District 14 race down to 2 candidates

WASILLA — Wes Keller has picked up a challenger in his bid to retain his seat representing state House of Representatives District 14 in Wasilla.

The state’s division of elections Web site lists three candidates for the race. But Monday afternoon Rose Smith, who filed as a Democrat, said she’s withdrawn from the race.

That leaves Keller and Democrat David Alexander to run unopposed in their respective primaries.

Keller was appointed to fill the seat in 2007 after Vic Kohring resigned to focus on his legal defense. Kohring was eventually convicted of bribery and corruption for taking money from executives of the oil field services company VECO. He is waiting to be sent to California to serve his 42-month sentence.

Keller’s biography includes service as state Sen. Fred Dyson’s chief of staff, which, he said, makes 2008 his 10th year in Juneau. He’s an Alaska Air National Guard veteran and has worked as a teacher, building contractor and oil field hand.

He said he’s enjoyed his time as a legislator and hopes to continue the work he’s started. Moving from a staff job to a political one held some surprises but taught him a lot.

“I really doubly enjoyed the challenge and the delight of learning about so many issues,” Keller said.

This is Alexander’s first bid for elected office. He works on the railroad for Princess Tours but isn’t a stranger to Valley politics, where he has served as campaign manager for his mother, Katie Hurley, in a number of her races. Hurley serves on the Matanuska Electric Association Board of Directors.

In his youth Alexander worked for the late Alaska senator Nick Begich in Washington, D.C. The summer after the senator’s plane crashed, Alexander said, he spent time babysitting Begich’s kids. One, Mark Begich, went on to election as Anchorage’s mayor and is challenging Ted Stevens for the U.S. Senate.

Alexander said he filed to run for the seat mostly after seeing that nobody was filing to challenge Keller.

He said it’s hard to be a Democrat in such a conservative district but sees a lot of potential for the party, especially lately. Though he said Keller’s record has so far been clean, Alexander said that if there is a time for a Democrat to pick up a seat in the legislature, it’s now.

“I think it’s an embarrassment that we have so many people under FBI investigations and then they’re indicted and they go to jail,” Alexander said.

Keller has said that, with Kohring in mind, he has been pushing ethics reform legislation, most notably a bill that would make representatives receive the bulk, if not the sum total, of their campaign donations from inside their district.

“When the majority of the funding is coming from outside of the district you have to wonder if the voter is being properly represented,” Keller said.

Keller said he hopes to get back to work on that in his next term.

And then there’s the hottest ticket going right now — the natural gas pipeline. Keller, who spoke on a break from one of the meetings on the issue, said that, as close as he can reckon, the TransCanada application looks good.

“My opinion on it is that it is really looking good. It’s hugely economically viable and it’s something that it just seems like the timing is perfect,” Keller said.

Alexander, for his part, said the line is something badly needed for the state. He plans to research more between now and the general election.

“I’m not an expert and I wouldn’t pretend to know, but I’m a good listener,” he said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman. com or 352-2270.