debate for the state, the Alaska governor case moderated by Lori Townsend and Mike Ross Good evening.

Thank you for joining us for debate for the state.

We're coming to you live from Alaska Public Media.

I'm Lori, Townsend.

And good evening, everyone.

I'm Mike Ross.

Tonight, we're going to pose a series of questions to the candidates on this year's ballot for governor of Alaska because of the state's new voting system.

Alaskans will rank up to four candidates at the polls this year.

They are Republicans Mike Dunleavy Charlie Pierce, Democrat, Les, Gara and non-partisan candidate Bill Walker.

We've also gathered questions from Alaskans around the state and from the Anchorage youth vote.

will also be monitoring social media tonight for other questions to pose to the candidates.

Now the candidates will have the opportunity tonight to ask questions of each other during this debate.

All questions and answers will be timed.

Let's get started.

We'll begin with one of the biggest issues facing the state, the permanent fund dividend candidates.

What will your approach be?

for sustaining the permanent fund dividend into the future without cutting state services Each candidate will have one minute to respond.

And Mr. Pierce, you'll start us Would you repeat the question, please?

I'm sorry.

Sure, yes.

What's your plan for the Permanent Fund and how do you balance the Permanent Fund and funding state services without Yes, without gutting state services.

Thank you for the question.

And I think the party is as Unalaska and right I think there's a statutory formula that has been ignored for the last six years.

I realize there's been a court order issued on the state legislature appropriation of the PFT.

It's created a huge divide in Alaska.

And it's been the one issue that we've been stuck on for the last six years.

And I think it goes back to building relationships There's 60 lawmakers that are going to need to resolve this issue.

And if it takes a concerted national convention to do it, I support that.

And I'm role as a governor will be to build bridges, build relationships, and and build a consensus that focused on the Alaskan right for Mr. Gara.

Thank you, sir.

Mr. Gary, your position on the I believe, a strong permanent fund dividend.

The problem is this governor has turned Alaskans against each other.

He says you either get a dividend or you get education or you get a university or you get a marine highway or you get a construction jobs, but you can't have all of them because he's given away one point two billion in subsidies to the wealthiest corporations in the world.

In the oil industry, We get that money back and we can do all of these things.

A strong dividend over twenty two hundred dollars that grows every year.

This dividend was affordable given Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

We had one time money, but over the first three years, this governor average of twelve to thirty dollars dividend.

And I don't think he actually believes in the dividend.

I do But it means that you have to have money, money to do it.

That means good schools.

You don't do a permanent fund dividend this governor has done, which is permanent fund dividend and then create the worst school crisis in Alaska history.

That's how he's done the dividend.

So twelve hundred thirty dollars dividend this first year, Russia invades Ukraine.

You get a dividend by the legislature.

That's good this year, which I would have supported.

But we can't keep turning Alaskans against each other.

Thank you, Mr. Gara.

Mr. Walker, you have one minute.

The opponent is critical to Alaska's economy, to people that are in need of additional cash.

So we need to maintain make sure that it's sustainable, that it's predictable.

We have a formula now that's forty two years old We need to look at that formula.

We need to look at work collaboratively with the legislature to make that make that come up with the right the right formula.

for that.

But it's really critical that it is something that you can depend upon and we resolve it so we don't spend all the time We've been in the legislature several years on determining the size, the size of the pension fund dividend we've gone through.

Twenty billion dollars of savings in the last ten years.

My concern with high dividend right now.

We we've been put on in the express lane for high taxes in Alaska.

And that's what I don't want.

So I dividends, no question, is going to higher the dividend, the higher the chances of having high taxes.

And that concerns me a great deal because that's not what we should be doing.

So we need to resolve that first thing.

But take the governor working directly with the legislature to resolve it and working with those that are on all sides of that issue.

That's the first thing we would do in office.

We resolve that issue so we can move on with Alaska's future governor Dunleavy, one minute on the.

Yeah, thank you So let's remember when the dividend was broken.

That was under the previous administration.

Governor Walker's administration was the first time in history that occurred.

And since then, the legislature has been in turmoil as a result of that action.

We're putting billions of dollars in savings this year on top of the dividend, the thirty two hundred plus dividend, thirty two hundred dollars plus dividend that was issued to the people of Alaska in some of the worst economic times we've ever had in my visits to Alaska, both urban rural people are very grateful for the fact that I worked hard for that and other legislators worked hard for that.

We've we've discussed ways to go about making sure that we can control our spending with a spending limit We've introduced constitutional amendments on spending, on taxation and on the permanent fund.

It's our hope that we can continue to work with the legislature.

We're going to get a new legislature to make sure that we have a system and a formula that works for the people of Alaska because that's what this should be about.

The people of Alaska.

And later in the later in the debate here, we'll talk about the the potential for more revenue coming to a Larsen Bay.

Gentlemen, thank you so much.

Our next question, earlier this year, the US Supreme Court struck down the right to abortion on the federal level.

putting that decision in the hands of the state.

Alaska's constitution and protects that right.

Should that change and why?

And you have forty five seconds, Mr. Gara.

Your first.

Thank you.

I'm the only pro-choice candidate standing up here who can honestly say I'm pro-choice and I'm proud of that.

I believe in the right to privacy.

I don't believe I get to tell a woman what she gets to do with her body.

That is not government's business.

We talk about government overreach all the time.

Government telling somebody what they can do with their body.

That's government overreach.

Governor Dunleavy has said he will take away your right to abortion.

He will file a constitution amendment to do that.

He also opposes abortion in cases where somebody is a victim of rape or incest.

