Keller on track for re-election

WASILLA — Wes Keller said there was good news and bad news in Tuesday’s general election. He was ahead in the polls as of press time, but Gov. Sarah Palin and U.S. Sen. John McCain lost their race for president.

“[It’s] kind of like you feel when you’ve just finished a really interesting novel,” Keller said. “It’s got some good stuff and some bad stuff.”

Of course, on his end of the ticket, the news is all good. As of press time Tuesday evening, with all precincts reporting, Keller’s lead over Democratic challenger Rose Smith was a comfortable 5,396 votes to 1,424. He had claimed almost 76 percent of the vote for the District 14 seat.

Late Tuesday, Smith did not return a call for comment.

Keller, on the other hand, said he was elated to have pulled so far ahead.

“I think, hopefully anyway, that it’s a reflection of my desire to work with the community,” he said. “Wasilla has been a place that’s a great place for my wife Gayle and I to raise our kids.”

Keller was appointed to represent Wasilla in the state’s House of Representatives after his predecessor, Vic Kohring, resigned to focus on his legal defense. Kohring was eventually convicted of accepting bribes from oil field services company VECO.

That would put Keller in this coming term as a freshman representative. In terms of seniority for his appointment to House committees, then he’ll likely end up on the less popular committees

“Nobody’s that excited about taking health or social services or the education committee, so I’ll submit to that,” he said.

But Keller also plans to be involved in the process to select who sits on the House Finance Committee. That’s the committee that steers state dollars to the Valley. Currently, Bill Stoltze, who represents Chugiak and Butte, sits on the committee. But if that changes, Keller said he’ll be keeping an eye on the process.

“One of my absolute priorities in that is to do everything I can to make sure that Wasilla, the Valley I should say, is well represented on the Finance Committee,”

In terms of bills he’d like to work on, Keller said he’s hoping to push through merit-based scholarships to give high-achieving high schoolers a free ride to Alaska universities.

“I would like to also do some more with the deal where only money that can be accepted by candidates is money that’s contributed by constituents,” Keller said.

That, he said, would guarantee representatives have to work closer with their constituents and that money from other state districts can’t purchase influence elsewhere in the state.