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Chamber hosts House Districts 31, 32, 33 Candidate Forum

Candidates for Alaska House seats answer questions from moderator Victoria Denning, far right, at a candidate forum hosted by the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce. From left, for District 31, Representative Maxine Dibert and Bart LeBon, for District 32, Gary Damron and Representative Will Stapp, and running unopposed for District 33, Representative Mike Prax.
Robyne
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KUAC
Candidates for Alaska House seats answer questions from moderator Victoria Denning, far right, at a candidate forum hosted by the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce. From left, for District 31, Representative Maxine Dibert and Bart LeBon, for District 32, Gary Damron and Representative Will Stapp, and running unopposed for District 33, Representative Mike Prax.

Chamber of Commerce Candidate Forum

KUAC appreciates corrections to typos and misspellings in the transcription.

Donald Burgess: Welcome to the final in our series of candidate forums for the 2024 election cycle. I'm sure everyone is excited that election day is less than a week away, and I'm sure the candidates are looking forward to hopefully getting some rest when this is all over. I'm Donald Burgess, and I'm the president and CEO of the Greater Fairbanks Chamber of Commerce.

As I said before, I want to thank you all for being with us today. And I want to ask you to join me in a round of applause for the staff and volunteers for their help in not only today's forum, but the series of forums that we have been having.

The executive partners are proudly displayed on the banners to my right. These members go above and beyond with their financial support, allowing us to fulfill our mission, which is so important to this community. I'd also like to thank the forum series presenting sponsor, Denali State Bank. And as usual, you know, me, I like to recognize our elected officials and candidates for office. If there's any left down in the room there, please stand and introduce yourselves. And now it's my pleasure to introduce today's moderator. She is a Senior Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for Denali State Bank.

Please welcome Victoria Denning.

[00:01:49] Victoria Denning: Good afternoon and thank you Donald and thank you to all of you who are here today. Um, without further ado, let's get started. We are running just a few minutes behind, so I will do my very best to help get us back on track without compromising any, uh, questions and answers, and of course, any questions that you as audience members may have.

Um, so let's get started by introducing the candidates that we have here today. Uh, from left to right, for Alaska House seat 31, Representative Maxine Dibert. And Mr. Bart LeBon.

For House seat 32, Mr. Gary Damron and Representative Will Stapp.

And last but not least, running unopposed for House seat 33, Representative Mike Prax.

Candidates, thank you so much for joining us. Since this is a chamber event, our questions today will focus on the issues that matter most to Alaskans, particularly those affecting our business community. We should be able to get through as many audience questions as possible. So if you in the audience have a question, please write them down on the question cards which are located on your table.

Please hold them up and a member of the chamber staff and volunteers will collect it. Um, if I may ask, Uh, to please be careful, um, and intentional with your handwriting, that way I can do my very best to read what it is that you have written, uh, to the best of my ability. Um, and as a reminder, please keep your questions related to topics relevant to the business community.

And now, without further ado, candidates, you see that you have a, uh, a time clock in front of you. I will direct you and instruct you in terms of how long you have to answer each question. Please aim to stay within that time clock. Otherwise, we will have to, um, step in, which I know will not happen with any of you today.

We will begin now with a 60 second, uh, Q& A. Response to the following question and Representative Dibert, you will go first.

Tourism is a major economic driver for the entire state and certainly here for Fairbanks, yet Alaska constantly ranks towards the bottom of the list for state support of tourism marketing programs. This year, the Alaska Travel Industry Association received five million dollars from the state. While the average state tourism marketing budget is close to 20 million. Do you believe investment in tourism marketing to the Alaska Travel Industry Association would benefit the state's economy? And if so, how would you advocate for sustainable funding sources?

Representative Dibert, 60 seconds.

[00:04:56] Maxine Dibert: Can you all hear me? Oh, yep. Okay, um, yes, I, I full heartedly support tourism. Um, I grew up, my first job was a tour guide on the riverboat Discovery, and then I went on to be a tour bus driver for Northern Alaska Tour Company, and those, um, provided me a great paying job as a youth, and I think that we need to support tourism.

Um, brings, uh, folks into Alaska, and that if we support it, I'm glad that last legislation we provided funding to market Alaska, and I fully, uh, support it.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Mr. LeBon.

[00:05:39] Bart LeBon: My first, uh, job here in Alaska summer of 74 was driving a tour bus from Fairbanks to Denali National Park. And, uh, that was a great experience.

It was an eye opener on the challenges of tourism. And I wholeheartedly support a level of state support for tourism because we get so much more back in dollars than what we invest. So, absolutely, we need to find room in the budget for Some contribution to tourism and what ultimately that is is dependent upon what our budget situation looks like.

What's our revenue picture look like? And what's the priority on our budget? Uh, tourism has a place, but the final answer is dependent upon what our revenue picture looks like, because you have to pass a balanced budget at the end of the day.

Victoria Denning: Mr. Damron.

[00:06:32] Gary Damron: I think that, uh, The money coming from some of the landing taxes, the docking taxes, the per head taxes that the state's charging to these tourism companies should go to marketing.

Um, marketing is an important part. My first job in Alaska was on the Alaska Railroad. I was a Gandhi dancer for six years while I was in college. Um, so yeah, some of that money should be dedicated to furthering those industries so that they get the support they need in advertising. I don't think that not supporting them is a viable option because tourism is going to be come be playing a bigger and bigger role in the sustainability of Alaska's economy.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Stapp.

[00:07:23] Will Stapp: Oh, thank you. Well, I've never started off saying I actually agree with an opponent of mine, but I'm going to elaborate on what my opponent just talked about. So, uh, for ASME funding, part of their receipts, part of the fees they pay go right back into the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute for the purpose of marketing.

So it actually makes a lot of sense why we wouldn't use some of the fees that they already pay in tourism. Thank you. to funnel those back through the Alaska tour industry for the purpose of marketing. Um, I don't want to sound redundant up here on stage, but what I would like to see is a combination of combining the two entities of ASME and the Alaska tourist industry into kind of one big marketing arm for Alaska.

Um, and I think the value of that would be better and I think the ROI on the type of investment would be better too if you used, utilized economy of scale. But, uh, you should definitely set aside some of the fees that you're collecting from these groups already to kind of forward the purpose of driving their economic growth.

Thank you.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Representative Prax.

[00:08:22] Mike Prax: Well, thank you. I also grew up, I worked in a restaurant, so benefited from the tourist industry through high school. Uh, so I, I really do recognize the value of the visitor industry to the interior. And, um, I remember the bed tax was actually asked, was requested by the tourist industry and locally that has been, um, appropriated for other means.

So you gotta be careful about, uh, asking for a tax, but, uh, I do support the tourism, you know, over commercial fishing. This is the interior and we, we benefit from, uh, tourism. directly more than commercial fishing. So, but as others have said, we, we do have priorities. We'll have to see how that fits into the overall budget.

Thank you.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Mr. Damron, you will be first to answer our next question.

Ballot Measure 1, which Alaskans will vote on this election, has generated debate among many businesses and organizations The Fairbanks Chamber, is advocating for a vote no. If passed, this measure will raise the minimum wage, require paid time off for employers of any type and size and limit employers’ free speech rights.

