Walker: no tax changes

WASILLA — Members of a unity ticket say — if elected — they won’t reconsider Alaska’s oil tax structure, which was narrowly retained by voters in an Aug. 19 referendum.

Gubernatorial candidate Bill Walker and lieutenant gubernatorial candidate Byron Mallott stopped by the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman office Friday to answer questions about statewide issues heading into the Nov. 4 elections. Among the top issues they addressed: potentially revisiting the contentious Senate Bill 21, which revised the oil production tax formula on Alaska oil with the goal of encouraging greater production and exploration.

The two candidates had pledged to abide by the out come of a voter referendum on that issue, and repeated that promise Friday, even as oil prices fell to $84 per barrel this week. Falling oil prices stand to impact the 90 percent of the state government revenues dependent on oil taxation funds.

However, the challengers essentially left the door open for legislative fixes to the tax rules.

“We said we’d follow the will of the voters, and the voters have spoken,” Walker said. “We don’t have any intention of going in and wrestling with that issue at all. We’ll leave that as it is. Others may pick it up and do something with it, but it won’t be us leading the charge on that.”

“Oil is moving toward $80 a barrel, and that impacts negatively in a way that hadn’t been contemplated at all in Alaska’s fiscal circumstance,” Mallott added.

A failure of imagination had led state officials to miss an oil price slump predicted in some quarters up to a year ago, Walker said.

“That’s a lack of vision, or a long-term forecast for Alaska,” he said. “I was asked to chair a conference about a year ago, and one of the presenters from WDC gave a whole presentation about why the price of oil was going to be headed towards $80.”

“It shouldn’t come as a huge surprise,” Walker added. “It should be something that’s been forecasted for some time.”

Walker in particular remained characteristically downbeat about prospects for various infrastructure projects — including the Knik Arm crossing— saying he favors development in a broad sense, but projects would need to be examined because of what they described as the dire conditions of the state budget. He avoided an opportunity for an outright bridge endorsement, but said he does support the completion of the Port MacKenzie rail spur.

“We’re in the worst financial condition in our state’s history,” Walker said. “That’s one of the things that brings me to run. There needs to be some fiscal responsibility to what we’re going to do.”

The candidates also tried to balance agricultural and residential development concerns when pressed about the fate of state land in the southwest borough currently encumbered by agricultural covenants. Walker mentioned building housing on the land,

Both Walker and Mallott said they support Proposition 4, which would require approval from the legislature for any mine deemed to be a threat to the Bristol Bay salmon fishery. They also said they were open to exploring construction of the Susitna-Watana Dam, which has met with opposition on fisheries-related grounds. Their support comes at least in part because the effects of a dam on salmon fisheries could potentially be mitigated, Mallott said.

“For any hydroelectric project, the impact on renewable resources, which will almost always be salmon, needs to be taken into account,” he said. “Typically, large hydro projects can mitigate significantly the impact on salmon.”

The unity ticket came about as an act of political pragmatism, Walker and Mallott said. When the two candidates looked at internal polling showing 60 percent of voters wanted a new governor, but that a three-way race would end with a win for incumbent Gov. Sean Parnell, it seemed a natural union, they said.

Mallott and Walker diverge on some issues. For example, Walker opposes same-sex marriages, which began this week after an U.S. District Court judge in Anchorage declared the marriage clause in Alaska’s constitution unconstitutional, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to take up the issue on a petition.

Walker, who characterized himself as a social conservative, said the issue would likely be settled by the time he and Mallott could be sworn in. But he said they would review all of Alaska’s pending legal actions and decide which actions made sense legally and economically to continue.

“Litigation is costly when you’re draining your savings,” Walker said. “We need to figure out whether it makes sense.”

Mallott said he favors marriage equality.

“I believe in personal choice,” he said. “I believe in equality and freedom in our personal lives.”

Both candidates said marriage equality is not a central campaign issue. However, rather than serving as a stumbling block, having different points of view is one of their strong points, Mallott added.

“That’s part of our strength,” he said. “We bring diversity.”

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