Gov. race down to the wire

BY ANDREW WELLNER

Frontiersman

WASILLA — Between dodging backhoe buckets and getting his kids to school after vandals struck dozens of Anchorage vehicles and windows, including his carpool partner, Ethan Berkowitz is a busy man these days.

But he showed up bright, early and on time to speak with the Frontiersman editorial board Monday about what sets him apart from incumbent Gov. Sean Parnell and why Alaskan voters should chose him next month.

“We cannot continue to wait for other people to do for Alaska what we can do and should do for ourselves,” Berkowitz said.

As anybody who’s been paying attention to this year’s gubernatorial race knows already, he was talking mostly about the natural gas pipeline. But he was also talking about getting more oil in the trans-Alaska pipeline and about diversifying the economy.

First, the natural gas. Berkowitz has a three-stage plan. First he wants the state to construct a long-range fiscal plan. He wants to end the notion that Alaska will just up its taxes when it runs into fiscal trouble. That would reassure investors.

Second, he would build up demand for the gas in the state. That would make an in-state gas line more profitable. He noted that failed Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker has agreed to work with his administration if he’s elected. Berkowitz said he stands behind Walker’s plan for an all-Alaska gas line route.

Third, he wants to sell shares in the pipeline to ordinary citizens. On this point his opponent has expressed skepticism. In an interview with the Frontiersman two weeks ago, Parnell’s running mate, Mead Treadwell, said he’s not sure that idea is even legal. Berkowitz said it is and that Treadwell’s attitude speaks to the differences between the two camps.

“They look at this and say, ‘it can’t be done, let’s not try,’” Berkowitz said. “If Alaska wants to have a timid leader, someone who doesn’t have the courage to do what’s right, they can stick with Sean Parnell.”

On the subject of the trans-Alaska pipeline, Berkowitz said a lot of what he said about the gas-line — that the state needs to stop coming to producers on its knees begging for investment. The state is the sovereign and should act like it.

“The biggest immediate danger the state faces is declining throughput” in the trans-Alaska pipeline.

His solution is a complete rewrite of the state’s oil tax system.

“At least it’s a dramatic response to a dramatic problem,” he said.

And, as for diversifying the economy, Berkowitz said there is are a lot of components to that. One is to bolster industries the state has, but which could be better. Agriculture, for instance, could use more cold storage. The fishing industry could use more plants to add value to the fish.

There are also brand new industries the state could attract. One project both he and Treadwell have mentioned as worth pursuing is server farms to handle Internet traffic. Companies should want to locate here, Berkowitz said, because they could save on costs paid to cool servers but also, if the farms are far enough north, wouldn’t need to pay nearly as much for security.

And diversification should apply to the energy sector as well. Why hasn’t anyone yet built a geothermal plant on Mt. Spur? Why isn’t hydroelectricity flowing out of Lake Chakachamna?

“The state hasn’t made it easy for these projects to move forward,” he said.

One thing diversification doesn’t mean, however, is Pebble Mine.

“I have real concerns that the permitting process as it exists doesn’t protect the fisheries,” Berkowitz said.

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