It will impose new restrictions on employers and hamper economic development and job creation. Where do you stand on ballot measure one and how do you believe it will affect Alaska's business environment and economy? 60 seconds, Mr. Damron.

[00:09:59] Gary Damron: Well, I think that the ballot measure one, in a lot of ways, is a solid measure.

It's not the way I would have written it, but um, a lot of companies already give paid time off and things like that and the minimum wage should be raised to a point where people can live on it. They can't right now. Um, it's tough. The economy's tough. We get it. I don't think it'll lead to the layoffs that, um, people have been describing and things like that. And I really don't think it's going to hurt the bottom line of businesses. Studies in the lower 48 have showed the pay time off actually helps small businesses. I know for a fact that when I was a supervisor, I did not want people coming to work sick because all they did was make other people sick.

And that degraded the quality of work. That we were, um, putting out. So, uh, I'm in favor of it, but there could be some changes.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Stapp.

[00:11:03] Will Stapp: Yeah, thank you. Um, so ballot measure one to me is, is uh, kind of one of the reasons why I do not like the ballot initiative process in Alaska. The reason is, is when you pass something, when the voters pass something, the legislatures cannot change any aspect of that law for two years.

So when I look at ballot measure one, there's some things that I think are fine and I like. So the raising of the minimum wage, most employers that I know, Uh, even out on base, uh, the Burger King's hiring people at 27. 50 an hour, alright? That's the starting wage of the Burger King out there. Where I kinda take issue with the second aspect of the paid sick leave is, I, I want people to have paid sick leave, but if you're gonna mandate something, uh, why not just mandate disability insurance coverage from employers?

Cause that's more malleable, the risk is now on a third party and not a small employer. Um, and the second thing is the regulatory aspect of forcing employers that have only even one or two employees to provide paid sick leave. Um, there's going to be a big problem with enforcement mechanism and I really just wish that we had gone to the legislature and kind of designed a better pathway from the start.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Prax.

[00:12:07] Mike Prax: Yeah, thank you. You know, it's interesting. This relates to the previous question about the visitor industry. This initiative is going to have a disproportionately negative impact. on the visitor industry, because that's a lot of part time workers, a lot of seasonal workers and etcetera.

And when, you know, when my family was in business, we always saw the value of treating employees correctly. And we we didn't worry about the minimum wage. We had to pay more to get the employees we wanted. So, you know, on the surface, it seems to have merit, but it just Mandating things like that just does not work out the way that you would expect it to work out.

So I'm opposed to ballot measure number one.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Mr. LeBon.

[00:12:56] Bart LeBon: This is where I stand on ballot measure one right here. It's, it's a solution in search of a problem. Let the free enterprise system work. Let the employers offer wages, salary benefits. Whatever they wish to offer and then let the free market system work.

If you can make more money working for company A versus company B, then that employee will go to company A. So why would you expect to mandate compliance with a law like this when it's really not a problem in Alaska? I think we are pretty generous as employers. And This whole ballot initiative again is, is a problem looking for a solution.

Um, other than being no on this, that's all I have to say.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Divert.

[00:13:59] Maxine Dibert: Yes, thank you. I support ballot measure number one. Um, I was standing in line, uh, over here at, uh, early voting, and I was looking at the board of jobs, and already, uh, our businesses are offering, um, more than what the minimum wage is, is, in this ballot measure, and so I think that part of it is already happening.

Um, we need com You know, our businesses are having a hard time finding workers, and I think this is a good start. Also, I believe in the modest, um, sick leave. It's a modest sick leave. You, for, you know, you earn up to seven days of sick leave. And I believe that workers should have, um, not have to make the decision between staying home with a sick child or pleasing a boss.

Um, so that's why I am for ballot measure one.

Victoria Denning: Okay, thank you. And to help ensure that our audience members know exactly where you stand on this issue, please, using your cards in front of you, um, hold up either yes or no in terms of how you would vote on ballot measure one. Hold them high. Upside down. Oh, there you go.

Okay, thank you very much. Alright, our next question, you'll also have 60 seconds. Uh, to response, and Representative Prax will start with you first. Despite increasing funding for public education, there are still concerns surrounding student outcomes. What reforms or accountability measures would you advocate for to ensure that the additional investment in Alaska's education system leads to better results and improved student performance?

Representative Prax.

[00:15:48] Mike Prax: Well, thank you. Very good question. Um, I hope everyone read, uh, Superintendent Meinert's community perspective, give or take a week ago. The thing we need to do with education is set definitive, measurable goals and hold ourselves accountable to them. We, a lot of the debate about education turns into an argument because we really don't know what we're talking about.

It's aspirational goals. Yes, everybody wants students to succeed, but you have to have measurable goals So we know what we're getting for the money that we're investing

Victoria Denning: Thank you, Mr. LeBon

[00:16:29] Bart LeBon: Yeah, many moons ago 25 years to be exact. I served on the Fairbanks North Shore Borough Board of Education I served three years as board president and what really moved the ball on student performance and outcomes You Was the curriculum committee and the decisions made by the curriculum committee.

And at that time, the curriculum committee was, uh, staffed by a majority member from the parents. The parents were part of selecting the curriculum for the school district. Having parental involvement really made a difference back at that time, and the curriculum that was reviewed and approved by the school board.

Was solid in the performance by students and schools and teachers was above. I think we were the top performing school district in the state. If I do say so myself, that's my memory. So, um, absolutely local control, local investment, local involvement is where you move the education needle and Fairbanks has a history of doing that.

Well, thank you.

Victoria Denning: Thank you.

[00:17:37] Maxine Dibert: Representative diverts. Yes, thank you for the question. Um, as a teacher of 22 and a half years, there's no other policy more important to me than education. And I think, and the success of our students. And I think that, um, one thing to make sure that our students are successful is that if we increase the BSA, and substantially, and inflation proof it to make up for a decade of flat funding.

As I walk around my community and talk to families and grandparents, they want three simple things. They want modest class sizes. They want an array of electives for their youth, like art, music, um, science classes. And they also want great teachers, and great teachers that stay here a long, long time. And that is what I support, and that's what I'm hearing from my community.

I'm going to still continue to be a voice for them, for that. Thank

Victoria Denning: you, Representative Stapp.

[00:18:37] Will Stapp: Thank you, excellent question. Okay, so two things can be true at the same time. So if you go look at the NAEP scores, NAEP scores for how well your schools are performing, you're going to find that, hey, when we were funding schools incrementally increases every year back in 2012, 13 and 14, we were still going down in performance.

Now, when we stopped doing education increases, we went down a lot worse than we were when we were funding schools at a consistent rate. So, more money certainly doesn't hurt, but it doesn't always help, right? So what I believe is funding education and having performance based metrics in order for kids to be successful, uh, so that they can be better prepared for life, business, um, and opportunity throughout our community.

So how do you achieve that? You find policies that are being successfully implemented, like the READS Act, you look at the data, and then you reinforce those policies with money. So that's what I like to try to do. Uh, and, um, it's not simple. It's hard. So

Victoria Denning: thank you, Mr. Damron.

