsibilities as a state rep- resentative are to serve the wellbeing
DALE
HANNAN
KING
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The Alaska Miner
October 2020
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