I respect Governor Walker's position, which is that he's pro-life, but he will he will try and respect a woman's right to choose.

So that is sort of a middle ground.

But Governor Dunleavy has said he will take it away.

The stakes in this election are very high.

If you believe in the right to choose as Governor Dunleavy says, if he gets re-elected, he will take away your privacy rights.

Thank Mr. Gara.

Mr. Walker, no Unalaska is one of the three states that has the data protection for a woman's right to choose.

Article one, Section twenty two provides that under the right to privacy, we will maintain that We will defend that.

We will.

I have said publicly and in writing that I will veto legislation that becomes a woman and her doctor because that would be a violation of our Constitution.

But what we did while we were in office, when I accepted Medicaid expansion.

Seventy thousand Alaskans health care coverage as a result of that abortion rate went down by 15 percent, 14 percent.

There's more we can do.

We can have we can certainly file legislation for prescriptions on Sarah prescription to go up to a year and also there's additional Medicaid funding available that has not been accepted for another ten months.

Postnatal care for her from so much more we can do on a proactive basis on prevention.

Let's all agree this is a very emotional, divisive issue, not just in Alaska, but in this country.

I'm a father of three daughters.

I take this I take this issue very seriously.

There's no and in Alaska, in terms of abortion, there are folks that are pro-life that look at exceptions.

There are folks that consider themselves pro-abortion, that they're saying that this is a difficult situation as well.

As was mentioned, currently in the state of Alaska, the courts are determined that under the right of privacy, a woman's right to an abortion is in the Constitution.

Unless that's changed by the people of Alaska, there can't be any different outcomes than we have right now.

And so I think what you're hearing from some of the candidates is just a lot of fear mongering in order to make up for a record that they don't want to really discuss.

Thank you, Governor.

Mr Pearce, I think that, too, I am pro-life.

I'm against abortions.

And I would say that I would I think that for too long in this country, we've we have there should be other options besides abortions that are offered.

And it's real quick offering.

And when there's a pregnancy or unwanted pregnancy and were quick to go to abortions and I would think that in this country we should wrap our arms around more adoptions, provide programs and support through government funding, federal and or state, to promote adoptions in our state And I, too, believe that the people of Alaska should weigh in on this issue, be allowed to vote on it.

It is in the constant our respective thank you every 10 years, Alaskans are asked if a constitutional convention should be held.

That question is on this year's ballot.

Do you support a constitutional convention y or why not?

And what specifically would you want to change or protect?

You have forty five seconds, Mr. Walker.

You go first.

I am not in favor of onto the convention.

I think that what we have is fine.

It was it was drafted anticipation of becoming a state.

I think was well done.

I think the last thing we did right now in our in our lives Unalaska is more uncertainty.

And that will certainly cause the uncertainty.

So I'm no on the on the conscience convention.

I do want to address also the rest of my time a comment made by Mike Dunleavy about, you know, when Port Heiden dividend Chefornak was broken.

At that time, we had a four billion hole in the budget.

We closed forty facilities.

We we eliminated programs, laid off thousands of Alaskans.

The legislature tried to do what I did.

The Senate got it through the Republican called Senate, got it through the House.

couldn't quite do it.

I did.

And as a result of that, we were able to later pass a permanent flood protection act Very difficult time or was not It was 26 Gara Oil, not one hundred and ten dollars or whatever.

has been lately.

Governor Dunleavy.

Forty five seconds on the Constitutional Convention.

Yeah, it's interesting.

The Constitution, our Constitution actually has a total section of Article eight.

Excuse me, Article thirteen, actually, dedicated solely to three different approaches to change the Constitution.

If our framers of our Constitution didn't want the Alaskan people who are in charge.

And that's what the Constitution is all about.

It's a compact between the people and their public servants.

If the framers of the Constitution did not want us to weigh in on our constitutional constitution for a constitutional convention, or changes, they would have had the section in there so we could change the Constitution through the legislature, through amendments.

The legislature could call its own constitutional convention or the people once every ten years can vote on it.

I think people should decide what they want to do and not listen to the fear mongering that's being paid for out of Washington.

D.C..

Thank you.

Thank you.

Mr Pearce.

You.

Forty five seconds on the Constitutional Convention.

I support the Constitutional Convention, and I guess I'd say that it's been stated every ten years.

Alaskans have an an offering or a right to vote or weigh in on this subject matter.

I think if you if Alaskans would consider the last six years and conversations and the number of meetings that have been held in the state and hearings that have been held and listening to the voice of the people, I think it's clear that the people in Alaska have been ignored by their elected officials and I think that's a good reason to have a constitutional convention and to have an opportunity to weigh in how our judges are selected and perhaps the abortion issue in perhaps the PFT and is spending cap.

We need a spending cap more than ever.

today in Alaska.

Mr Gara Forty five seconds on the Constitution.

Sure.

First, Governor Dunleavy just ducted question.

He has said he will take away a woman's right to choose if he is re-elected.

with a constitutional amendment.

He called that fear mongering.

But those who are fearmonger, fear mongering words that came out of his own mouth.

I oppose a constitutional amendment for a number of reasons.

First, I'm proud to be supported by the last remaining constitution delegate, Vic Fisher.

He's a brilliant man with a brilliant mind today.

He says, and I say Governor Dunleavy has made Alaskan unlimited money and politics state he didn't appeal a court ruling that struck down our donation limits.

So it's unlimited money from Seattle, from out of state, from outside fisheries interests, They will take over the constitutional convention by buying the delegates.

This is the most dangerous time ever to have a constitutional convention when people can buy the delegates.