[00:19:41] Gary Damron: I'm a product of the Fairbanks Northstar Borough Education System.

And I graduated from my house in high school a long, long time ago, but, uh, I got one of the best secondary education you could ever ask for. Um, the teachers were great. Um, But they were also the best paid teachers in the nation. Um, and they stayed for a long time. Most of my teachers retired here, and I think we're doing a real disservice by trying to make everything measurable because not everybody learns the same way.

Not everybody wants to be a doctor or a lawyer or a minister. We need to reinforce, um, Technical vocation, which I think is sorely lacking. We need to do the Reeds Act. And I'll be the first one to tell you, throwing money at a problem doesn't always fix it. But sometimes, it does.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And now, as a reminder, back to the audience.

If you have a question that you'd like to ask here in just a few minutes, I see Jacqueline back there holding her hand up. She'll come around and grab, uh, grab your question. Okay, now let's turn to our first candidate to candidate question round for some direct exchanges between the candidates, starting with House Seat 31.

So Mr. LeBon, you will ask the question first. You will have 30 seconds to ask Representative Dibert your question. She will then have 60 seconds to respond. If for some reason, Mr. LeBon, you're not satisfied or need further clarification from Representative Dibert, you have 15 seconds to redress in the form of a question, and then she will have an opportunity to close.

So with that, Mr. LeBon.

[00:21:37] Bart LeBon: So, Representative, you're running a radio ad right now that says you support responsible resource development. Uh, Uh, I would, uh, assume and correct me if I'm wrong, that you believe Fort Knox, Pogo, and the Manh Choh mines are all examples of responsible resource development. My question is what would be an example of irresponsible resource development?

[00:22:06] Maxine Dibert: Okay. Uh, thank you for the question. Um, I sit on the Natural Resources Committee, uh, the past legislature, and I'm proud of that. I learned a lot. It was things that I learned outside of my real house of education. And I try to do as much as I can to learn about our resources. And I know that our natural resource projects around Fairbanks are very important to the people of Fairbanks.

Um, and they, I believe they do a very good job. While also paying, um, very good high wages for our, our, our families here in our community. As an educator, I worked with so many parents that had great jobs here at those places that put food on the table. And they need these jobs to, uh, feed their families, put clothes, you know, um, and I fully support our resource development projects, um, here around Fairbanks.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Mr. LeBon, did you want to follow up with the question?

[00:23:12] Bart LeBon: Yes, I did. Um, the question was, what's an example of irresponsible resource development? But, let's pivot to the Ambler Mining District, which contains large copper cobalt deposits plus zinc, lead, gold, and silver, and other rare earth minerals.

Would you agree that that is a responsible mining opportunity?

[00:23:35] Maxine Dibert: Yes, that's a very interesting, um, it's a very interesting situation we're in, from what I understand is that it goes through, uh, two Native corporation lands, and so that brings another layer of, um, discussion to the table.

I'm all about listening to the local people, um, for their input that they're going to be affected by, you know, like if rivers, you know, with salmon. We have salmon shortages now on the Yukon River, and I don't want that to happen to other communities.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And now we'll go in the reverse process. So now, Representative Dibert, you may ask Mr.

LeBon a 30 second question, which he will have 60 seconds to respond to, at which point, if you'd like to follow up with a redressed question. So, beginning with you, Representative Dibert. Okay,

[00:24:28] Maxine Dibert: thank you. Um, Mr. Mr. LeBon, you know that education is a very big issue. Um, so important to me. Um, so my question to you, um, in the Alaska Beacon election survey, your solution to improve public education was to elevate expectations.

I'm curious what you would tell the many teachers in our district that have more than 35 kids in a classroom. What should they be doing better?

[00:24:59] Bart LeBon: Well, for that question. And absolutely, I want to elevate performances of students, teachers, administrators and school districts. And during my time on the Fairbanks North Shore Borough School Board, that was our focus as school board members to accomplish all of those goals.

Now you're you have to live with your funding. And that funding primarily comes from three sources. You have state support through the BSA, you have the local borough contribution, and since we have schools on military bases, we get a federal allocation for school funding. All three sources, you have to balance that at the local level with the school budget.

And absolutely, we need to put a little bit more money into the BSA. And then that same article, I did support an increase to the BSA. The amount that the governor put in his budget for this current fiscal year should be rolled into the BSA formula.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, Mr. LeBon. Representative Dibert, did you want to follow up with another question?

[00:26:08] Maxine Dibert: I'm good, thank you.

Victoria Denning: Okay, all right, well thank you both. Moving on to our next prepared question, hearing first from Mr. Damron. Given Fairbanks's reliance on coal, diesel, and natural gas from South Central for power, and the impending natural gas shortages in South Central Alaska, how do you plan to ensure Fairbanks has access to affordable, reliable energy in the coming years?

60 seconds, Mr. Damron.

[00:26:35] Gary Damron: Well, the Alaskan prayer is, please God, grant us one more pipeline. We promise not to away this time. Amen. Natural gas from the North Slope. There's like a couple of thousand years of natural gas up there. It should be transported throughout the state and sold on the open market. Um, it is, that is one of those things that has never sat well with me.

We could have done it in the 70s and we didn't. Could have done it in the 80s and we didn't. Same thing in the 90s, in the 2000s, 2010s. It just keeps getting more expensive. It is time just to build the pipeline. Whether it's a bullet line that just provides gas, natural gas for Alaska, or it's a, uh, big pipe that provides gas to Alaska and can be transported out of state, I'm very much in favor of it.

The clean coal project has failed, but other people burn coal, and I think we should be able to sell it.

Victoria Denning: Representative Stapp, 60 seconds.

[00:27:42] Will Stapp: Yeah, uh, okay. Thanks. Excellent question. Okay, so, it really should be framed in the bigger context of what is Alright, excellent question. Sorry about that. Really should be framed in the larger context of what is actually happening.

So, down in South Central, they have a gas crunch in Cook Inlet, and the push down there is to develop a plan to import liquefied natural gas from another country, Canada, Mexico, doesn't matter. Alright? So, to me, if the state goes ahead with that plan, and by the way, that is the default plan. That is a catastrophic misstep for the Interior.

And the astronomical rise in cost will render the difficulty of already living here, which there was a recent study that talked about 70 percent of people's income goes to pay for utilities. That number will triple if we are reliant on imported LNG. So the battle in the legislature is going to be forcing the issue on making an investment in an in state gas line or barreling toward economic ruin through LNG imports.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. You're welcome. Representative Prax, 60 seconds.

[00:28:51] Mike Prax: Yes, thank you. Um, I am a supporter of a gas line for all the reasons that Representative Stapp said. I think the importing LNG would be a disaster. On the other hand, we have to do something. The gas supplier, I just forgot the name, in South Central, has to do something to serve its customers.

And the most important thing the legislature has to do as early in the session as we can is make a decision. Go one way or the other. And it looks like the Alaska Gas Line Development Corporation has a viable project. It competes with LNG. We'll have to, of course, evaluate the decision. But quit dithering around and make a decision.

Earlier than later. If we wait around till May, we're going to lose a construction season. We have to make a decision and go one way or the other as soon as we can.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Dibert, 60 seconds.

