Daily Sitka Sentinel

House Candidates Air Differences at Chamber

By TOM HESSE
Sentinel Staff Writer
    Legislative experience and career experience went head to head Friday as Alaska House candidates Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and Steven Samuelson participated in a Chamber of Commerce forum at the Westmark Hotel.

Rep. Jonathan Kriess-Tomkins, left, and Steve Samuelson share the microphone at the Chamber of Commerce forum Friday. (Sentinel Photo)

    The candidates answered five prepared questions in addition to a handful of audience questions during the 90-minute luncheon. Samuelson, the Republican challenger, frequently cited his business and fishing experience as his primary credentials for running in addition to highlighting the importance of being in the Legislature’s  Republican majority – something that has been a staple of his campaign.
    Meanwhile, Kreiss-Tomkins, who was elected to the House in 2012 in an upset win over an entrenched Republican opponent, drew on his first two years in the Legislature and his outreach to constituents while addressing questions. The contrast was clear from the first question when candidates were asked to outline their top three legislative priorities. Kreiss-Tomkins said his focus was on energy in Southeast, education innovation – including a “great teachers fund” modeled off of lieutenant governor candidate Dan Sullivan’s plan to help educate future teachers in Alaska – and an initiative to bring more commercial fishing permits back to Alaskans. Kreiss-Tomkins said that for the past two years his office has been working on a plan to bring permits back to Alaska, rather than losing them to Washington.
    “The economic value of those permits is lost, essentially,” Kreiss-Tomkins said, explaining that a similar step was taken in the Cape Cod area.
    When it was Samuelson’s turn, the candidate went after Kreiss-Tomkins’ plan before getting into his own priorities. First, Samuelson said his experience in commercial fishing made him more qualified to address fishing issues than Kreiss-Tomkins, who has worked on fishing boats in the past. 
    “You’re going to want to look at someone that’s been in the industry their whole life and that’s me,” Samuelson said.
    Samuelson then went on to list transportation, economic development and energy as his three priorities. He finished his time the way he started it: by criticizing Kreiss-Tomkins’ ideas, this time on energy projects. Kreiss-Tomkins had brought up the potential of biomass energy in Southeast. The Democrat said there was “a lot of potential” in biomass and that a ton of pellets purchased at Costco was a significantly more efficient source of energy than oil. Samuelson thought otherwise:
    “I don’t see that happening, quite frankly, in the position that we’re in,” Samuelson said. “Biomass is an incredibly expensive venture to get into.”
    Samuelson also criticized Kreiss-Tomkins for saying residents in Southeast could purchase the compressed biomass pellets at Costco. He said Southeast’s energy should be produced locally “not going down and trying to figure out how to make Washington more wealthy.”
    Throughout the debate Samuelson tried to be the aggressor. He stood while answering his questions, raised his voice on a few “tangents” and made little eye contact with Kriess-Tomkins during the exchanges.
    One such tangent came when Samuelson answered a question about natural resources development. Samuelson hammered the point about having majority representation for Sitka and again pointed to his resume, which he placed on tables throughout the room prior to the forum.
    “These are the things that I’ve dedicated my life to,” Samuelson said.
    “Alaska, to me, is open for business in the area of all natural resources.”
    Kreiss-Tomkins went into specifics on his thoughts for natural resources development. In the area of mining he said the state needs to continue to support programs like the UAS center for mine training to help fill Southeast mines with Southeast workers. Kreiss-Tomkins contrasted that with the North Slope, where he said the majority of workers are coming in from out-of-state.
    Additionally, Kreiss-Tomkins said the state could work to market Alaskan timber the same way they do Alaskan seafood and he again addressed the need to get more commercial fishing permits in the hands of Alaskans.
    Later in the forum an audience member asked for specific policy points on addressing fishing. Kreiss-Tomkins again spoke on the piece of legislation that they’ve been working on “literally for two years” and also got into the bycatch problem in the Gulf of Alaska.
    All of Southeast, Kreiss-Tomkins said, pulls in around 4.2 million pounds of halibut each year while in the gulf bycatch alone accounts for over 5 million pounds.
    “It’s just wrong and it needs to change,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.
    As a federal issue, legislators don’t have direct access to the law but Kreiss-Tomkins said his office was already advocating to make the changes.
    Samuelson again highlighted his life experience in fishing but added:
    “I can’t tell you all the specifics about how I would go about it.”
    Samuelson has repeatedly said the opinions of people in his district will influence his actions, not what he thinks should happen. On a question about mining near Sitka, Samuelson said “It’s up to what people in Sitka want.”
    “If that’s what people want, you bet I’d be for it.”
    Kreiss-Tomkins said in his conversations with experts at the Department of Natural Resources he’d learned that public support for mines is best done after private companies have started the work.
    “Private sector dollars are almost always the indicator of mining development,” Kreiss-Tomkins said.
    Samuelson also cited majority opinion in response to an audience question about forming relationships in the Legislature. He said being a majority voice working for the majority of constituents is key to supporting the entire state.
    “The legislator you’re sending into the house is one of 60 people representing all of Alaska,” he said.
    Earlier in the debate Samuelson did clarify that just because he’ll be in the majority party does not mean he’ll always side with them.
    “I’m not going to go in and be the Republican that’s only going to side with Republicans. That’s not me,” he said.
    Kreiss-Tomkins said his experience in the Legislature has been one of forming relationships and working on issues both sides want to address. When he arrived in Juneau, Kreiss-Tomkins made it a point to meet with each legislator and the two bills he passed during the last legislative cycle drew wide bipartisan support.
    “I have a rule that I only want to introduce legislation that can draw prime bipartisan cosponsorship,” he said.
    Other audience questions for the members dealt with Medicaid expansion, gun rights, minimum wage and ferry service.
    On gun rights the candidates were asked to explain their ratings from the National Rifle Association. Kreiss-Tomkins had a B+ rating while Samuelson did not have a rating, which he attributed to not filling out the survey. Samuelson did say he was “a card carrying member” of the group.
    Kreiss-Tomkins said he was supportive of the second amendment and added:
    “For what it’s worth, I believe our campaign is the NRA-endorsed campaign in this race.”
    Kreiss-Tomkins said he strongly supported expanding Medicaid while Samuelson said “I’m a person that thinks health care absolutely needs to be looked at.”
    Both candidates said they supported raising the minimum wage, an issue that is on this November’s ballot.
    During opening and closing statements the candidates spoke broadly about why District 35 voters should elect them. Kreiss-Tomkins opened with a story about how he spent his Friday morning. He said he got a call early in the morning that the 911 system in Kake was down and he said he was proud to be in a position where he could help communities solve those types of problems.
    “I believe that sort of hands-on approach in a rural community is very important,” Kreiss-Tomkins said, adding later that traveling to every community in the district is one of the best parts of his job as a legislator.
    Samuelson closed the forum with the same appeal to his work history that he opened it with.
    “Why me? It’s the resume,” he said.