So Deering our next question, women in Alaska, especially Alaskans, of women, experience violence and murder at a much higher rate than the rest of the country.

What can you do as governor to change these numbers?

One minute, gentlemen to respond to this.

Governor Dunleavy, your I live in Alaska for over twenty four.

Twenty years.

My wife is Alaska native Repacholi from the village of Noorvik.

I have three daughters who are and you pack tribal tribal members as well as income to shareholders.

I care very much about this issue.

When I came into office, the rate of rape was increased by fifty four percent under the last administration this past year.

We've lowered the rate of rape by six percent.

We've increased the numbers of those We've increased the numbers of prosecuting attorneys.

We've increased the numbers of state troopers to combat the scourge especially in rural Oscar.

We've changed many of the laws that we'll continue to do so to make it difficult for folks to continue to prey upon our most vulnerable.

And this has been a focus of our administration from before we were elected in our campaign.

And we'll continue to focus on it.

But we're making, I think, terrific inroads.

Thank you, Mr. Pearce.

You have one minute to support the public officers in in the communities in the rural Alaska.

I think we need more troopers on a regular basis in communities.

And again, I think there needs to be stricter consequences for the behavior there that are there.

I think that obviously the drugs and alcohol, all that is peripheral and Alaska is a big issue.

I think there needs to be more mental support, health care support for folks that are suffering from addiction.

I think it's a contributor to many of these cases.

And and again, I support what Mr. Dunleavy governor has said in regards to troopers in in the and throughout Alaska, more troopers, Mr Geter.

Forty five seconds.

It is a danger to women.

It's a danger to everybody.

to have over 50 communities without a single police officer.

That's nineteenth century policing mean if you want to talk about defunding the police.

Gov Dunleavy has defunded the police.

We have over 50 communities without a single police officer where you can be assaulted and you have to wait two days for a trooper to fly.

And depending on the weather, that is wrong.

We have a police officer in every single community.

That is one of the problems that we're facing.

Governor Dunleavy wants to take credit for adding troopers.

It is actually a fake ad of troopers in January, had a press conference and said he was going to add eighteen troopers And then in February, when his budget came out, it had no money for those eighteen troopers.

He never added them.

I mean, it's amazing that he can get the press coverage for saying something that's not true.

It turns out he never put a single penny in for a single one of those eighteen troopers.

I've tried and I've added troopers.

I've added police.

As a legislator, I believe in having a strong police force on the street.

But Governor Dunleavy has frequently voted against adding police and frequently voted against adding troopers left 50 communities without a police officer an off year.

Thank you, Mr. Walker.

One minute you under.

I'm under pretty aggressive attack by Governor Dunleavy and team about on crime.

They talk about crime coming down 30 percent since I was in office.

The high watermark is doing the opioid crisis.

Low water mark was doing the the a pandemic.

Will people stay at home?

Alaskans have guns.

No surprise crime went down.

But look at the numbers they are right now right now.

And the report that came out recently, Unalaska is number one in domestic violence, sexual assault, number one, and rape.

The rate of women killed by men, number one in forcible rape, a number increase.

Opioid deaths have gone up 140 percent under this administration.

Recidivism rate is at 67 percent.

Overall crime rate with No.

Two in the nation violent crime rate where No.

Four and no missing women, indigenous women were number four as well.

You know, we need to have we need to have compatible with the tribes that has worked with with health care, that has worked with the child issues that we did, the compassion we have got a compact with the tribes in order to get and help them, help us, help them and then help us on bringing officers into the villages.

Thank you.

Our next question is we're going to go to a video question from the Anchorage Youth Vote.

After the video, candidates will have forty five seconds to respond.

Hi, my name Les Deon.

I'm a sophomore at Robertson High School.

Recently, as other programs around the state drastic budget cuts, Elim negatively impact many programs designed to help students.

What will you do to encourage new revenue for schools?

And you support raising the Alaska base student allocation Miss Mr. Pearce, you have forty five, so I do not support raising the Arizona allocation and I think you've got a school board that's elected by the various districts throughout Alaska that ultimately determine how the dollars that are budgeted for schools are spent.

So I think it's really more of a school board issue and the allocation of how dollars are spent.

Mr Gara education funding, I'm the only candidate in this race who has proposed keeping education funding up with inflation.

Every single year.

I started doing that my second as a legislator.

After 10 years a budget school budget cuts in the nineteen nineties, we should keep school funding up with inflation.

Gov Dunleavy has not.

We are now closing schools.

We should keep school funding up with inflation.

Gov Dunleavy has not.

We are now losing teachers.

We are now losing all the things that that youth just mentioned.

Our schools are in the worst crisis in Unalaska history.

Thank you to this Governor.

If you would do what I have proposed and what students and what educators are proposing right now.

We would keep school funding up within Leyshon.

We would give teachers the pension they can get in every single other state in the country.

But right now, our teachers for two years, then they leave for another state that offers them a pension.

We are not competitive.

This is a crisis.

It should be solved.

Thank you Mr. Walker.

No flat funding education to twenty seventeen has resulted.

What we see right now, we if we don't keep up with inflation and we don't keep be competitive, we've lost.

We're eleven hundred teachers short.

I don't know how many school bus drivers.

We're short, but a whole bunch because of what's happening.

It's unprecedented what we're seeing in Alaska in education, education, Unalaska, as far as I'm concerned, is swirling the drain as far as how how bad it's gotten.

There is a term called Peltola teacher tourism come up for a couple of years, for the five years, and then then they leave.

That's not their fault.

We need to we have no fiscal plan.

We have no fiscal plan.