[00:29:56] Maxine Dibert: Yes, I'm very proud that this last legislation we did address energy, uh, costs and we, we were able to get some funding for GRIP.

It's Grid Resiliency Improvement, uh, partnerships that will update our, our transmission lines from heat, um, from Homer to Fairbanks and we get cheaper electrons and faster electrons up here to Fairbanks. Um, by updating our grid, we'll also be able to allow. Renewables like hydro, solar, and wind to help out with the load and cheapen our energy in the long run.

Um, I do, In projects moving forward, I do like the Dixon Diversion Plan, where it's hydro, it'll help the Bradley Lake down by Homer, um, and get cheaper energy, uh, for years to come up here. I'm also glad that we got some IGU, money for IGU to build out their natural gas infrastructure here in Fairbanks.

Thank you.

Victoria Denning: Mr. LeBon.

[00:31:00] Bart LeBon: I support the, uh, gas pipeline project. But, uh, before we can build a pipeline, uh, the Interior Gas Utility, Fairbanks Natural Gas, and GVEA are all working to secure sources of affordable energy, and I respect the organization that is seeking these sources, be it gas, whatever it could be, uh, to bring it to Fairbanks, including, uh, nuclear, and, and I also, an Air Force base was studying.

One of the many nuclear options for affordable energy. Um, no issues off the table. Wind, solar, hydro, uh, sharing the power grid from south central Alaska to the interior. Not too long ago, the interior sent power south. So it's a two way street. And, uh, whatever options we could, we could find and pursue are on the table.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And last call for any audience questions. I have a group of questions here, but Jacqueline in the back last call if you'd like to have an opportunity to submit your question and back to you candidates. We're sticking on the theme of energy here in the next question. In the next question, which representative diver you will begin as utilities face growing pressure to transition to renewable energy sources.

There is still a critical need for baseload firm power that renewables cannot consistently provide. What is your strategy to balance adopting renewable energy with ensuring reliable, continuous power for Fairbanks, especially during extreme weather conditions when energy demand peaks? 60 seconds, Representative Divert.

[00:32:50] Maxine Dibert: Um, I will just kind of repeat what I just, uh, stated with the GRIP funding. Um, I'm really glad that we got that passed and it'll provide jobs here in the interior to help us update our transmission lines. Um, it's going to have to be moving forward so that we do have renewables to balance peak loads. Uh, it's going to have to be, uh, public private partnerships with working with solar farms and our, um, shovel industry.

Creek Wind Farm that's being built outside of Fairbanks, um, and just having, uh, bipartisan work down in the legislature to, um, support that private partner and public, private public partnership to, um, help us during peak times.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Mr. Labonte, 60 seconds. Thank you.

[00:33:44] Bart LeBon: Yes, uh, base energy, uh, sources are, uh, basically coal, gas, and oil.

Those are your baseline energy sources. Complementary to those sources would be wind, solar, and other, uh, sources of energy. But you have to make sure you have your baseline covered, be it filling the storage tank that Fairbanks Natural Gas built in South Fairbanks, or making sure that usability coal mine.

Gets that coal delivery up to our power plants and making sure that folks that do burn heating oil have a supply of it. That's the baseline energy source for Fairbanks. Maybe someday that will pivot into other renewable energy sources, but for right now, that's our baseline and we have to protect that.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Stapp, 60 seconds.

[00:34:37] Will Stapp: Yeah, thanks. Another excellent question. Uh, if you ever want to change the dynamics in this town as far as cost to residents, you need to focus on cheap things that are abundant. So that means we have two options for baseload power. You have coal and you have natural gas.

Coal is the only thing we can currently bring in here reliably. Natural gas would require a big investment in infrastructure. But the goal, in my opinion, of every interior resident, or in every interior elected official. Should be to invest in ways to drive our costs down. Okay, and I can't stress that enough We currently pay 27 cents a kilowatt power folks residential when folks come to me and say do this project It'll be 45 cents a kilowatt.

I say I'm not interested Why would I be interested in doubling the cost of residents who already pay the highest costs on the rail belt? So again, I'm not Renewables are great. You can with redundancy in a line You can bring on some more efficiency, but nothing is ever going to replace coal or natural gas in this town.

Victoria Denning: Thank You. Mr. Damron

[00:35:40] Gary Damron: Well, I'm gonna disagree with my esteemed colleague. I think there are ways to drive costs down while Using renewables the Bradley Lakes project is a classic case in point. They have the cheapest energy on the rail belt and they ship a lot of it to Fairbanks. So if you combine that with the wind sources that are available with the solar sources that are available and the bridge of natural gas, I think we can drive the cost of energy in Fairbanks way down.

It has always been a problem here from The time I got here in 1971 to current day, the clean coal has just not worked. We've seen the state in G. V. A. Work on it for 30 years and they just couldn't get it right. Now they're closing it. So those are our options.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Representative Prax 60 seconds.

[00:36:46] Mike Prax: Yes, thank you. Challenging problem. The thing that we need to focus on is what works best in a specific location. Uh, wind and solar might be appropriate in some locations. It's not appropriate in all locations. I spent a lot of time on the Energy Committee the last couple of years listening to all these aspirational projects.

And they don't consider the total lifetime cost of the project. That's the biggest flaw in in in alternative energy evaluation right now, and they don't consider the total environmental impact there's If you tie up a bunch of land for a solar farm, you can't do something else with it Same thing if you tie up a bunch of land with a wind farm You can't do something else with it and you have to you have to mine A lot of resources to get the metals, uh, to build those projects.

So you have to consider the total economic cost, and that just is not happening, and that's a big mistake.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Now moving away from the topic of energy into another important topic here in the interior. Uh, Mr. Damron, you will answer this question first. With the launch of a new commission dedicated to Alaska's military affairs, what should be the commission's top priority?

Thank you. How would you ensure that this commission effectively supports the needs of Alaska's military communities and strengthens the state's role in national defense? 60 seconds, Mr. Damron.

[00:38:23] Gary Damron: Both my parents were veterans and I grew up on Eielson Air Force Base. Um, so this is a really important subject to me.

I think quality of life issues and integrating the military bases more with the city that they're near would would go far to base that. I think the deep water port and known for the Coast Guard or the Navy is a big deal. Um, I think it's appropriate. The Russians and the Chinese are not conducting exercises in the Bering Sea in the Arctic Ocean.

And, you know, that's our pond.

They're taking our fish. They're doing all kinds of things with their submarines that we don't know about. So, um, working with the military as a state government to do anything they pretty much want, I'm in favor of.

Victoria Denning: Representative Stapp, 60 seconds.

[00:39:29] Will Stapp: Okay, well this is a little strange for me because it was my bill, so.

Yes, I, you know, chamber priority by the way. So we got the bill passed, the commission bill finally. So on the macro sense, we're talking about economic coordination, investment, and of course our strategic value to the country based that we're now on the front line of all of our international Upcoming enemies or hostile powers, but I'll break it down to the micro level to the human level So the reason that I kind of wanted that bill to push that is I came to this town in 2006 as an infantry soldier on Fort Wainwright and the first experience that I really had with Fairbanks is I had Christmas Inside a bus, who, a lady who was an old musher, her name was Charlotte Fitzhugh, she was one of the first women ever to do the um, the iron, or not the, not the Iditarod, but the other one, the Yukon Quest, right?

