From the Editor
A Contentious Election Could Mean a Brighter Future
ast month’s mid-term elections were fraught with tension for most of the nation. Emotions ran high on all sides of the fence. Across the country democrats, republicans, and all parties in between felt they had a lot on the line. It was no different here in Alaska.
One of the most contentious measures Alaskans voted on was Ballot Measure 1 (colloquially known as “Stand for Salmon”). The ballot measure was roundly defeated by about two-to-one, much to the relief of the more than 500 Alaska businesses, trade groups, and organizations that opposed the measure. Ballot Measure 1 called for sweeping—and many say onerous—changes to permitting laws in the name of increasing salmon habitat protections. The measure’s defeat is being celebrated by many industries and the companies within them that have large-scale development projects planned or in progress and who say responsible development and rigorous salmon habitat protection laws are already an intrinsic part of every project.
Now that the elections are over, and we’ve done our part as voters, it’s our responsibility to make sure our elected politicians uphold their end of the bargain by following through on their campaign promises.
Kathryn Mackenzie
Managing Editor, Alaska Business
Another hot topic in the voting booth was the governor’s race. While Republican Mike Dunleavy ultimately prevailed, the race was not without its own controversy. Just three weeks before voters hit the polls, Lieutenant Governor Byron Mallott resigned after admitting to making inappropriate remarks to a woman and Governor Bill Walker withdrew from the race shortly (three days) after that. That left Dunleavy and Democrat Mark Begich running head-to-head. Begich lost, but not by the landslide that Ballot Measure 1 saw; the final count put Dunleavy at roughly 52 percent of the votes and Begich at nearly 44 percent.
So what can Alaskans expect from our new governor-elect? Perhaps one of the most important issues to many residents is the PFD, and Dunleavy vows to protect the PFD program, saying, “I believe that no change to the structure of the Permanent Fund Dividend program should be made without a vote of the people—now or at any time in the future.” He also supports paying back PFD dividends that are “owed but not paid.”
Jobs are vital to the state’s health and Dunleavy’s political stance is to “create a business climate that encourages investment” instead of making it more difficult by imposing a statewide income tax, as he says Governor Walker had planned. Other important issues on Dunleavy’s agenda are reducing state spending; protecting families from government overreach; reducing violent and property crime; increasing rural education opportunities; and upholding Alaskans’ constitutional rights.
Now that the elections are over, and we’ve done our part as voters, it’s our responsibility to make sure our elected politicians uphold their end of the bargain by following through on their campaign promises. Whether you supported Begich, Dunleavy, or none of the above, it still behooves us all to check in now and again to make sure our new governor-elect and all elected officials are keeping Alaskan interests at the top of their agenda because, as Dunleavy says, “I’m not using the issues to become governor. I want to become governor to address these issues.”
Let’s see how he does. 