Race for House heats up

Robert Monteith

May 8 , 2008.

With the Republican Primaries looming at the end of summer, candidates are hitting the campaign trail to win votes and discuss important topics with the people they want to represent. Fresh from a 90-day legislative session in Juneau, District 2 Representative Peggy Wilson (R-Wrangell) traveled to Petersburg this week to take part in a local fundraiser.

She had plenty to talk about after completing several projects during the session. Topping her accomplishments was a bill that created a board to oversee the Alaska Marine Highway System. Wilson said that previously the board had met at the governor’s leisure. “In the past, it had to be done by executive order by the governor. It only lasts so long and then you have to do it all over again. This year, we were able to get it into statute, so now it’s an ongoing thing and there will always be a board whose only agenda is making sure the ferry system runs smoothly and is taken care of.”

Wilson was also instrumental in a controversial bill that hid the private information of people filing for workmen’s compensation. Previously, their social security numbers, telephone numbers, and addresses became a matter of public record when they filed a claim. That led “ambulance chasing” law firms to exploit the injured workers, according to Wilson.

She was particularly proud of this year’s capital budget, which is stuffed full of projects throughout the district. As it stands now, Petersburg will receive nearly $10 million in funds for various capital improvement projects. Wrangell was awarded nearly $5 million and Sitka is due to receive just over $60 million. “I feel really good about that. We really got a lot,” said Wilson. “The fact that there were enough funds to get the vetoed items from last year is wonderful. We won’t know for sure until the 23rd of this month when we find out for sure what the governor will do.”

Governor Sarah Palin still has the power to veto specific projects from the capital budget, but Wilson said she would still be happy with this year’s finances because they were able to put away around $5 billion for future needs.

The most disappointing aspect of this year’s session was school funding, according to Wilson. “It sounds good and we made some progress,” she said. “However, the progress this year was mostly seen by the rail belt and not the coastal communities.” A large part of this year’s educational funding bill went toward special needs students, of which the rail belt has many. Increased funding that would affect all districts was placed on a longer timeline. Wilson said that it would take five years for Southeast to get the money promised in the new education bill.

As such, education will be a big part of her campaign for reelection. “School funding will continue because even though they have a three- year period of raises, that’s still not going to be enough to cover the increases in fuel, insurance, teacher salaries. It won’t be enough, so we’re going to have to work on that again this year,” she said.

Transportation issues will also remain a key issue for Wilson because, she says, there is still a lot of work to be done. “We’ve got a small start on the ferry system, and I still have hopes for a two-year ferry schedule. We’ve never had that before and I’m pushing for the possibility that it will happen this year.”

Juneau’s recent struggles with an avalanche knocking out their hydroelectric facility has also inspired her to begin work on a state-funded power grid in Southeast Alaska. “The whole of Southeast has an energy grid, but there are so many gaps in it,” she said. “If we had a total grid taken care of, Juneau wouldn’t be in any trouble. So we need to look ahead and realize that somebody in Southeast will have excess energy if somebody else is in trouble.”

Meanwhile, Petersburg resident Steven Samuelson is making a bid for Wilson’s seat and is using the summer before primaries to get to know his constituents and the issues important to them. He reports making several trips to Thomas Bay Power Authority meetings, Southeast Conference meetings, and fundraising trips to Sitka and Wrangell.

Now he’s knocking on doors around town, which he says has been the most enjoyable part of his campaign. “I think that’s probably the most important part of the campaign because I’ve been getting a lot of one on one time with everybody,” he said. “Everyday I’m talking to somebody about the problems Southeast faces. It’s encouraging that now a lot of people have started approaching me. We can talk about an issue and try to come up with a solution. I say it’s encouraging because if I get elected, it’s not me making the decisions. It’ll be me making a decision based on the collective voice of all these different communities.”

Like Wilson, Samuelson is a strong proponent of a reliable transportation system for Southeast Alaska. “Transportation is a big deal. It’s important that we have solid transportation in this area. I really believe that without solid transportation, the communities will just crumble and be done,” he said.

He also pointed to the education system as a particular shortfall in the region, saying that the lack of funding could be extremely damaging. “There are some real problems in the education system as far as just keeping it alive,” he said. “The kids that are going through that system are the most important resource we have. They’re the next generation, so when you start coming up on issues like choosing between heating the building and keeping sports going, what is going to happen. If nobody stands up for this educational system, it’s the kids that are going to suffer.”

Mostly, however, he said that people were speaking to him about the future of Southeast’s economy. Toward that end, Samuelson is advocating investing the region’s future needs today. “Certainly some people might disagree with me, but as I travel around, I’m finding that a lot of people are in agreement. I firmly believe that we need to look at the economic base of these communities and make sure that we’re on top of that today because everywhere I go, that’s the biggest concern people have,” he said. “We need to make sure we’re investing into the future, whether it be transportation with the ferries or looking to our region’s hydroelectric potential.”

The Republican Party’s primary is scheduled to take place on August 21.