So without a fiscal plan, you know, we get we close to three quarters of the budget with a fiscal plan.

The peace that we got through the balance has not gotten through it.

So it's a matter of of having a fiscal plan.

We need to fully fund education, make it the priority that it used to be, and make sure that there are students have a way of going to school.

Governor Dunleavy education, we forward funded education.

Sure.

We passed the bill on that.

We've increased the BSA over three hundred million dollars has gone to the anchor school district, for example, through their unallocated reserve cap that was lifted under my administration of federal monies that came as well.

And making sure that debt reimbursement was approved up.

We also passed a reading bill.

I'm an educator.

I was principal, superintendent, teacher.

My kids all at the public school.

I take it very seriously.

I ran school districts.

I was a president of a school district.

I'd be more than happy to sit down.

A number of these school districts, the school district sit down with them and have a discussion as to why they are short on their budgets.

Do they still have a school district that was geared for thousands more students?

You know, there's a number of things we can take a look at putting money is certainly something that they've gotten this year.

All right.

Thank you.

Right now, we're going to go over to our colleague Rebecca Palsha, who is on the social desk tonight to look at some questions we're getting from social media.

Rebecca, what are you seeing?

Well, from Facebook, we he with the banning of transgender inclusion, the Matsu Valley.

Where do you stand on protecting marginalized students?

Mr. Gara, your first you know, I do not want a single vote, but announce a policy that is going to tell our equal neighbors who are LGBT Koyuk plus youth that are going to take start any policies against them.

This population of youth.

Forty percent of them consider committing suicide at some point in their life.

When I'm elected governor, I will tell them that they are equals.

I will tellhem that they were valued.

I will tell them that we love them.

I do not believe in these politicians who try to get votes off the backs of children 40 percent of them think about committing suicide Shame on those politicians, Mr. Walker.

Thirty seconds under our administration we will not do and we will not take anybody's rights away from them.

We will not step into those students that represent Gara was referring to our very fragile in many respects.

And so I think I mean, the local school boards, I I'm a big believer of the local folks, you know, in weighing in and having the right to do that.

But on the state level, we will we will say we will stay out of that.

We've got a great one, the most diverse, inclusive states in the country.

That's what I love about Unalaska.

People have often asked me why I stay in Alaska.

I say it's a beautiful state, but because of the people there will be no discrimination under my administration.

Or has it been I'm a father of three daughters.

I've got friends who are of different genders, defined is different genders.

I've got friends who are gay folks, lesbian folks, Sarah there will be no four years there'll be no discrimination in my administration.

Everybody has the right to pursue the American dream and I'll do everything I can to guarantee appearance for 30 seconds, please.

Yeah, I believe this was an issue to keep the boys and the girls separated in the their ability to to choose which restroom th use.

And I agree with it.

Boys should use the boys bathrooms.

Girls should use the girls bathrooms And I think that I to you, I'm an individual that sees people as individuals first and can liberty and justice for a.

And the last thing I'd ever want to do as a governor is to discriminate against an individual and their their rights to choose.

Thank you, gentlemenSalmon and crab stocks have collapsed in recent years, affecting food security and the livelihoods of many Alaskans.

How do you make sure that everyone is getting their fair share while protecting the stocks or future generations?

Gentlemen, you have one minute to respond to this question.

We'll start with Governor Dunleavy.

This is a situation that we are working on diligently.

We've set up a bycatch task force to study this issue, to come up with policy.

The task force is almost finished with their work.

We're going to get those recommendations.

We're going to implement a lot of those policies.

We've got to study the crab situation.

This was a dramatic drop in crab.

I'd expect it.

We'll put money into research to figure what's going on.

We'll bring all groups together to figure out what the what the approach should be, what the management management of the fishery should be going forward.

But we are bound, determined to make sure that Alaska's resources belong in the hands Alaskans, that we do everything we can to ris Bye stocks, all right, Mr. Pearce.

And I'd manage the fish stocks science.

Typically, we need more biologists.

We need more research to look at the cause effect of things.

You look at every river of fishery in the state of Alaska and in most suffering, they exception be in Bristol Bay.

It seems to be very healthy.

And yet you look at the Kenai, I think it's been a it lacks it's lacked management over the last ten years.

And and I hope it's not too late.

I think that it's a train wreck on the Kenai Peninsula.

When you look in river and again, it should never, ever be politically driven question.

I think again more biologists, more scientific research and and trust, trust the rules to the biologist.

Mr Gara, as an avid fisherman, I believe that fish binde Alaskans, whether you're commercial, are subsistence or sport fishermen.

We all want those fish to come back and that includes crab.

Governor Dunleavy says he'll start studying the issue if he's elected again.

What if he does last four years?

Here's what did he appoint.

He studied, he read books, but he appointed North Pacific Marine Fisheries Council that has allowed the dumping of a thousand tonnes of halibut every single year.

just in the Bering Sea, dead to the bottom of the ocean.

And they did an amendment to reduce that by two percent.

So over a thousand tonnes will be dumped this year.

to over five hundred fifty thousand dumped dead to the bottom of the ocean under under his commission.

We have a majority of the seats on that council.

Governor Dunleavy nominated them.

And what they have done is blocked any change.

Fifty thousand chum's drop dead to the bottom the ocean when they don't go up the Kuskokwim, they don't go up the Yukon.

He has the council that can act.

And instead of letting them act for four years, he says he'll study it next year.

That's that's embarrassing.

Mr Walker, one, we were deeply immersed in this issue in Kodiak during the governors debate.

Governor Dunleavy chose not to attend.

He did not attend last last time either.

