Incumbents re-elected

Nov. 10, 2006

By Michael Rovito

Frontiersman

MAT-SU - Mat-Su Valley voters put every Republican incumbent back into office Tuesday, even those incumbents who faced tough competition from Democratic and independent candidates looking to reform the Legislature.

So what now?

As the post-election fizzle begins to take hold - and partisan mudslinging takes a back seat to legislation - former candidates in the contentious Valley races are going back to life as it was before election season.

Myrl Thompson, the independent candidate in District 15 who was busy picking up campaign signs Wednesday afternoon, said he is disappointed with the outcome of the race, adding that Valley voters seemed to have ignored everything that was said during campaign season.

&#8220The rest of the state got it,” Thompson said, referring to the Mat-Su delegation as the only delegation voted back into office in its entirety. &#8220The people out here voted the same people right back in.”

Thompson came the closest of any Valley challenger to unseating his opponent, defeated by less than 20 percent.

Whether he will run again in two years is up in the air, Thompson said, but he is considering another tour as a citizen watchdog in Juneau.

During Thompson's bid for the District 15 seat, his opponent, Rep. Mark Neuman, kept a confident facade even in the face of corruption allegations from Thompson.

The now two-term legislator, who will be attending a special session Monday that he doesn't agree with, said he is ready to continue with his first-term agenda.

On the top of his list is securing a gas pipeline and promoting vocational education, the latter being a more personal issue, the former something Neuman said is vitally important to the state.

Lame-duck Gov. Frank Murkowski's special session weighed heavily on Neuman's mind Thursday.

&#8220It's bypassing the public process,” Neuman said, adding that the time frame of the session serves to limit accessibility. &#8220The public needs to have a chance to weigh in on what their feelings are.”

Just up the road from Neuman in Big Lake, political newcomer Jay Cross, who ran against incumbent Sen. Charlie Huggins in the District H race, said he was disappointed to not win, but will be keeping busy in the post-election season by working on veterans issues, working with his church and completing his Super Cub airplane project.

The independent candidate said he wishes he were a better fund-raiser, speaking in reference to Huggins' significantly larger campaign war chest. Even so, Cross said, the connections he made during his campaign will stick with him.

&#8220I wouldn't trade the people for anything in the world,” he said.

Huggins, who said he is not looking forward to Monday's special session, is looking forward to tackling the gas pipeline issue this January.

&#8220The gas pipeline is the No. 1 priority,

the No. 2 priority and the No. 3 priority,” Huggins said.

The 2004 Murkowski appointee, Huggins said he takes pride in never mentioning his opponent's name while campaigning. Now he looks forward to getting back to business in Juneau.

&#8220I'm excited about working with the new governor and administration,” Huggins said.

Also heading back to Juneau on Monday, Republican Rep. Vic Kohring said he looks forward to staying the course, which, he said, means working hard for his constituents and responding accordingly.

Kohring said the Democratic takeover of the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives could challenge Alaska's politicians - Rep. Don Young and Sens. Ted Stevens and Lisa Murkowski, who now are in the minority - to secure funding for capital funding projects in the state.

&#8220It hangs on how well you work with people,” Kohring said of the Republican Party's new minority status, adding that, although representatives from Alaska are at a disadvantage, it does not necessarily put an end to their chances.

Kohring was happy with Alaska voters' choice of Sarah Palin for the state's next governor, saying he supported the former Wasilla mayor and voted for her himself.

His campaign against former legislator Katie Hurley was more difficult this go around, he said, because of what he called a media attempt to make large issues out of nothing.

&#8220It was very stressful and unfair,” Kohring said, adding he is glad his constituents stayed behind him and saw through what he called the transparency of the actions.

Kohring's Democratic challenger, Katie Hurley, was hand picked by the state's Democratic Party to run in the District 14 race after primary election candidate Neil Lacy was hired to a state job and had to drop out. The former secretary of the Constitutional Convention in 1955, Hurley said Thursday that her involvement in politics is not over.

&#8220It was a good campaign,” Hurley said. &#8220I had a lot of fun.”

Echoing Thompson - the District 15 independent candidate - Hurley said she was waiting to see the outcome of an FBI investigation into influence peddling by oil field services company VECO. The fact that voters sent the same Valley Republicans who receive money from VECO executives back to the Legislature was surprising, Hurley said.

&#8220The people here knew and they still voted for them,” she said.

Also heading back to Juneau as part of the Mat-Su delegation are Reps. Carl Gatto and Bill Stoltze. The Legislature will reconvene in January for the start of the regular session.

Contact Michael Rovito at 352-2252 or michael.rovito@frontiersman.com.