And even though she had nothing, she brought me and another soldier into her house, her school bus I should say, and I had Christmas dinner. And I thought, that's cool, and I want every other soldier on Fort Wayne right to experience how wonderful the people in this town are. Thank you.

Victoria Denning: Representative Pratt.

60 seconds.

[00:40:35] Mike Prax: Yes, thank you. Well, I think Alaska's strategic position is self evident and we have a lot of open spaces so we can accommodate, uh, expansion in the military, but what we in the legislature and more importantly in the community of Fairbanks and North Pole have to focus on, uh, is the human element.

I, I don't think that we have upheld our Thank you. End of the bargain for Military housing there's a lot of reasons for that, but we need to address that get that problem solved and also I This this job has been a real eye opening experience the number of Veterans that are well a significant part of our homeless population are former veterans that have had Trouble because of their experience in the military, and I think we need to do better at reaching out and Helping the veterans Find really the services that are available.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Mr. LeBon

[00:41:38] Bart LeBon: It wasn't too many short years ago. I'll son Air Force Base was on the Chopping block and this community turned out in a big way to support and defend Eilson Air Force Base We have 54 F 35 fighter jets out at Eielson today because of this community. We should congratulate ourselves for that.

I have spent the last 25 years as a member of the Air Force Association here in Fairbanks in support of the Air Force. I'm past chapter president and I'm past state president of the Air Force Association. So whatever we can do as a community to support the military, I think this community is all on board.

Um, open dialogue, uh, housing absolutely, uh, employment opportunities, we reach out to the military, uh, in any way we can. This community has a great reputation of support for the military, and I'm so happy that representative staff ramrodded that through. Probably wasn't a hard sell.

Victoria Denning: Thank you.

Representative Divert.

[00:42:44] Maxine Dibert: Yes, I wholeheartedly, uh, support our military. We are a military town and actually my grandpa, um, Einer Anderson, helped build Fort Wainwright years and years and years ago. So, um, I I'm a co sponsor of Will Stapp's bill. It's a great bill. And for me, when I go out and walk through the community, I meet a lot of young military families.

And some of the issues that, um, that they tell me is They want, um, child care. It's very hard to find child care in this community. They want affordable housing. I've met young families who live in apartments and want to move their young family into a home. It's very hard to do. And, um, And also they want excellent schools.

I know as an educator at Denali Elementary School for two decades, I've worked tirelessly for military families in supporting them, because I know military families move in and out, and you have, they need a lot of support.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And now our next question is focused on our university, where Representative Prax, you will answer first.

The university continues to have a deferred maintenance need that statewide. is 1. 4 billion. Many of the deferred maintenance projects are in Fairbanks. How much of a priority will you place on obtaining deferred maintenance funding for the university? 60 seconds, Representative Prax.

[00:44:13] Mike Prax: Well, I would put some effort into that.

It is a definite problem. There are some serious maintenance issues at the university that need to be dealt with and I would like to see them Focus on those first. Um, there's some more cosmetic deferred maintenance issues those would need later, but yes, we do have to take care of the buildings we already have, and that is going to take some additional support.

Thank you.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, representative diver.

[00:44:46] Maxine Dibert: Thank you for the question. Um, I'm class of 1999 from UAF, so UAF is very near and dear to my heart. And my daughter is now attending it and should graduate in May, hopefully. Um, so UAF is a very special part of our community, much like Fort Wainwright, our military.

It's like the other side. Um. UAF is an economic driver. They provide jobs. They bring people in nationally and internationally to our community. And we have sports. I know my, my opponent played basketball up there. And I love watching hockey and sports. They bring so much to our community. Um, I'm all about, um, keeping UAF, um, with deferred maintenance and supporting that full, full heartedly.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, Mr. LeBon.

[00:45:39] Bart LeBon: Yeah, one of the years I was on the House Finance Committee, we set aside some money for the University Deferred Maintenance issue in the capital budget to renovate upper campus dormitories. And absolutely, we need to and protect what we have. Uh, the question of deferred maintenance, just not university.

Although we're closely connected to our campus here in Fairbanks, it's a statewide issue. And when you go through the capital budget process, which I did four consecutive years on house finance, you have to prioritize even within the capital budget, what money goes to what projects. And Uh, the university is always going to be high on my list.

My graduating class was 1975, so I'm dating myself, you know. But I tell folks that I came up here to play basketball in 1972 for two years, so I'm on year 20, I'm on year 52 of a two year plan.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Stapp.

[00:46:43] Will Stapp: Okay, another excellent question. So this is a really good example of, uh, uh, I did actually have this bill to try to fix the deferred maintenance issue, uh, failed to get it passed.

Um, so what did I want to do? I worked with the university and a bunch of different stakeholders to develop a system and a rubric that said, hey, we have all these projects that are on our deferred maintenance list, it's 1. 4 billion dollars by the way, it's a big number, and uh, how about we create a mechanism in which the legislature gives consistent and stable funding to try to knock these things out.

Um, but the truth is, there's a people that really aren't interested in changing the mechanics because if you do something like that, you take the, you take this appropriation power out of elected people's hands and you focus it on things that are actually important and not shiny. So, the truth is, until you change out people who've been in office for 18 years, you're never gonna pass bills that are actually designed to do the boring things that they can't come back home and take credit for.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Mr. Damron.

[00:47:43] Gary Damron: Deferred maintenance is a pet peeve of mine. The state should, when they build something, should calculate in the cost over the lifetime of that, um, structure, project, whatever. Um, to have 1. 4 billion backlog in deferred maintenance is unconscionable to me. It should never have happened.

To fix it, we need to get everything up to speed and then start calculating out monies every year for just general maintenance, so there doesn't become any deferred maintenance. There was a lab at UAA that, a biology lab, that grew a bunch of mold that couldn't be used. That's incredible. How does that happen?

Um, so it wasn't used for Three or four years. Um, we need to stop. This is idiocy to not take care of the stuff that we have. It costs more to fix it than it does to maintain it.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. So now let's go back to candidate to candidate questions with direct exchange. Representative staff, you'll ask first and just 30 seconds to ask your question.

Uh, Mr. Damron will have 60 seconds to reply, and Representative Stapp, if you're unsatisfied, you then have 15 seconds to, uh, redress, okay? Okay. Please, uh, pay attention to the time, because this goes by fast. So, Representative Staff, please go ahead.

[00:49:20] Will Stapp: Yeah, uh, okay, so I'm gonna, I'm, everybody knows me, I'm kind of a real kind of blunt person, so my worst thing that I experienced in Juneau was I showed up to my new job and I got a 67 percent pay increase, back door, that I voted against twice, right?

And there were people who just showed up down there like me who actually voted in favor of a 67 percent pay increase when they just started their new job, so my question to Gary is, what would you have done and what would you say to those people who voted in favor of that?

Victoria Denning: Mr. Damron, 60 seconds.