In twenty eighteen.

Too bad.

Good.

I learned a lot being right now we're seeing, you know, lipservice, not no public service, public service really is sitting down in learning yourself and hearing from the fishermen.

The fishermen themselves are closest to the issue.

They're sort of the canary in the mine A lot of wisdom.

There are a lot of lifetime fishermen there in Kodiak.

You could have you could have heard from as we did on this issue, we didn't make some decisions.

We can't we can't continue to study this death.

We need to just study hall.

We need the science.

But, my goodness, I mean, there are some good people on the task force.

But I don't think we can task force this thing away.

I mean, it is pre-election.

It's great to have it's going to end.

And next month the task force is put together.

That's lip service.

We need public service on this issue.

All right.

Thank you.

We need to take a short break.

And when we come back, we'll continue with debate for the state for Governor.

Stay with us.

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Doug welcome back to debate for the state for Alaska governor.

Next up, we have a video question from a voter in Kotzebue.

Candidates will have 45 seconds to answer.

Good afternoon, My name is Chester Valentine.

from Carterville and I would like to ask any of the candidates what would you do to, say, lower the cost of living, the cost of transportation in rural areas?

Mr. Pierce, you're up.

You 45 seconds.

Well, you know, I think that in rural Alaska, transportation costs are probably at their highest fuel costs are probably at their highest that we've seen.

And and in the last two decades, And I would say that certainly it's a desire I'm sure if you live in rural Alaska, that you'd like to have costs similar to what larger populations have.

You know, I think I've always looked at Alaska like a division problem a simple division problem.

It's called cost of services.

divided by the number of folks that are trying to deliver the service to.

And and so certainly I would look as governor to take advantage of purchasing power across the board, throughout the state where we accumulate purchases and then hopefully take advantage of some of those.

But the costs are are tough in Alaska.

Mr 45 seconds, it's time we start treating rural Alaskans equally again.

These are the first Alaskans and we do not treat them equally.

50 communities with no police.

But on energy costs, this governor tried to empty the one fund that keeps down electrical costs in rural Alaska.

Power cost equalization.

He tried stealing a billion dollars of to empty it in twenty nineteen And if that wasn't enough, he tried that again.

twenty twenty one so he would have increased electricity costs in rural Alaska.

We need to decrease them.

We need to end one point two billion dollars in unjustified oil company subsidies and use that money to build renewable energy across the state to lower the cost of energy, to put people to work and to do something about global warming.

For the first time in this state, we need to do all three of those things.

Renewable energy does that.

There is more to do.

But not in a minute.

Not in a minute.

Answer.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Walker.

Forty five seconds.

We thank for that question.

We as we have got to write down the cost of energy in Alaska in general, we do that by stop selling it to our refineries.

at the highest cost.

You know, the Constitution as a rule, to develop our resources to impact benefit of Alaskans.

I've never felt that means the most money in Hydaburg means the most savings to Alaskans.

When we worked on the oil pipeline, we thought finally here some cheap energy that didn't happen.

The reason we sell it to the highest bidder at at the refineries, we indexed to the world price.

So when the price goes, the refining doesn't make a windfall.

but the state does.

But the consumers in the highest.

I've heard it.

Seventeen dollars is one of the villages they buy in the villages by the baseload.

And so if it's it's seventeen dollars a gallon, that's what it's going to be for the year.

It doesn't go up and down like it does in the urban area.

We've got to stop that.

We've got to bring the price that we have a plan to do that, to bring that the price of gas, our goals down to two dollars a gallon.

Dunleavy, we find Tshibaka every year.

We increase the funding with the legislature this past year for TCE, we have the highest in history to help people in rural Alaska.

We are doing everything we can and we are on renewables, is got hundreds of millions of dollars, I should say, going towards renewable projects across Alaska.

I lived in Alaska for twenty years.

I know what rural is like.

Some of these guys I've never been there.

The fact of the matter is that we we have the ability to bring down costs with new technologies, new approaches, the once again is going to help PC is helping.

And so the cost of energy is high across this world.

right now because of what's happening across the world.

If we're able to pump more oil and which we are working harder doing, we're going to be able to add more oil to the mix that will lower the cost you, Governor.

All right.

Now we're going give the candidates a chance to ask one of their opponents a question.

The format for this will be a 30 second question.

A one minute answer followed by a 30 second rebuttal.

Then the remaining candidates will each get thirty seconds to weigh in on the topic if they choose to do so.

And, Mr. Pierce, your first what's your question for another one of the I would like to ask Governor Walker question Deering two debates.

You have McGrath reference to the PFG talking six years ago.

Conditions six years ago in the state and the actions you took against the party.

And you've stated twice that you would do it again if the conditions were the same.

And I look at the conditions today question whether they're not close to the same.

What would you do today?

How would you treat Alaskans?

It relates to the party.

What's the rest of the story?

I don't know what you're incorrect on a couple of things.

One is I've not said that I would do the same thing today.

You know, today because of what we have done on the Permanent Patent Protection Act, the concern overdrawing the permanent fund has gone.

So we have we resolved that that particular issue, you know, this result of not having a fiscal plan.

We don't have a fiscal plan.

You in your personal life or in a business.

My first government job paycheck was governor of Alaska.

I'm a private sector all my life.

So I've never been in a business, did not have a fiscal plan.

We don't have a fiscal plan.

We need to have a fiscal plan.

That's the number one thing we need to do.

We almost had one.

But then no, there was no there was no leadership from the governor's office on a fiscal plan.

So it didn't happen.

We still don't have that today.

You know, going through twenty billion dollars of savings is what has sort of kept things floating.

