Republicans carry election

MAT-SU -- The Valley Republican team -- indeed, Republicans around the nation -- are celebrating today after Tuesday's election results delivered Republicans to the helm both in the nation's capital and across Alaska.

"Conservative Republican leadership you can trust," blazed one of dozens of full-color postcards delivered to mailboxes around the Valley last week. And that, apparently, was what voters wanted -- with little question. Nearly 70 percent of Valley voters cast ballots for Governor-elect Frank Murkowski, with 27 percent of the remaining votes cast going for Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer.

More than 43 percent of registered voters across Alaska turned out to vote in Tuesday's election, and voter turnout in the Valley was slightly higher at 44 percent.

House District 13

On the local level, Mat-Su Borough School Board member Carl Gatto won the inaugural term for House District 13, a new Palmer-area district created as a result of the 2001 statewide redistricting effort. After narrowly winning a four-way Republican race for the seat in the Aug. 27 primary, Gatto took a considerable lead in the November election, taking the victory with nearly 1,300 votes to spare in what was the Valley's closest race.

Mat-Su Borough Assembly member Jim Colver, running as an Independent candidate, took home about 34 percent of the vote.

Colver, Wednesday, wished Gatto luck and said he looked forward to working with him as an assembly member. He added that he felt his 34-percent share of the votes was pretty good for a candidate with no party ties.

"It's very difficult to run as a non-partisan and without the backing of a political party," Colver said. "This is a tough time not to be a Republican candidate. Hopefully, we'll benefit from a strong Valley Republican delegation."

Democratic party candidate James "Pooh" Milne headed up the tail end of the race, with 353 votes, followed by Alaskan Independence Party candidate Robert Shumaker with 215.

Gatto did not return a message left Wednesday asking for his response to the election results.

House District 14

Republican incumbent Vic Kohring appeared to have little trouble keeping his lead in the Wasilla-area House District 14 race. He led the race by more than 1,500 votes, although Non-partisan candidate Peter Burchell garnered more than 1,700 votes for his grass-roots, door-to-door campaigning efforts.

Burchell, Tuesday evening, hosted a barbecue at his home to honor those who had volunteered or donated to his campaign. Of about 250 volunteers, Burchell said, more than 70 were on hand to celebrate. And although the results weren't what the group had hoped for, Burchell said he plans to hold those who did get elected to a promise by Murkowski made recently -- "no excuses."

"People want to believe," Burchell said of Kohring's and other candidates' proposals that the fiscal gap can be closed through budgetary cuts and economic development. He added that he'll be keeping his finger on the political pulse of the Valley to determine whether he'll round up a group of volunteers and run again in two years.

"I've swung at windmills all my life," Burchell said. "God built me like a bulldog for a reason."

Kohring did not return a message left Wednesday requesting his response to the election results.

House District 15

Despite battling attacks about her attendance record in Juneau during last year's session, House District 15 incumbent Beverly Masek retained her seat with nearly 60 percent of the vote. Her challenger, Democrat Kay Bills, gathered about 30 percent of the vote, with the remaining 10 percent going to Alaskan Independence Party candidate Jon Pinard.

Bills said she knew going into the campaign that she was in staunchly Republican country and, instead of focusing on party politics, kept a close eye on the issues.

"I think people were listening, but when it came right down to it … when they walked into the booth, they just went down the [ballot] line -- and I don't think that's unusual," Bills said. "It was strictly racing against a party and there's not a lot of wiggle-room."

Bills said she'd be returning to her federal contracting management job, from which she took leave to campaign.

"I represent 152 companies and they're excited to have me back," Bills said.

Masek, Wednesday, said she was pleased with the margin of votes and was looking forward to continuing her work as co-chair of the House Resources committee. Although she speculated that subsistence and a fiscal plan were likely going to be focal points of the next legislative session, ANWR and the natural gas line proposed in Ballot Measure 3 will likely be issues her committee, if she is reappointed, focuses on. She added that she's looking forward to a new relationship between the Republican legislature and the governor's office.

"I was concerned that, with the last eight years, the [Gov. Tony] Knowles administration didn't reach out to Republican legislators," Masek said. "I'm looking forward to a more friendly administration."

House District 16

In the Valley's fourth House seat, Bill Stoltze, a former legislative aide for retired Sen. Rick Halford, garnered more than 70 percent of the vote, handily taking the race. Opponent and perennial Alaskan Independence Party candidate Larry Wood came home with nearly a quarter of the votes.

Senate District F

Despite an effort to campaign door-to-door on the incumbent's home turf, Alaska Independence Party candidate Trac Copher pulled in about 18 percent of the votes in his race against North Pole Republican Gene Therriault. This will be Therriault's second term in the Senate, after serving four terms in the House.

Senate District G

Incumbent Republican Lyda Green will return for a third four-year term in the Senate, as she went home with more than 75 percent of the votes in Tuesday's election. Democrat opponent James Della Silva garnered about 2,500 votes in the race.

Senate District H

Former representative Scott Ogan ran unopposed in the general election and will be serving his first term in the Alaska Senate in January. Ogan will fill the seat formerly occupied by Sen. Rick Halford, who served as senate president during the final two years of his term as a legislator that stretched back to 1978.

Valley voters followed statewide trends in casting their votes on the propositions and ballot measures that faced voters during the election -- with one exception. Valley residents in nearly every district wanted to make the Valley the new home of the Alaska legislature. Although it failed on the statewide level, nearly 15,000 Valley voters approved Ballot Measure 2, which would have moved the meeting place of the Alaska Legislature to the borough. But the support was not overwhelming -- 12,000 Valley voters cast their ballots against the move. The measure failed by a nearly 70 percent statewide margin.

All three bonding propositions passed -- the first bonding propositions to go before voters in nearly 20 years. Voters approved bond sales to give qualifying veterans home loans with discounted interest rates, to build more than $225 million in transportation infrastructure and improvements, and to fund more than $235 million in educational and museum facility design, construction and maintenance.

Both statewide and locally, voters agreed that a Constitutional convention was unnecessary and that a gas pipeline development authority should be created.