[00:49:53] Gary Damron: I would say that it was unreasonable. Um, would be my first thing. Um, public services, you're not supposed to get rich in public service. And I think a lot of people down there and what they're making now, I don't know this for a fact, but I was told that some legislators are making north of 80k a year. Um, that's not the way Alaska was designed to work, so I would have been adamantly opposed to it, and I would have done what I could to talk my fellow legislatures, legislators, into voting no.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Stapp, did you want to redress with the question?

[00:50:33] Will Stapp: Um, I guess the only thing I would say is would your answer change if you knew that Rep. Dibert was one of those people?

[00:50:39] Gary Damron:: No.

[00:50:40] Will Stapp: Thank you.

Victoria Denning: Okay. Thank you. Now, Mr Damron, you have the opportunity to ask representative staff your question again. Please pay attention to the time. It does go by quickly. Please go ahead.

[00:50:53] Gary Damron: What is your stance on the Manh Choh ore haul? Should Kinross/Black gold have to pay to keep the roads in good repair?

And should all non renewable resource extraction pay the same taxes as the oil companies?

[00:51:09] Will Stapp: There's excellent questions. I, I'll do the best I can in the time frame. 60 seconds. Okay. Oh, I think, uh, resource development projects should always be safe. I'm also a big believer in user fees. Uh, where are my Mancho folks at?

They know this. I tell them through their face. Look, if you're gonna use infrastructure, I don't see why the people are using that might have to pay for some of that, right? So, the argument is we'll just raise the gas tax in order to pay for that. I don't think it's fair to punish people in Anchorage.

Anchorage. Uh, for a road on the Richardson Highway. So I'm more than open to finding some sort of funding mechanism to make sure that people who are doing damage to infrastructure are actually helping to pay for that directly. So I'm a big believer in user fees. Second aspect, I would love to have a, uh, a debate on the mining tax structure.

I do just want to point out to folks that many states that have a different type of mining structure, Uh, on the taxation, they pay it in lieu of property tax. So look at Minnesota, for example, on their iron mines, they don't pay a local property tax, they pay a statewide production tax. So I don't think Fairbanks residents would want Fort Gnoss to not pay us property taxes.

It's the biggest one.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Mr. Damron, did you want to redress with a question?

[00:52:17] Gary Damron: Uh, I don't think so.

Victoria Denning: Okay, thank you both. Moving back then to prepare, prepared questions. Uh, where Representative Divert, you will begin. The Alaska Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, a mechanism for funding state transportation projects, was delayed for approval this year, causing uncertainty about future projects.

What can be done to get things back on track? 60 seconds.

[00:52:44] Maxine Dibert: Uh, yes, thank you for the question. It is unfortunate that we We messed up on our paperwork recently, um, at the administration level. I believe moving forward that we need to listen to our Fairbanks FAST program. They brought it up and gave us warning and I think moving forward that we should listen to them.

Um, and over the last year we have had snafus at the statewide level. Um, beginning with SNAP benefits, uh, people's paperwork didn't get through and they were Um, didn't get fed, and then this spring we had at the edu deed, uh, not enough paperwork or, or um, workers to help with paperwork, um, to get retirement checks out, and now the STIP.

So, so, there's holes and gaps at our department level that we need to address, um, moving forward.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Mr. LeBon, 60 seconds.

[00:53:39] Bart LeBon: Yeah, yeah. What we had there was a failure to communicate. The communication between our community, state DOT, federal government. This isn't the first year we've submitted our STIP, and this isn't the first time FAST has oversawn that process, so if I'm elected, this is my heads up, and I will make sure that the state.

Is proactive in developing their plan and get buy in and approval locally, which is part of the process. And that's where we had a failure to communicate.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, Mr. Damron.

[00:54:22] Gary Damron: I think that, uh, the state government really dropped the ball on this one. Um, there was no communication with fast planning or any other metropolitan area that's in the fast planning, um, Scope of authority.

Um, this is, this was the first time that it's ever happened and it should have never have happened. The, as I understand it, the governor brought in all new people to write the step the way he wanted it and you can't substitute experience for new people who want to do things just the way you want to do it.

You want it done. Um, I think that's critical. I think the communications back and forth were awful. Um, the federal government played a role by not stepping in sooner and telling people what was wrong with the step. Um, I think it was just all around, like Mr LeBron said, a failure to communicate.

Victoria Denning: Thank you.

Representative staff.

[00:55:27] Will Stapp: Okay, um, I'm gonna, I'm gonna use this to tell a story from house finance. Just to show folks the problems in government that most people don't know about that I always try to work on. So I had DOT in front of finance committee and they were telling me about this great program called the E Stip.

My chief of stiffs back there, he rem, he, he knows this story. The E Stip, we're gonna put all those things in electronic, it's gonna be on the cloud, it's gonna be excellent. And then I said, hey, what happened to the E Stip? And they said, oh, it, yeah, the software didn't work so we had to put it back on Excel.

And then I said, well, did we get our, is that our fault or is it their fault? Oh, it's the vendor's fault, it's our third party vendor's fault. And then I said, hey, are we gonna get our money back? And they're like, oh, probably not. So, when you wonder why things are broken, a lot of times there's a climate and a culture of just acceptance for, you know, Incompetence and failure.

So I always tell folks I try to be tough but fair with folks, but I really hate incompetence and failure

Victoria Denning: Thank you and representative cracks.

[00:56:30] Mike Prax: Thank you. Interesting problem that we have I think part of the problem is that the DOT and the community got overly wrapped up in opposition to the um, trucking project.

That kind of took all the air out of the room. And the trucking project met all of the requirements that were imposed upon them voluntarily, went beyond and the community made some unreasonable demands. That took a lot of attention that couldn't have been, that could have been put to doing a better job on the step.

The other thing I'd like to just redirect a little bit. I don't know if it's going to come up, but we have to do something about the air quality situation, roughly in the North pole area, because that's where it's the worst, if you will, from the EPA's point of view, and they are threatening highway funding and everything else.

So we have to pay attention to, uh, resolving, uh, the air quality problem out in the Hurston Badger Road monitor. We have to make the monitor happy.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And our next question I will, uh, tell you is pretty lengthy, so I will do my best to, to go through this slowly for each of you. Uh, but Mr. Damron, you'll begin first.

The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act includes a provision that Congress shall permit access for surface transportation across the gates of the Arctic National Preserve. To connect the Ambler Mining District with the Alaska Pipeline Hall Road. How would you support the state's efforts to ensure the federal government honors this provision and what steps would you take to advance this critical infrastructure project?

Mr. Damron, 60 seconds.

[00:58:21] Gary Damron: Well, I think the first thing would be to talk to them. Um, and try and sort out their environmental regulations in, in some fashion that works for everybody. The next thing is, is you still have to get the permission of the stakeholders that actually are the landowners out there.

And I think that's going to be a tough sell. Um, just because the federal government says it in ANILCA doesn't mean that DOYON is going to allow it. And they are the biggest landholder out there. Um, I think it is, is critical that those minerals be developed. I think it would be easier if they were to build a railroad from Red Dog to the Ambler Mining District.

Um, they already have the port loading facilities out there, um, and the infrastructure to get it done. I think it would be cheaper and, uh, more practical to go that way than go through from the haul road.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, Representative Stapp.