Now we have about two billion dollars left when that's gone, I think we're on the Express and the high taxes and how we're going to we're going to pay for everything.

So my my my goal is to make sure we have a sustainable dividend that is as high as we can possibly have, not at the expense of other other other services like education, public safety, We cannot balance the budget with the dividend.

We cannot do that.

Mr. Pierce, show 30 seconds for rebuttal.

If you choose my understanding and twice I won't quote you.

You said you would do it again if conditions are the same.

What were you making reference.

You said it in Homer and you said during the resource development debate, you said he would do it again.

We were talking specifically about the what were you making reference to?

Yeah, I was not making reference to making a reduction in permanent fund.

I think what I do is I had one of the fire I would help solve the problem.

I would show leadership.

I would not run and leave Hydaburg a couple of days before the session time.

Gentlemen, it's time for rebuttal.

We need to move on to the other candidates.

Everybody has a chance.

Mr. Gara, thank you very much.

First of all, on the the reason we don't have a strong left is that this governor has given away our oil wealth.

So you have to fight between the party or good schools.

or I mean, marine highway or construction jobs.

You don't have the money under this governor to do all of those things.

He pits you against each other.

The thing about the PVD, Governor Dunleavy criticize Governor Walker for vetoing it, but Governor Dunleavy then voted to uphold that veto.

I was the only one who voted to override it, but at least Governor Walker's been honest about it.

Governor Dunleavy voted with Governor Walker that year.

Now he's tried to run away from that vote.

Dunleavy have thirty seconds.

Yeah, this the party was going well until the Walker administration when it was a veto.

I was there.

I was in the Senate.

I witnessed the whole thing, the you have to have you have to have constitutional protections for spending, plan for taxation, and for party.

That's not what's going to happen.

is the legislature will do what they've done.

Let's ignore the laws on the books.

we've put billions of dollars into savings this year We've paid off a lot of our pension obligations.

Our permanent fund itself has grown tremendously under my administration.

Thank you.

So, Peter, go back to the four years you had before we could look for for your Sarah.

Thank you.

All right.

And now it's Governor Dunleavy turn to ask a question.

You have thirty seconds to ask a question of one of your opponents.

Still have one minute to respond and then the rebuttal.

Sure.

This is this is for Bill.

Bill, is there anything about your relationship with the Chinese government that you regret today?

You know, the Chinese relationship, you refer to?

Of course, when when I was in the All right.

let's go to office with President Trump.

He said, what can we do on you on the gas line?

He liked it.

very much.

And he said I said markets, Asian markets, Japan, Korea and Nikolai.

I know he had asked the president of China to come to Alaska.

Unlike you, I met with the president when he came to Alaska and I the result was such that President Trump then selected the Alaska LNG project of one of the top ten project in the nation to be signed in front of President Trump in China.

So I it was a China has been our largest trade partner for thirteen.

And your administration?

Eighty percent of the oil from Alaska has been exported.

It has gone to China under your administration.

So they're not a stranger to this thing.

Things have gone sour with China.

What I do that again, with them.

No, of course not.

But when the president and state shows up and says, hey, I want to help your project, I want to help Alaska, and we sort development, I don't ignore that.

So I appreciate President Trump's role and his invitation.

Mr. Dunleavy, 30 seconds.

What would you change about that relationship?

Look, this is your opportunity I'm sorry.

Sorry, sorry, sorry sorry about that.

Um, so you talk about not being with the president, met with the president nine times.

And, you know, we are continuing to work with the administration on issues, but the Biden administration is antagonistic towards Unalaska.

You know, part of your job is Les.

His job is to litigate as lawyers.

You know that the the Bush administration doesn't want to open up ANWR, doesn't want to have a lot of a resource plays completed or put into place.

Your time's up, sir.

Mr. Gara.

Thirty seconds playing these games.

I'm so the national parties don't get Unalaska the Democrat Party doesn't get Alaska.

The Republican Party doesn't get Alaska.

I'm pro resource development.

I voted to open ANWR.

I voted to help open up the oil development.

I just want a fair share for our oil.

So we can afford our schools and not be in the worst school crisis in Alaska history.

I voted for every governor's gasline plan, but also said I've also stood up against the oil industry that has wanted to overcharge us if we offtake gas inside the state.

I want fair offtake prices.

If we get a natural gas pipeline in the state, oil companies disappears.

Thirty seconds to talk about.

Go to Dunleavy.

A question about the I don't have any comments.

All right.

Thanks, sir.

All right, Mr. Gara, you have thirty seconds to ask a question of one of the other candidates.

Yeah, I'm going to Governor Dunleavy.

Look, we are in the worst crisis in public education in state history.

Schools are closing.

We can't keep teachers.

Teachers are leaving after two years.

And students are the ones that bear the brunt of lost opportunity.

As somebody who grew up in foster care, education gave me a chance on the world.

And I am running because I want to make sure everybody has a chance on this world.

So my question for Mr. Dunleavy is this.

We're in the worst crisis ever.

When you were elected, you proposed a quarter billion dollar cut to public education.

What do you think that would have done to our education crisis?

Dunleavy one Hughes my career with education Les my kids, with the public schools.

I went to public schools.

I was an educator, rural and urban Unalaska worked for the university.

I was part of the mentor project.

I know education.

I was also a school board president as superintendent, I know how to manage school districts.

The Anchorage School, for example, as I mentioned, is coming to about three hundred million as a result.

of federal aid.

Pandit reimbursement, as well as carryover from unallocated reserves.

This is a management issue.

Has has inflation impacted school this year?

