Three vie to fill District 12 seat

WASILLA — A businesswoman and legislative aide and a sitting borough assembly member will face each other in the Primary Election Aug. 19 to see who will take on a long-time educator in the General Election to represent District 12 in the House of Representatives.

Republicans Ron Arvin and Cathy Tilton will face off next week, with the winner taking on Democrat Gretchen Wehmhoff in the November general election. As with other Valley legislative races, budget issues and education top the list of issues candidates are talking about headed into the primary.

House District 12 includes parts of Wasilla, Eklutna and Chugiak. It’s roughly the area of the present District 11, though portions of the Fairview neighborhood previously included in District 11 — particularly the Settler’s Bay Drive area — now fall under separate representation.

Budgetary stability is the primary fiscal concern, Tilton said.

“On a statewide basis, what I’m finding that people are real concerned about is the stability of our state and the stability of our budget,” she said.

Like many of Republican candidates, Tilton supports the abolishment of the oil tax reformulation bill known as SB 21 eliminated a progressive tax schema enacted under then Gov. Sarah Palin — called ACES — and provides tax exemptions for exploratory drilling to develop new fields. It faces a public referendum in the Primary Election next Tuesday.

A “yes” vote on 1 supports abolishing the tax system created by SB 21 and return to the ACES system. A “no” vote on 1 supports maintaining the new tax structure.

“The reasons why I support that are: working on the budget in the House Finance committee, 90 percent of our revenues are coming from the oil tax,” Tilton said.

Existing policies would have had already contributed to a decline in oil production in Alaska’s legacy fields, and the new system has already lead to a reversal, Tilton said.

“What I have seen personally is that a lot of my children are in their 20s and are able to find employment,” she said. “I have seen an increase in people getting their jobs back and going back to work.”

Like other candidates, Tilton said she believes the budget could use some auditing.

“In (The Department of Health and Human Services) alone, there’s over 100 different offices, and some of those interface with each other and others don’t,” she said. “There’s a lot of things that we have as a Legislature, there’s a lot of things that our Legislature has created that are nice things. We have a lot of desires and wants that are maybe not needs.”

Pressed for specific examples of Health and Human Services programs she would scale back, alter, or eliminate, Tilton said the philosophy of looking at programs critically is more important than enumerating specific cuts.

Tilton, an Alaskan resident since infancy, said she chose to run, in part, out of dedication to her state.

“My family is Alaskan,” she said. “This is my state and it has given me a lot and I can give a lot back with the skill set I have.”

Tilton says that her combination of private sector and public sector experience make her an ideal fit for the representative seat.

“I do have the private background and the legislative background,” she said. “The legislative background gives me the ability to hit the ground running.”

Tilton worked as a legislative staffer for State Rep. Mark Neuman (R-Big Lake), and during that time worked for the House and Senate Finance committees.

Arvin is a nearly two-term member of the Mat-Su Borough assembly and serves as the deputy mayor. He worked overseas as a contractor for the U.S. State Department between 2011 and 2012.

He listed fiscal concerns and Proposition 1 as the top issues of the campaign.

“State spending must be reduced along with new revenue from increased development of our natural resources,” he wrote, in an e-mail responding to five standard questions asked of all candidates. “If we do not do this, then it is obvious that at some point in the not too distant future there will be discussion in Juneau about raiding our Permanent Fund or implementing a statewide income tax in order to pay our bills.”

In addition to the tax-related reforms imposed by SB 21, legislators also must critically examine oil industry regulations.

“My mission is to provide state regulations that are reasonable and meaningful,” he wrote. “We must also adopt an aggressive push back on federal regulations that are not reasonable and meaningful.”

In terms of specific legislative initiatives, he would improve on House Bill 47 and require bonding for lawsuits. In particular, he cited a recent lawsuit, which precipitated a shutdown of rail spur construction at Port MacKenzie, which he says added $20 million to the project’s cost.

However, other Mat-Su Borough officials dispute that number as the cost of project delays.

“A bond of this size would be a strong deterrent to advocates of the Sierra Club and Cook Inlet Keepers to even file a lawsuit if their personal fortunes were at risk,” he wrote.

After some deliberation with his family, Arvin decided to run because of his background.

“My family and I reflected on the prospect of me serving in Juneau and ultimately we said yes because I have a unique skill set that will help move this state in the right direction,” Arvin wrote. “I am first and foremost an Alaskan. What happens to Alaska is very important to all of us. I want to be a driving force to make the difference that we need in Alaska.”

At the same time, he’s retained a local connection to the Valley.

“All politics are local and I have involved at the local level and understand how to get things done that are meaningful in our daily lives,” he wrote.

Arvin said voters should support his ability to balance their conflicting desires.

“Government can be lean yet provide the essential services that the public expects of its government: public education, EMS/fire/public safety and roads/infrastructure such that we can effectively move ourselves and commerce,” Arvin added.

Democrat Wehmhoff grew up in Anchorage and taught at public schools in Alaska for 24 years. Her campaign website lists her as “an outspoken advocate for public education.”

She said she is running in part to provide a counterpoint to the Republican-dominated Legislature.

“I see a huge issue for this campaign is the lack of balance in the Legislature,” she said. “Right now we have a situation where a majority party is able to do quite a bit and the minority party can’t even get bills out of committee.”

Wehmhoff said she favors alterations to school financing, particularly moving toward a system that would encourage more long-range planning than the current system, which requires school systems to present their draft budgets to municipalities with no clear idea of potential state revenues.

“They start their budgeting process in January,” she said. “Think of how much money is spent doing the budget twice. I bet the cost of having the budget done ahead of time might even save money in the long run.”

She said she also favors the expansion of programs providing housing for seniors.

“I’m really concerned about our seniors and our growing populations of seniors,” Wehmhoff said. “They need something where they can stay in Alaska, something that’s easier for them.”

One potential upside to that would be the creation of additional construction jobs to create new facilities, she said.

She also tagged an implied double standard on the part of the legislative Republican majority.

“If you’re going to spend $84 million on (the Knik Arm) bridge, you can afford to spend a couple million on housing,” she said. “It’s reckless spending in one direction.”

Wehmhoff said she also favors the expansion of transportation avenues.

“One of the things I’d like to see is money spent on commuter situations, pushing the light rail, keeping things as green as possible as well as keeping costs down,” she said.

Wehmhoff says she wanted to run for a while, but was looking for an opportunity to address some family issues before entering the political fray.

“In Alaska, you need to be able to run for four months,” she said.

She said she also views elected office as a form of service.

“It’s the ultimate community service,” Wehmhoff said.

The close budget line for her campaign keeps her in touch with Valley voters, she said.

“I am one of those people who’s very in tune with the community,” Wehmhoff said. “I think that makes a difference. I have a sense of who our district is and what the people in our district want.

“What distinguishes me from Cathy and Ron is that I don’t have the money to just run for office,” she added. “I’m a working person, just like most of the people in the Valley.”

Wehmhoff lacks a primary challenger and will face the winner of the GOP primary in November.

Contact Brian O’Connor at 352-2269 or brian.oconnor@frontiersman.com