2020 Elections: Incumbents see challengers in primaries
With Alaska’s primary elections occurring on August 18, several candidates will be vying for spots on November’s general election ballot. During the primary elections, Alaskan voters choose their preferred candidate to move on to the general election ballot. This choice depends in part upon political affiliation; the Alaskan Democratic Party, the Alaskan Independence Party and the Alaskan Libertarian Party have open primaries, meaning that they allow any registered voter to participate in their primary. The Republican Party is semi-closed, so only registered Republicans, nonpartisan and undeclared voters are eligible to participate.
State Senate Seat T
Incumbent Donny Olson, a Democrat from Golovin, is running unopposed in the primary but will face competition in the general election. Two Republicans—Thomas Baker of Kotzebue and Calvin Moto II of Deering—are vying to be the Republican candidate in November.
Olson was first elected to the Senate in 2000 and has won every election since. He was last challenged in the 2012 general election. Olson said his campaign looks differently this year not because of an opponent, but because of the pandemic. During election years, Olson typically flies his own plane out to visit villages, but due to travel restrictions that strategy is “not quite as effective” in 2020. Instead, he has been campaigning by continuing to send out his newsletter, Ulu News, and by distributing berry buckets and other promotional material.
As a physician, one of Olson’s top priorities right now is responding to the pandemic. “If the virus sets up shop in rural Alaska, it could be very devastating,” he said, comparing the potential “annihilating” effects to the 1918 influenza epidemic. Olson believes that it is important to make sure that life can go on in communities, but also to keep restrictions in place. For instance, he believes that people should be required to have a negative COVID-19 test before entering communities.
Another issue Olson hopes to address is Alaska’s budget deficit. He supports the Fair Share initiative, which would increase the state’s revenue from oil production. This way, the budget could be funded without dipping into the Permanent Fund to pay for government programs. If reelected, Olson wants to push for a full PFD, including possibly a second payout for this year. Olson said the PFD is critical for people in rural communities with high costs of living and he wants to make sure Alaskans are not forced to move out of villages because of the cost. Along these lines, Olson said he will fight to keep programs benefiting rural Alaskans, such as the Power Cost Equalization Fund and the Village Public Safety Officer program, safe from budget cuts. “I want people to know that I will support rural programs that are near and dear to their hearts,” Olson said.
Thomas Baker (R), a construction manager for Kikitagruk Inupiat Corporation, LLC, was born and raised in Kotzebue. He left to attend college, graduating from Dartmouth College in 2017. He returned to Alaska and became involved in local politics. Baker is vice-mayor of Kotzebue, a member of the Native Village of Kotzebue’s Tribal Council and an alternate commissioner of the Northwest Arctic Borough’s Village Improvement Commission. He also serves on the Kotzebue Sound Fish and Game Advisory Committee and the Northwest Arctic Subsistence Regional Advisory Council. His engagement in Kotzebue inspired Baker to run for Senate because, in order to make a difference, “I realized that I can be as involved as I like in the community, but you can’t only do things in one town.”
Central to Baker’s campaign are education, public safety and creating jobs. Since this school year will undoubtedly be impacted by the pandemic, Baker said it is important to communicate with each community to fully understand the resources towns need to support their schools. This includes making sure that rural communities are equipped for remote learning with adequate technology, which is often lacking. In terms of public safety, Baker said that a strong base for law enforcement starts in the home. Promoting safe communities begins with, “a culture of looking out for individual homes” so that youth have the background they need if they choose to go into law enforcement. Lastly, Baker is a big proponent of Alaskans gaining higher education—whether that be technical or in a university—and then returning to their communities. Key here is making sure that rural Alaskan youth have the resources they need to pursue higher educational opportunities, so that they can eventually return to their communities.
According to Baker, some of the biggest problems facing the region are the pandemic and the shrinking economy it has caused, especially when combined with a high cost of living in rural areas, as well as the loss of a full PFD. Baker said he knows how important the PFD is for people living in remote communities and vows to “squash” debates about using the PFD to fund the government. “I’m a lifelong rural Alaskan, I’m educated and I’m a hard worker. I want to be a voice for the people so that everyone is represented,” said Baker.