Yes and we'll talk about that when we go back with the legislature to see how we deal with that.

But the fact of the matter is, there are school districts that have hired all their teachers.

There are some school districts that manage their bus routes well.

And there's some good some districts that aren't.

This is this is really a management by management issue.

per school district, but certainly in relation is an issue.

And we'll be having a discussion with the legislature.

Mr. 30 seconds for rebuttal.

Governor Dunleavy says he knows education.

I don't know if he does, but he doesn't do education.

That's the problem.

So he proposed a quarter billion dollars of cuts to public education while we were the worst school crisis in Alaska.

history that would have laid off twenty eight hundred teachers and educators and guidance counselors and nurses.

That would have been that would have been the biggest disaster in Alaska history ever.

So you don't do education, Governor Dunleavy.

You've created this crisis, you've ducked it and you can't blame it.

Nome are Anchorage because they're only allowed to spend a certain amount of money based on what Mr. Gara state gives them.

So you have limited time is up, sir.

Mr. Pierce.

Pearson, you care to take thirty seconds?

I would just say that, you know, look at the educational issue and you look at other states and the dollars that are invested in teachers and classrooms and other states are greater than what they are in Alaska.

You look at the administration of the school districts and the number of school districts we have in this state.

I think it's just unsustainable.

The number of districts we have.

We need to look at that.

And then I think that being a teacher is there's really a disincentive to be a teacher because the pay is really on the administrative side.

So all the teachers want to become administrators.

And so what I think is teachers should be paid more than administrators.

Walker, 30.

We absolutely have got to get the education system straightened out.

And I think that I think we need to honor teachers with something competitive when we have we do that with all other aspects of the state.

We should do an education as well You know, when every other state has a better retirement system, in Alaska, we're not having a job fair this year for educators for the first time in 35 years because no one wants to come here to be an educator.

So we're watching people leave the state rather stay in the state.

We've lost, you know, twenty thousand Alaskans in the last several years because they're voting with their feet and they're leaving.

We need we need to turn that around now.

It's your opportunity, Mr. Walker, to ask a question.

One of your opponents, you have 30 seconds to ask in.

Oh, oh.

Ask the question of to Dunleavy.

You know, you have literally taken a wrecking ball to our state.

You have you have dozens of incredibly major cuts to education to Clark's Point highway system.

You know, you know, the power equalization Hughes certainly challenge out took went to court on the Ford funding that we have done.

You have not participated in the in the debate process.

All this your third one out of about twenty.

You've been AWOL from the legislature at times.

I have to ask the question is, what do you want this job?

The reason I haven't been at all the Batesville is because of a job.

It's called Governor.

We've had disasters in Alaska.

I don't know if you've tuned into that.

We've covid.

We've had earthquakes that I had clean up after.

We've had storms, we've had fires.

The role of governor in a state the size of Western Europe is to be out in the state dealing with folks, especially when this disaster is doing the business.

How many debates do you need to be able get your point across and listen to these these guys to the right of me talk here for the past seven months, they don't talk about their plan.

They don't talk Eek billion, talk about his record.

He doesn't want to I don't blame them.

I want to talk about his record, defy his record today.

we put billions of dollars into savings.

We are pension obligations are are close, tighter than ever before.

Permanent fund is made more money.

Our unemployment rates are down.

There's labor issues across the country.

They want to lay it on our feet.

We have the second lowest death numbers of any state in the country as a result of covid, people thought we'd get wiped out from any measure.

This state is better today than it was under Bill Walker Kiana Dunleavy think your Sochua all right now it's time for what we call our Lightning Round.

Oh, I'm sorry.

I apologize.

You do 30 seconds for rebuttal I skipped right past you.

My apologies.

Tshibaka.

Well, when I served as governor, I understand the role of the governor I attended after every debate while I was a candidate for governor.

Every single one, wherever it was.

It's incredibly disrespect to the regions of the state that you don't go to.

All the ones you've gone to are here in Anchorage.

You didn't go you didn't go.

We were nothing in Kodiak.

You did not go to Ketchikan.

You can go to Homer You didn't go to Kenai.

You didn't go to the one in Hydaburg.

You know, Yes, it's a full time job.

being a governor, but it's also an obligation to meet with people And as far as talking about record, at least I show up.

I'll talk about anything you don't show up, said Mr. Kevin.

Governor Dunleavy doesn't show up at debates.

He skipped thirteen because twenty thousand more people have left the state while he's been governor than have moved here.

They don't see a future in public education, so they're taking their kids away.

They don't see a future economy with jobs they want.

So they're leaving.

This is an outmigration.

State Governor Dunleavy biggest, biggest export has been people that is not a future for the state, future for the states.

As we build renewable energy across the state, we put people back to work.

We have a construction budget again that puts people back to work and we fix a school crisis.

This governor wants to ignore Mr. Pearce, 30 seconds, if you'd like.

I would like to comment on that.

I think it did.

It doesn't matter whether either one of us any of us or the governor of the state of Alaska, we got a federal government that's working against Alaska today.

We've got environmental, environmental shut downs from this president, from Cook in all the way to the north Slope We've taken all these cells away from us and they're tying our hands.

So it doesn't matter whether Dunleavy is the governor, Walker's the governor, Gara is the walker mysel.

We've got it.

We've got a federal act, a government that's acting against this state of Alaska.

And we need to get it under control.

All right, gentlemen, thank you all right.

Now it's time for what we call our lightning round.

Each candidate will have fifteen seconds to answer yes or no to this questions and provide a brief explanation if they care to do so.

We'll continue with our rotation from before the candidate questions.

