GOP gubernatorial candidates in Valley debate

WASILLA — It won’t be the last time the three men meet before voters decide their fate, but it will be darn close.

At 5:30 p.m. Thursday at the Alaska Club in Wasilla, the three Republican front-runners in the governor’s race — incumbent Sean Parnell and challengers Bill Walker and Ralph Samuels — will square off in a debate. The primary election is Aug. 24, a week from today. The last debate will be Monday in Anchorage.

Diana Straub, who is organizing the debate on behalf of the Greater Palmer and Greater Wasilla chambers of commerce, has been saying for weeks all three candidates have confirmed they’ll attend the debate. That’s good for all involved because debates and attendance at them have been something of a sore spot in this race. Each time Parnell misses one, his opponents pounce. Most recently, Walker dinged Parnell for being a “no-show” at a debate in Ketchikan last week.

Parnell said on his website last month that he has squared off against his challengers seven times with more to come.

At this point in the race, the candidates are pointing at poll numbers to show themselves taking the lead.

On his website, Parnell points to a Hellenthal and Associates poll of 312 likely voters taken between July 22 and July 25. It shows Parnell with 60 percent of the primary vote, a sizable percent lead over Walker’s 15 percent. Samuels was close on Walker’s heels.

Walker’s website points to a pair of less-scientific polls. A Facebook poll by the Alaska Republican Party is nearly inverted from the numbers in the Hellenthal and Associates poll, with Walker clocking in at 59 percent, followed by Samuels with 32 percent and Parnell at 9 percent. There were 208 participants in that poll. Walker also points to a radio station in Juneau that put a poll on its website that wound up with 47 percent supporting Walker, with Parnell and Samuels taking in 16 and 17 percent respectively.

For his part, Samuels doesn’t seem to be eyeing polls, or at least isn’t touting them. But he is strongly pushing his campaign message — that he feels Parnell has not been the leader he should be and Alaska needs a change. He’s made a video that says as much.

Parnell has called Walker — whose website proclaims him the “All-Alaska Governor” in reference to his idea for an all-Alaska natural gas pipeline — a one-issue candidate.

Walker lists 16 issues on his site as ones of concern for him. A few are gasline-related — energy, jobs and resource development — but some are not, like education, agriculture and tourism.

Samuels is a former state legislator who represented South Anchorage. He grew up in Alaska, living in Nome, King Salmon, Fairbanks and Metlakatla. He has been an airline executive and chairman of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce. He’s vice present for community and government affairs for the Holland America cruise line.

Walker is also a lifelong Alaskan who grew up in Fairbanks, Delta and Valdez. He’s been working on a natural gas pipeline since the 1970s and, in 1979 at age 28, served as the youngest mayor of Valdez. He has worked as an attorney and is project manager and general counsel for the Alaska Gasline Port Authority.

Parnell moved to Alaska when he was 10 and graduated from East Anchorage High School. He worked as an attorney in Anchorage and has served in the state House of Representatives and Senate. He was elected lieutenant governor in 2006 and took over as governor last summer when Sarah Palin resigned.

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