Debate! Big issues mean big turnout in small classroom

PALMER — It’s not easy to win a debate with 13 contestants in walk-off fashion. But after a lively exchange of ideas at Tuesday night’s candidate forum at Mat-Su College, it’s hard to say anyone won the crowd over quite like District 9 House candidate Pamela Goode.

Armed with an intricately designed poster board that portended to trace the flow of wasteful spending to a giant, mechanical pink pig responsible for the budget deficit Alaska is in now, Goode closed strong and won over a crowd of more than 50 crammed inside a classroom built to hold half that many.

“We are in a budget crisis and I can tell people are more awake. Last year just a handful of people came out there, and this is full, which is excellent,” the Alaska Constitution Party candidate said in her closing remarks. “Your liberties are in the balance right now. The three major tools in your toolbox of liberty — one of them is your PFD that was taken from you… You are a shareholder in the common resources of the state and you can take back ownership. Just because they got rid of all their money means they can take all of yours.”

When she was done, much of the audience roared in approval; some even became lightly disruptive, forcing debate organizer Dr. Pete Praetorius to settle the crowd down with still half the candidates yet to give their closings.

Undoubtedly Goode’s cause was helped by the fact that neither her opponent, George Rauscher, the Republican primary winner — appointed to sit at her right — nor District 8 candidate Mark Neuman — to her left — showed, leaving ample room for her display.

Of the 16 candidates in the 8 races at stake, only three did not show, with Democrat Gregory Jones being the third.

Earlier in the day, six candidates participated in a debate hosted by the Greater Wasilla area Chamber of Commerce: Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, Sherie Olson, Patricia Faye-Brazel, Shelley Hughes, Gretchen Wehmhoff, Cathy Tilton and Karen Perry.

Here are some highlights from what the candidates had to say during the 90-minute debate, answering questions submitted by students and staff at Mat-Su College.

EDUCATION

Shelley Hughes, (R-Sen. Seat F)

“We spend more per student than just about any other state.”

“Education is key. At one time, my husband and I lived under the poverty level, and one thing that helped us get out was getting our degrees.”

Hughes suggested consolidating departments, using technology between branches and campuses to cut costs.

“Mat-Su College, because of the population base, needs to stay here, economical to have it here.”

David Eastman (R-House District 10)

“I would consider (closing Mat-Su College)… It comes down to what the state can afford and what makes the most economic sense… Every community campus needs to be looked at economically — does this make sense? Is it the best way forward? There’s going to need to be some consolidation that’s going to take place.”

Patricia Faye-Brazel (D-House District 10)

“Education is an investment… We can’t afford to be cutting back now on education. If we don’t invest in education, we will lose the game entirely.”

She said that digital advancements make education more important than ever because “We can’t move to a 21^st Century economy if we don’t have (people who know how to use the technology.)… The worst idea of all is cutting education at any level.”

DeLena Johnson (R-House District 11)

“I know that education is the second largest portion of the budget of the state, but I believe this is not a time to limit education opportunities.”

Bert Verrall (NA-House District 11)

“Public safety and education have to be the last items cut. Education is the great equalizer between the well-to-do and the not-so-well-to-do. If we want to diversify our economy, education has got to be the foundation of that.”

PFD

Colleen Sullivan-Leonard (R-Senate Seat D)

“There was no reason why the administration should have ever vetoed the PFD. It didn’t reduce the budget (deficit)… Sen. (Mike) Dunleavy is bringing forward legislation and I would support him in his efforts to make sure the money gets back to you. I thought (cutting PFD) was very deplorable — maybe I’ll be a co-sponsor.”

Gretchen Wehmhoff (D-House Seat 12)

“If you’re going to talk about cutting the PFD, everyone has to give in and that means oil (tax) credit subsidies need to be on the chopping block. We have to look at the PFD holistically, including new forms of revenue and it has to to involve a conversation about restructuring the permanent fund and that leads to whether to cap the PFD. I’m not fond of what happened recently because (Governor’s veto) was so quick and fast, but I think that was a lot of politics and bluff-calling.”

TAXING MARIJUANA REVENUES

Patricia Faye-Brazel (D-House District 10)

“The whole marijuana industry is an economic sphere we haven’t measured yet. We know what it’s like in the black market. We know what it costs having people in jail… but I don’t see why we couldn’t use it to fund education.”

David Eastman (R-House District 10)

“It is easier to tax somebody else than to volunteer for a tax on yourself and that’s always going to be the case. There are many options as far as how this money could come into government, but recognize… it’s easier for you to say, I don’t smoke and she does, so tax her, but watch out, eventually it will come around to a tax on you.”

BUDGET CUTS

DeLena Johnson (R-House District 11)

“Government exists so we can have life, health and safety, it’s not about stimulating the economy, not about this program or that program… Public safety is one of the No. 1 priorities and education is part of our constitution… I don’t believe, given our circumstance with heroin addiction and so on that we can cut public safety.”

Karen Perry (ACP-House District 12)

“We have to look long term and set a spending cap… In the past, the Legislature spent almost everything it brought in instead of building a budget cap so we will retain savings for lean years like now.”

Cathy Tilton (R-House District 12)

“It’s the governor’s budget, not the legislature’s budget. We need to look at why the requested (funds) is so much more than the actuals… We need to think not how to be more efficient, but should government really be providing these services at all?”

BIG IDEAS

Gretchen Wehmhoff (D-House District 12)

“… we should look a light rail (train) that goes from Anchorage to the Valley, that should go to Wasilla and to Palmer… and all the way up to Talkeetna.”

Tim Hale (NA-Senate Seat F)

“The federal per diem rate is around $213 and most of our legislators get that during session. I’m a union construction worker, and when we go on a job that’s remote, away from home, we get $75, and that’s if the contractor doesn’t provide room and board. One of the ideas I had was for a man camp in Juneau — just like on the slope. If you’re a legislator you have room and board here. You don’t have to use it, but you’re not going to get a per diem. That’s one of my blue sky ideas.”