Calvin Moto (R), who owns a business in Deering, has worked as a carpenter, a heavy equipment operator and an internet technician. He currently serves as the tribal president for the Deering IRA along with being Vice-Chair of the local electric board and a school board member. Moto said he was inspired to run for the Legislature in March. After traveling back to Deering, he was required to quarantine and during this time watched Governor Dunleavy’s daily press conferences. “I didn’t like what was going on,” said Moto. He decided to run for Olson’s seat because, at the time he submitted his name, Olson was the only other candidate. “People need a choice on the ballot, because people have different views.” Moto said he is a good choice because, “I’m young, optimistic, I have a good head on my shoulders, and I know what people want.”
Moto’s priorities include returning to the original PFD formula and giving Alaskans back pay. Moto is pro-resource development, but wants it to be done in such a way that those living in the impacted area have the first say in the decisions. Promoting resource development, Moto said, could be a way to balance Alaska’s budget. Moto also wants to do away with the binding caucus rule—which requires members of the legislature to vote with their party—and to introduce legislative terms. If elected, Moto said he will prioritize open and frequent communication with residents, which he believes is especially important during the pandemic. “There would not be silence,” he said.
State Representative
District 39
For Representative for District 39, Tyler Ivanoff of Shishmaref is running against incumbent Neal Foster of Nome during the Democratic primary. Dan Holmes of Nome is the sole Republican candidate and so will run unopposed in the primary.
Foster first ran for Representative in 2009 and has run unopposed in every primary and general election since 2012. In 2020, though, he has challengers from both sides of the political aisle, “It’s a little spicier this year,” said Foster, “but I welcome an opponent, it keeps everyone sharper.” Similar to Olson, Foster said his campaign has been more impacted by the pandemic than by the presence of another candidate. Foster said he typically visits each community in the region prior to an upcoming election. The pandemic has made that impossible, so he had people in the villages distribute campaign material for him.
Foster said his central priorities are preserving the Power Cost Equalization Program, restructuring to provide full PFDs to lower-income Alaskans, and education, especially during the pandemic. Due to Alaska’s budget deficit and the fact that savings are running low, the state needs to either cut its budget or raise money. “It’s going to take a little bit of everything to fix,” Foster said. He is fearful that some legislators will try to balance the budget by cutting programs, a strategy that will disproportionately hurt rural Alaskans. For example, the PCE program was cut last year, and Foster said he had to work hard to save it. “It’s not a tradeoff I’m willing to take,” he said of cutting the program to provide a full PFD. However, Foster also said he recognizes how important the PFD is for people in the region. This is why he is pushing a bill that would allow lower income people to have full PFD while people with larger incomes would receive smaller checks. Other priorities for Foster include keeping education and senior benefits programs fully funded, along with looking into an oil tax initiative to save the state money. Foster emphasized that senior leadership from legislators such as himself is extremely critical in this time of economic distress. Rural Alaska has very few seats in the legislature, so it is increasingly important that rural Alaskans have leaders with experience and sway. “The only way to come out with a fair deal is to have people with seniority and leadership and chairmanship experience,” he said.
Tyler Ivanoff, who grew up in Elim, works as an educational aid and basketball coach for the Bering Strait School District and is currently pursuing a degree in education. Ivanoff has served as Elim mayor and vice mayor as well as treasurer for the Native Village of Elim and Tribal Council president for Elim and is currently a board member and vice president of Elim Native Corporation. Ivanoff said he was inspired to run for the legislature because “I believe that our communities in District 39 need a representative who will hear their needs and address their concerns.” Ivanoff was particularly frustrated by the decision to direct PFD money to the Constitutional Budget Reserve, “Taking nearly 80 percent of the savings and leaving Alaskans with only 20 percent.”
Ivanoff said one of his central priorities is to reinstitute the original PFD formula. For rural Alaskans that “money is needed for heating fuel in the winter, winter clothes for our kids, and a way to purchase an outboard motor, ATV, or snowmachine.” However, instead of cutting state services to fund a PFD —which was Gov. Dunleavy’s method— Ivanoff wants to look at other sources of revenue, such as potentially restructuring the oil industry tax credit system. Other goals include supporting education, from K-12 to the University of Alaska system, improving public safety by assuring that the Village Public Safety Officer and Village Police Officer programs are funded and improving health—from sanitation to mental health — in rural communities. If elected, key issues Ivanoff hopes to address include balancing the budget and eliminating the binding caucus.
While incumbent Foster “may see the numbers, I see our people struggling when our PFD money is stripped from us.” “As an Alaskan Native from a small community, [who has] lived in Rural Alaska nearly my entire life, I believe that I am the best candidate for the House District 39 Representative position,” Ivanoff said.
