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New to AK Politics, Murakami to Run Against Long-Time Republican, Former Fairbanks Mayor Thompson

Fairbanks, AK - Democrat Larry Murakami  won Tuesday night’s primary election against Uriah  Nalikak  for a spot on the ballot for House District 2 in East Fairbanks.  Murikami is a rookie to Alaska politics, but he says he’s not nervous about continuing the campaign season into November. “I know I’m new, but I also think to some degree, that’s an advantage," he says.  "There are definitely some people that are ok with somebody who is absolutely not a career politician.”

Murakami says the cost of energy is the number one issue he’ll focus on in the coming months.
082014- Murakami2: “We have been hearing about a gas pipeline for I’m think about 30 years," he says.  "We don’t have one yet.  I can’t see why we can’t get it done.”

The Vietnam Veteran says he spent lots of time ‘pounding the pavement’ during the primary season. He’ll face long-time Fairbanks Republican and former Mayor Steve Thompson in the November election. But Murakami says he doesn’t plan to change his tactics. “Well actually a lot of it is going to be the same thing I’ve been doing," he says.  "I’m new to politics. I am knocking on people’s doors. People are quite happy when they see it’s a politician that seems to be received quite well.”

Murakami works at the Arctic Region Supercomputing Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. He’s lived in the interior for since the early 1960’s.