[00:59:25] Will Stapp: Oh man, uh, lots of issues. So I support the Amber Mining Project mainly because if we ever want to do a renewable energy transition, it requires the raw materials and the rare earth minerals that are really in the mining district.

Okay, so what do you do about the land disputes? Federal government has been pushing Alaska around since as long as I've been alive, so obviously at the state level you fund state of defense to take that. But you also gotta remember you gotta respect the, the rights of private landholders, okay? So when you have a corporation or an individual that owns property out there, like you gotta deal with them in good faith and respect and try to get them really to be a supporter of the project too.

Um, You know, I could go tell you a story about, uh, community meeting in Dillingham back with, uh, Pebble Mine, but I know folks in the industry know that. But I, I just believe that we're great stewards of resource development in Alaska, and if you treat people well and get them involved in a project, they'll be much more amiable, um, to supporting that project than when you're not.

So, thank you.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Prax.

[01:00:27] Mike Prax: Thank you. Um, you know, it's interesting. Thank you. Access to that was part of ANILCA. National, oops, ANSCA, whatever it went. ANSCA, I got my acronyms wrong. But it was part of a congressional act that called for that. Um, corporations were created out of that as well.

And if we look back, the pipeline permit back in 72, I think that was, That took an act of Congress. Congress had to get involved to stop the bickering and the environmental lawfare, um, over that project. And I think that the Congress should get involved with this and keep the bargain that was made. And, um, you know, it was permitted at one point, and the, and the BLM and the different agencies put a lot of work into that.

And a lot of alternatives were considered. The process Went through, came to a logical conclusion that it was just a man.

Victoria Denning: Mr. LeBon.

[01:01:33] Bart LeBon: Yeah, I support, uh, developing the ambler mining district. Uh, the state of Alaska thought it had a deal 50 plus years ago with access to that mining area. So the state has to press that access.

It's in the Nilka and it needs to be honored. Now, how you go about doing that respectfully is, is the challenge. And I think it can be done. It's just, we just have to. Apply the, uh, the, uh, commitment to see into it and absolutely develop that mining area. I mean, that's our future. And I had mentioned in my question to representative Divert that, uh, there's rare earth elements, uh, that are active and, and found in that mining district that we need to develop for alternative energy sources, be it a wind or solar.

And. And why not? And so it's absolutely a high priority for the state to press its access to the ambler mining area.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Representative Divert. Yes, I will kind of

[01:02:39] Maxine Dibert: echo what has been set up here. Um, I do. Ambler Road would provide economic development and jobs. And that's, you know, that we're a resource rich state and But conversations moving forward regarding having the Ambler Road and accessing the minerals is going to be a delicate dance.

There's a lot of layers of government here, um, where everyone's voices need to be at the table. And so that's like your federal government, um, our state government, and then tribal governments as well. And it's, it's a tough situation. I have I want to meet and talk with local people like TCC for the villages that will be impacted, um, by the development.

But I, I do agree we need to look at other, possible other ways to reach the minerals and get them out to market.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And now we are back on track with time. Um, and dare I say, we're actually ahead of time, so as long as we can stay on task. Uh, let's move to audience questions. We have a handful of questions.

Um, and lucky for each of you, none of these are directed to a specific candidate. Um, so all of these questions will, uh, have opportunity for each of you to respond. Uh, keep in mind that these answers are, um, shorter. Um, 45 seconds for your response. Um, so with this question, I think it would be best answered with your card, your yes or no card.

Will you join a bipartisan coalition if your party is not the majority of the caucus? Yes or no?

Okay. Um, Mr. Prax, we'll start with you and then we'll go from, I guess, my left to the right. Yes. With the Biden admin's decision on the Ambler Road this year, the interior small businesses that lend support to the many resource development operations are seeing an immediate loss in revenue and loss of ability to hire local.

What can you do to support those businesses? 45 seconds, Representative Brax.

[01:05:09] Mike Prax: Well, see to it that that project moves forward. Uh, we can, we don't really have a lot of influence over, the legislature doesn't have a lot of influence. It's a federal problem. And that, probably a lawsuit, I suppose we could do that to get the project moving.

Victoria Denning: Representative Stapp.

[01:05:28] Will Stapp: Well, if you think that's bad, wait till you get a Harris administration that ends your pipeline authorization, you know? Uh, look, folks, I have never seen, you know, usually Lasky of Republicans, Democrats, sometimes they make changes, sometimes they don't, doesn't really matter. Um, other than Clinton with the Tongas.

Well, The EPA is directly targeting and destroying our town. This is low sulfur diesel, heating oil too, they've frozen our highway funds, and outside of litigation, taking them to court, there's really not a whole lot we're gonna do. Right? And if their rulings keep coming down, like, these are not defensible cost wise, and there's almost really no state action that we're gonna be able to take to alleviate the massive cost drivers that they're forcing upon us.

You know. So, not to sound sad, but I mean, that's just the truth. Time.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, Mr. Stapp. And Mr. Damron.

[01:06:21] Gary Damron: Um, in a lot of these instances, I think that lawsuits are the only way to go. Um, the federal government has always overstepped its bounds in Alaska. Um, and it's time that, that stopped. I am more than willing to work with the federal government on any issue they might have.

But for them to run roughshod over statehood is just wrong. It's simply wrong. We should be able to develop all resources. We have a demonstrative track record of doing it correctly. Um, with the one exception, of course, is the Exxon Valdez. Um, and who can substitute for a drunk captain?

Victoria Denning: Thank you, Mr Laban.

[01:07:09] Bart LeBon: Yeah, I suspect the majority of this audience would agree that the Biden Harris administration has not been favorable to Alaska and resource development is glaring and that they have not supported Alaska's opportunity to develop its own resources. We are a resource state, and until we get a new administration in Washington D.

C. We're going to struggle as a state. to do what comes natural, and that is to develop our resources. We have a reputation and a past history of doing so very safely and efficiently. I mean, we do it better than anywhere in the world. So why would you not support Alaska's opportunity and right to develop its own resources?

Victoria Denning: And Representative Divert.

[01:07:56] Maxine Dibert: Yeah, I think moving forward, I agree with what Representative Prox said. It's It's it's at the federal level and it's very hard to have those discussions moving forward. But I'm talking about a road that we do have, which is our hall road. And talking to folks in my community and how bad that road is and it needs funding and help And I'm all supportive of that and as I walk around the community I do Talk to truck drivers, and there's shortages there, and I believe that we really need to focus on Getting our own trained here in the state so that we could get them to fill these jobs because we're getting out of state workers

Victoria Denning: Thank you and on to the next question here, which I will try to combine here into one regarding state retirement programs so recruitment and retention is negatively affecting the public and private sector and Families are leaving the state for better retirement systems, which is negatively impacting local businesses.

Do you support returning the state to a defined benefit retirement program? Yes or no. Please explain your answer. And if yes, explain how you would pay for it. Mr. LeBon will begin with you. 45 seconds.

[01:09:25] Bart LeBon: I'm glad you started with me. Uh, no, uh, defined benefit plan is not something I'm favorable in, uh, for the state returning to.