Republican challenger Dan Holmes of Nome works as a paraprofessional with Nome Public Schools. He was inspired to run for legislature because he “felt like leaders were not treating residents fairly, particularly in regard to the PFD.” Holmes was disappointed when Foster voted for a smaller PFD last year, stating that limiting the dividend to fund the government disproportionately impacts individuals with lower incomes as well as families with more children. The PFD is central to Holmes’s campaign, but other priorities include eliminating the binding caucus—which he says prompts politicians to sometimes vote in ways that do not support their district—as well as ending career politicians by instituting term limits. Outside of this, Holmes wants to develop natural resources in the state with Alaskan or American owned and operated companies. The rest of his platform “is very similar to the Alaska Republican platform,” Holmes said. He is a self-described “man of God,” a supporter of the second amendment and pro-life.
While he has served in leadership roles as a captain and pilot, this is Holmes’s first time running for a political office. Holmes, who has experience as a diver, carpenter and ironworker, came to Nome in 2011 to captain a gold mining dredge. He said that he fell in love with the region, its culture and people. “I want to be part of the solution [and] to help the district,” he said.
U.S Senate
Four candidates, along with Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan, are running for one of Alaska’s two U.S. Senate seats. Sullivan will run unopposed in the primary, but several candidates are going head to head for the Democratic nomination.
Running as an Independent is Al Gross of Anchorage. According to his campaign website, Gross, a lifelong Alaskan, is a commercial fisherman and an orthopedic surgeon. As a doctor, Gross is invested in ensuring that Alaskans have access to affordable healthcare by allowing Medicare as a public option.
Also running as an Independent is Chris Cumings of Ketchikan. Cumings does not go into many details about his priorities but central to his campaign is the rejection of the standard politician figure. For example, Cumings is upfront about his struggles with mental illness as well as his current recovery from an opiate addiction. Cumings ran for U.S. House of Representatives in 2018, earning roughly eight percent of the vote in the Democratic Primary.
Edgar Blatchford of Anchorage is the sole Democrat in the race. Blatchford, who was born in Nome, is an attorney as well as an academic and politician. Formerly the mayor of Seward, Blatchford teaches at the University of Alaska Anchorage in both the Department of Journalism and Communication and the Department of Alaska Native Studies. Blatchford obtained three Masters degrees, a PhD and a J.D. He emphasizes education as well as the importance of putting Alaskans first by standing up to big corporations attempting to “buy” Alaskan elections. Blatchford ran for Senate in 2016, but lost in the Democratic primary with 39.9 percent of the vote.
Fairbanks’s John Wayne Howe is running as an Alaskan Independence Party candidate. His campaign website did not reveal many details about his specific campaign, but he is anti-government and his platform includes protecting gun rights and eliminating taxes.
U.S. Representative
Republican incumbent U.S. Representative Don Young, the longest serving Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives, will face opposition from his own party as well as from Democrats and an Independent. Challenging Young is Independent Alyse Galvin along with Republicans Thomas “John” Nelson of Chugiak, Gerald “Jer” Heikes of Palmer and Democrats Ray Sean Tugatuk of Manokotak and William “Bill” Hibler of Fairbanks.
Galvin’s campaign closely aligns with the Democratic Party but, according to her website, the lifelong Alaskan is running as an Independent because she is committed to putting Alaskans before partisan politics. Her priorities include protecting Alaskans from cuts to Social Security and Medicare and improving public safety, especially in rural communities. Galvin won the Democratic nomination for the U.S. House of Representatives during the 2018 primary with 54.1 percent of the vote.
According to his campaign site, Nelson’s focus is on removing federal outreach and reducing “wasteful spending” as well as closely following the constitution to solve U.S. problems. Nelson last ran against Young in 2018, garnering 15.4 percent of the Republican vote in the primary.
Heikes describes himself as a conservative Christian and supports small-government and the development of natural resources and infrastructure throughout Alaska. He ran for governor in 2018, but lost the Republican primary with 0.7 percent of the vote.
Priorities for Tugatuk include renewable energy and housing development as well as supporting small businesses. He supports term limits for U.S. House and Senate positions.
According to his campaign website, Hibler pushes a bipartisan approach to addressing problems such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and racial injustices. Hibler is a polar research scientist and a former professor, currently a professor emeritus, at the University of Alaska. He ran for U.S. Representative in 2016 but lost in the Democratic primary.
