SPECTRUM: Faye-Brazel wrong choice for House District 10, Alaska

Despite the Democrats best efforts to suggest otherwise, there is only one clear choice for House District 10 on November 8th. Faye-Brazel supporters have spent a lot of time, energy, and newsprint attacking the character and reputation of David Eastman. However, this only shows their desperation and reluctance to campaign on the issues. Here’s why.

Faye-Brazel touts that she is concerned for small businesses in Alaska, but has also publically stated that she favors a $15 an hour minimum wage. Apparently she does not recognize the damage that such a policy would do to the small businesses and consumers in Alaska. The majority of minimum wage earners in our state (and throughout the US) work for small businesses. A $15 an hour minimum wage obviously increases the cost of hiring new labor, but it would also necessitate increasing the wages of current employees, as they would not be willing to make the same as a new hire or someone with fewer skills and less experience. Increased labor costs of this extreme would limit employment opportunities for the young and low skilled. It would also cause prices to rise, hurting all Alaskans, including the ones who make minimum wage or are unemployed.

Faye-Brazel also demonstrates that she fundamentally misunderstands the role and benefit of the oil industry in Alaska. Her solution to the budget crisis is “generate more revenue”. For those unfamiliar with political speak, this is code for raising taxes. She believes that “big oil” is not “paying their fair share” and the fix is to tax them. This is exactly the wrong time to increase taxes on oil companies in Alaska. The price of oil is approximately 50% of what it was 5 years ago. Increasing taxes and creating a hostile environment for oil companies will continue to drive them from Alaska to places where they can produce at much lower costs and make greater profit. Faye-Brazel is naïve enough to think that oil companies are forced to produce in Alaska, but in reality, they can choose to produce anywhere in the world. Since the production of oil is responsible for more than 90% of the revenue that state government spends, we do not want Faye-Brazel to kick this golden goose while it is already preparing to fly away.

Faye-Brazel also claims that she is a “strong proponent for labor,” and she is, organized labor. While the private sector continues to experience stagnant wages and layoffs, she supports automatic raises for government employees. She believes that people should have the right to join a union, but not that people should have the right-to-work without being forced into a union. State wages and pensions are a significant cost driver in our state budget and this is an important issue that must be addressed during these difficult financial times. Based on the fact that most of Faye-Brazel’s campaign funds come from public and private sector unions, don’t count on her proposing any legislation or voting for anything that decreases the power of unions in our state.

The Democratic candidate, Patricia Faye-Brazel, is a liberal ideologue who represents an East Coast mindset that is all wrong for Alaska. Her main areas of focus (which are not surprising since she has been closely tied to Bernie Sanders for decades) are taxing private businesses, growing the public sector, and redistributing wealth. The policies that she trumpets as “good for Alaska” will increase government spending, decrease revenue, and will make living in Alaska increasingly difficult.

When you compare the policies that David Eastman supports to those supported by his opponent, the House District 10 race is no contest. Eastman supports limited, efficient, and responsible government. He recognizes that taking money out of the private sector to support bloated and inefficient government is a road to nowhere. He understands that increasing taxes to redistribute wealth is bad for Alaska and limits the productive capability of our great state. The next several years will require that our representatives make tough choices and Eastman has the intellect and the courage to make them. The choice is clear. Vote for David Eastman for House District 10 on November 8th.

Willow resident Todd Smoldon is a 30-year resident of Alaska.