Here's the challenge, folks. Uh, the current defined benefit plan is six billion. That's with a B underwater. It's a liability that we're trying to address every year in the state legislature, my four years on House Finance. We put two to three hundred million dollars in the budget for closing that liability gap.

And we have about 15 years ahead of us to close that gap to where it needs to be. So before you roll out a new defined benefit plan, why don't you fix the one you have?

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Dibert, 45 seconds.

[01:10:15] Maxine Dibert: Yes, thank you. The, um, the pension bill that was the effort put into that this last legislature was actually driven by fiscally conservative Republicans in the Senate and, um, including Kathy Giesel, who did a lot of research and work into talking with actuaries that we will, um, That this is possible, and I believe it's the number one reason why we can't attract and retain, uh, essential workers like teachers, firefighters, public police officers.

Um, we're the only state that doesn't have one, so I don't know, you know, it makes sense to me why people are looking for work elsewhere. And moving forward, I think we just need to think about this fiscally, conservatively.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. And Representative Prax.

[01:11:06] Mike Prax: Yeah, thank you. The, well, as, as Representative, or, Kenneth LeBon, if I could get that right, pointed out, the existing defined benefit obligation is one of the main reasons we're having trouble doing something about the next retirement plan.

Um, we certainly want to avoid that mistake because Whatever you set up in retirement benefits is guaranteed by the constitution. You pay that before you pay for education. So we have to be very, very careful and very conservative about that. And the, it's a matter of arithmetic. That did not satisfy, the current actuarials presented did not satisfy, um, me as far as being sustainable for this state.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, and Representative Stapp.

[01:11:59] Will Stapp: Alright, 45 seconds to do the question justice. Um, okay, so here's what I think. I think tier 4 is inadequate for a lot of state employees. Uh, I think that's demonstrated by their salary contributions, retirement ratio. So you probably should move to a tier 5. Okay, what's that going to look like?

Well, you have three options. You have return to defined benefit, you have put everybody in social security, and you have enhanced defined contribution existing. So those are your kind of three pathways. SB 88 was rubber stamped in the Senate, folks. It was not pressed in committee. I would love to have the bill press it hard in committee because it's a one door decision.

A return to defined benefits or any type of new retirement system is a one door decision. What's that mean? It means when you walk through that door, there's no turning back. You're now constitutionally obligated forever to pay that retirement. So you're going to have to make a choice. Do the work.

Victoria Denning: Thank you and Mr. Damron.

[01:12:51] Gary Damron: First of all, I have to admit, I got mine. I'm under the defined benefit system. That's how I retired. Um, the second thing I'd have to say is if you pay peanuts, you hire monkeys. Um, we want the best and the brightest to come to Alaska. Without a defined benefit system, being the only state without one, we are not going to get those top tier candidates.

wanting to come to Alaska. And we have had an incredible problem getting people to come up here, apply, especially the ones that need professional licensing, like firefighters, like cops, like nurses to stay after they've got their license. They take off to someplace that has a better retirement system.

Victoria Denning: Thank you very much. And finally, we have reached our last question out of respect of time. Um, we had a couple audience questions that we weren't able to get to. However, those of you who put your name on your question, my understanding is that the chamber will get back to you with answers to your questions.

So thank you again for participating. Um, We will begin with your final answer in the reverse order that we started all the way back at 1205, if you can remember that. Uh, so that means you, Representative Prax, will begin first. 60 seconds. Given your experience and knowledge, please tell us what sets you apart from your opponents.

voters should cast their vote for you.

[01:14:24] Mike Prax: Well, I'm just a hell of a lot better than my opponent. I'm not gonna say that.

[01:14:30] Gary Damron: Well, that clears it up.

[01:14:33] Mike Prax: But I, I, I'm enjoying the job. I'm, I have the time to put the work in to justify the pay. And, uh, I'm willing to keep doing that. I'm more than happy to talk to people, anybody, especially those who, with whom I disagree, so that we can sort problems out and get in conversations and listen to each other instead of fighting with each other.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Representative Stapp.

[01:15:06] Will Stapp: Yeah, thanks. Um, you know folks, I, I just, I've never been in the big my opponent thing. Here's, here's who I am. I'm, you know, I'm, I'm a guy who came to Alaska in the Army. Uh, did a couple tours to Iraq, I met a wonderful Alaska Native gal that I ended up marrying and we have three beautiful children and I love this state and I love our town in Fairbanks and I work hard every day to do the best I can and, you know, when Steve Thompson retired and he asked me to run, I told him, look, I have no problem doing this because I believe in public service but know that I'm always going to tell people what I think about issues and articulate them the best I can and some people like that about me and some people absolutely hate that about me.

Um, so that's why I'm running. Um, I tell folks if it makes sense, I'll probably do it, and if it doesn't make sense, I certainly won't. Thank you.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Mr. Damron.

[01:15:56] Gary Damron: as you've seen today, my opponent and I are, we have a lot of similar thoughts and things like that. I just think that I can do a better job.

Um, I was educated here, I have a lifetime investment in Alaska. I'm not planning on going anywhere. Um, I just want to do what's best for the state of Alaska. And I think I can probably have the time, the brains, and the energy to do it better than my opponent. It's just that simple.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Mr. Labon.

[01:16:30] Bart LeBon: Yeah, um, the rubber meets the road in Juneau on the House Finance Committee.

I served two terms. All four years in Juneau, I was on the House Finance Committee. Both as a member of the majority and as a member of the minority. And I can tell you that being in the minority doesn't mean you're impaired from being effective. If you're on the, on the house finance committee, and even if you're on the minority, your voice will be heard and you will have a say in what happens.

Absolutely. Um, I served on the budget conference committee. That's a committee of three house members and three senators that craft the final budget. When I was on that committee, we crafted a very balanced budget. We even reduced the amount that the administration told us to use for the price of oil by 15 a barrel in crafting our budget.

And, as a final cherry on top of the cake outcome on that budget, It paid the biggest PFD in the history of the program. Thank you very much.

Victoria Denning: Thank you, and Representative Dibert.

[01:17:33] Maxine Dibert: Yes, I'd just like to begin by thanking the chamber for hosting this event and for the moderator for asking great questions. My promise to my constituents is that I will continue to fight for you and keep your best interests in mind.

If you send me back to Juneau, I promise to continue to fight for working families. I will fight for excellent schools. I will fight for economic development that provides high paying jobs for Fairbanksans. I will, um, uh, continue to address our high energy costs, um, so that we have, uh, reliable, uh, reliable energy so that we can power and heat our home.

Um, the past two decades. Over the past two decades, I've served my community as an educator, problem solving with parents, students, my colleagues, on the best possible outcomes for our youth. And I will continue to bring that same dedication, um, in the legislature. Visit MaxineForAlaska. com to learn more about me, and I humbly ask for your vote November 5th.

Victoria Denning: Thank you. Now before we conclude, uh, we want to thank you all for joining us today to learn about each of these candidates and their positions. Running again for Alaska House seats 31, 32, and 33. Again, thank you to our political forum sponsor and my employer, Denali State Bank, for your support in these forums this season.

And we hope that you will make your voice heard by voting now through November 5th. Please join me in a final round of applause for each of these candidates today.