Three candidates vie for seat

Frontiersman reporter

MAT-SU -- In the Valley's only race without an incumbent, the stakes are high and the Alaska Republican Party is making a strong effort to get its candidate, Mark Neuman, elected.

It's not a one-man race, however -- three candidates are vying for the seat, and all three believe they have a good shot at it.

Neuman was the surprise winner of the August primary election, beating 10-year incumbent Beverly Masek for the Republican nomination.

Now he's facing two opponents in the general election, both of whom are focusing their campaigns on knocking Neuman out of the race.

One of the primary arguments being made in this race relates to money -- and where it's coming from.

Both Myrl Thompson and Doyle Holmes have made claims that Neuman has "sold out" to the Republican party. As the only party-backed candidate, Neuman has collected well and above both Holmes and Thompson in campaign contributions, with about $24,000 in the bank, compared to their approximately $10,000 and $14,000, respectively.

Neuman, last week, said if it weren't for outside funding he wouldn't be in this race.

"I embrace it -- I couldn't run this race if I didn't," Neuman said.

With a mortgage, taxes and two teens at home, Neuman said he simply doesn't have the extra money in the bank to launch a campaign. He said he went to District 15 voters and asked for help to win the primary, but felt he needed to look elsewhere for support in the general election.

"People in District 15 don't have money to put into campaigns," Neuman said. "[But] I do accept funds from people in District 15; everything that I got in the primary was from District 15."

Neuman said if it weren't for their own savings accounts, Thompson and Holmes wouldn't be running. Both Holmes and Thompson have put more than $10,000 in personal funds into their campaigns, with the remainder coming from personal donations -- mostly from people within the Mat-Su, and several within District 15.

"The people I've been talking to have been offended by all the money coming from outside our district," Holmes said.

Holmes has taken issue with the source of Neuman's funds -- particularly the more than $8,500 in donations received from the Alaska Republican Party.

"People out here are not being fooled -- they know Mr. Neuman is going to be bought and paid for by these people," Holmes said.

Neuman said he's upset about claims that taking funds from big-name groups will affect his voting record.

"It just infuriates me. They don't know who I am, they don't know my morals -- all it is is a bunch of campaign rhetoric," Neuman said.

"Whenever I take funds from them, there's also an understanding that this, by no means, means I'm going to do what [they] want," Neuman said.

He cited donations from the Alaska Nurses Association and other union and nonunion groups as a positive thing for the district he's seeking to represent.

"These are people who create jobs, and that's very important -- by having access to them … I'm doing my best to try and get jobs created here in District 15. To be able to have a rapport with those people is huge."

Thompson said he's taken a strong stance against accepting donations from donors outside Alaska, from political action committees and from political parties. He did accept a $33 donation from Alaska Conservation Voters, the only political action committee on his income rolls. Thompson said the strongest aspect about his campaign is that the support he's received so far has been voluntary.

"I've never asked for a dime from a single person," Thompson said. "And I'm doing all right. I prefer to do it that way."

What's your affiliation?

In a race in which only one candidate belongs to a political party, a successful campaign in District 15 could mean an independent or nonpartisan representative in Juneau. All three candidates say they'll work hard for the district when they get elected, regardless of party affiliation or lack thereof.

Neuman said he'll seek to open up Alaska politics -- and he'll have an inside advantage to doing so. When he was an attendee at the Conference of Alaskans held in Fairbanks this spring, Neuman said he avoided meeting with others after the conference had wrapped up for the day; something he saw a lot of other attendees doing.

He said those after-hours meetings gave some attendees an unfair advantage when it came to making decisions on the conference's final day.

Neuman said he plans to take the same approach in Juneau, but may not have to for long. He said he believes there will be an effort in the upcoming session to change the way caucuses operate, and because he's a Republican, he'll have a say in that process. In the meantime, he said, party affiliation means better support for District 15.

"I'm going to be in line for party chairmanships," Neuman said. "What are those guys going to be doing? They're going to be sitting out in the hall."

Thompson said he'll be a testament to the idea that the voting system can work a different way.

"We've become so polarized in this state between two parties -- we need someone in the middle to serve as a bridge," Thompson said. "There could be a center majority of moderate Republicans and centrist Democrats. We could get laws passed that the majority of Alaskans actually agree with."

Holmes said as a middle-ground candidate, he would be positioned to lead the charge against closed-door caucus meetings. Positioned between the two parties, Holmes said he believes he could negotiate for more openness in Juneau.

"I'm not into this right/left business -- I'm more of a people person," Holmes said. "I think [voters] are looking for a little bit more of a person to represent them that has some common sense and doesn't always go along with the establishment -- the establishment's not always right."

The winning quality

Holmes said he's got enough experience to be immediately effective in the Legislature. After serving 10 1/2 years on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly -- the longest stint of assembly service in borough history -- he wrote or helped rewrite about 75 percent of the borough ordinances now in code. He's still working on borough projects -- he helped pen an ordinance heading to the assembly for consideration about underage cabarets.

"Those other two fellas are good-hearted young men, but they just don't have the ability to hit the ground running," Holmes said.

Thompson learned how the process works over the past two years, when he first successfully organized an effort to lower wages for tipped employees, and then became involved in the local effort to gain protection for property owners from coal-bed methane development.

He tracked bills, spoke with legislators and testified numerous times about those issues and about the need for new ethics laws in Alaska. He said he's been to numerous community council meetings in the past several months, and understands what District 15 communities need. Thompson said his best trait is that he comes to the table without strings attached.

"I'm an independent thinker -- I can actually think for myself, and I don't have people telling me how to vote," Thompson said. "I don't sign pledges. I really believe you need to represent your people."

Neuman said that in addition to potential committee chairmanships, he has a quality he doesn't see in the other District 15 candidates -- the ability to work with other people.

"I'm more than willing to listen to all sides of the story," Neuman said. "There's a certain amount of respect you have to have for people."

Contact Rindi White at rindi.white@frontiersman.com.