Candidates hit Mat-Su College Tuesday for forum

PALMER — With the primaries and the borough election now in the rear-view, it’s time for the Mat-Su Valley’s political attention to be turned entirely toward the Nov. 8 general election.

At the top of the ticket is perhaps the most bizarre and contentious campaign in recent history, and for the lone U.S. Senate seat up for grabs this year, incumbent Republican Lisa Murkowski appears poised to hold off a slew of challengers, leading by 33 points in the latest poll, according to realclearpolitics.com. In the race for Alaska’s lone congressional seat, incumbent Don Young likely holding a steady lead over challenger Steve Lindbeck, with realclearpolitics considering the seat likely Republican.

Under all that is eight races for seats in Juneau that figure to be quite interesting here in the Mat-Su with two Senate and six House seats to be decided.

Sixteen candidates are in the running, and of them, 14 have accepted invitations to take part in the Mat-Su Legislative Candidate Forum, Tuesday night from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Mat-Su College in Palmer, Room FSM 202.

Forum organizer Dr. Pete Praetorius said the only candidates who said they wouldn’t be attending are District 10 House Republican candidate David Eastman and House 9 Republican candidate George Rauscher. He’s hopeful both will participate.

Praetorius said the college has hosted these debates since 2004, usually not so well attended by the public. But given the frenzy surrounding Alaska’s budget crises, as well as the fireworks on the top half of the ticket, lecture room FSM 202 might just be packed this time around.

“We haven’t had huge turnouts in the past, but I’m thinking we’ll have more this time, just because of where we are with the state budget,” Praetorius said. “It would be nice to do it in the (Glenn Massay) Theater, but they’re tied up with rehearsals.”

Praetorius said the format of the debate will feature all of the candidates on one panel. Questions from Mat-Su College students, faculty and community members will be pulled from a hat. The order in which the candidates answer will be chosen will be alphabetical, per race, with the first candidate getting two minutes to answer and their opponent 1 minute to respond. On the next go-round, the alphabetical order will be reversed. At the end, each candidate will have three minutes to make a closing statement.

“The candidates don’t know what questions they’ll be asked,” Praetorius said. “I surmise some will probably have to do with the PFD, and probably I think there will questions having to do with tuition.”

Praetorius said that in preparation for the debate, he’s editing out the solicited questions that are redundant.

Scheduled to appear for the forum are House District 8 candidates Mark Neuman (R) and Gregory Jones (D), House District 9 candidate Pamela Goode (ACP), House District 10 candidate Patricia Faye-Brazel (D), House District 7 candidates Colleen Sullivan-Leonard (R) and Sherie Olson (D), House District 11 candidates DeLena Johnson (R) and Bert Verrall (NA), House District 12 candidates Cathy Tilton (R), Gretchen Wehmhoff and Karen Perry (ACP), Senate Seat F candidates Shelley Hughes (R) and Tim Hale (NA), as well as Senate Seat D candidate David Wilson, who is running unopposed.