Do you support Alaska's new ranked choice voting system, including open primaries?

Mr Gara?

I support it.

I didn't vote for it, but I respect the public's.

The public voted for it, so I will honor I like the fact that it it improves something that I passed, which is we get to see who the sources of dark money are that have put three billion, three million dollars into Mike Dunleavy campaign.

The Koch brothers, insurance companies, Mr. do you support rank choice, Mr. Walker?

I do.

I do.

Because I like more choices.

I like it sort of levels the playing field.

I like the people, the voters to decide who is going to be in the final election, not necessarily the party to decide amongst themselves.

And then you go, I'm I'm nonpartisan.

I'm politically homeless.

So I like the system very much.

Kiana Dunleavy 15 second choice for the people put this in the law.

So we need to respect that.

We'll do everything we can to make it work and we'll do an evaluation after that and we'll see how this new voting process works.

Mr. Pierce, No, I do not support rank choice.

I you know, I have talked to a lot of folks around Alaska and I haven't met anybody that would admit that they voted for it.

I question whether it was really passed legitimately probably should look into that And but no, I don't support.

All right.

Would you consider new taxes as part of a complete balanced budget plan?

Mr. Walker, your first fifteen seconds?

Well, I. I certainly hope not.

I certainly hope we don't do that.

I think there's other things we can do before that that should be the last the last tool in the toolbox.

to look for.

So I hope that from other options, we can, you know, the legislature is the one who who does that.

I'll work with them, not against them.

So I hope we don't have to do it.

Governor Dunleavy Whale Pass seconds.

I mean, in the last administration, there was at least nine to 11 taxes were proposed.

So that's a good that's good news.

We don't need them right.

We get we get some of online.

We're talking about Peka, Willow, we just had a breakthrough in our viscously approach.

We'll have more resources.

We put billions of dollars.

The savings, we're pretty good.

Thank you, Mr. Pierce.

No, I think taxation is regressive.

I'd look for cuts always look for cuts first before I'd ever taxed people of Alaska.

All right.

Thank you.

And Mr. Gara 15 seconds.

How are any of you ever going to fix the schools that children don't have any opportunity and right now that are closing, Governor Dunleavy So I guess you would just rather sacrifice children then do the right thing?

I believe that we should get a fair share for our oil.

That's one point two billion dollars in ending corporate subsidies.

We'll be able to fund schools and a permanent on dividend.

All right.

Thank you, gentlemen.

Now we have one last question before we move to closing statements.

This is not part of our lightning round.

What are the biggest challenges you see ahead for the next governor?

Candidates will have one minute to answer Mr. Gara, you can go first.

It's ending this this is game where Governor Dunleavy Pittsville scan's against Alaskan's, where you're told you either have fifty communities with no police under Governor Dunleavy or you have the biggest school crisis Unalaska history under gun.

Governor Dunleavy, or you get a dividend or you get Marine Highway or you get a construction budget because because he wants you in austerity and so he won't let you have all of those things.

If you end the one point two billion dollars in oil company tax subsidies, in the state where, frankly, Exxon can get them.

And under this law, the governor Dunleavy voted for, they can tell you they'll spend every penny of the subsidies in Libya and you still have to give them to them that is insane.

OK, we end subsidies and then we have money for a strong a stronger than this governor ever funded his first three years.

We have money to fix a school crisis.

We have money to put people back to work on construction projects.

or renewable energy projects.

And put police in those 50 communities that have done and stop discriminating against them.

We can build a state where we honor each other again, where we honor our first people again.

But this governor doesn't want to do that.

You need revenue to do that.

Mr. Walker, biggest challenges ahead for the next guy.

And the first thing is we need to resolve the dividend issue.

It takes so much time in the legislature, so much in wrestling with that we need to I will go.

I'll work with them directly, not against them.

And coming up with a resolution of that issue, Second is the opioid crisis we're in.

It's gone up 140 percent of this administration And I would issue declaration of disaster, as I did before I started at the task force.

And we need to get after the and bring that down.

We dropped by thirty six percent.

It's up significantly now, you know, passing new laws doesn't work.

We've got to get after drugs coming into Alaska to get the drug dogs back out there.

You are working at the airport.

Those kinds of things.

You know, the the fiscal crisis we need to resolve.

We need a fiscal plan.

How do we talk about bringing business to Alaska?

We've got a terrible welcome back home to Alaska.

We've been we've been in a deficit for the last, you know ten years.

Other than a war in Europe, which you in answer to a a fiscal resolution.

So we need to we need to do at the last minute.

We've got to make education a very high priority on the funding side and find out where we can the funding for that.

And so that we can get stop the outflow of Lori.

Thank you, sir.

Governor Dunleavy, one minute, Selawik standard today.

Crime is at a forty one year low.

Troopers in VPE up, we have a historic fifty.

We've cut our operators operating budget by 10 percent Other than in education, public safety, pension gaps are closed.

Debts are paid off including oil tax credits.

We put billions in savings.

Education reform has occurred along with the Reads Act as as a investments in the University of Alaska.

We've updated our consent laws for sexual assault kit, backlog's thousands of kids that were backlogged under the previous administration have been cleared.

We've done this with no new taxes.

We've stabilized the ferry system with an endowment.

We've we've embarked upon a renewable approach to Alaska that hasn't been seen ever in the state.

And the Alaska gas line concept, the real gas concept is closer today than it ever has been.

So these are these are challenges that we're meeting and these are will be challenges in the future.

But right now, we've done a pretty good job in dealing with these challenges of the thrown our way on top of a pandemic, on top of an earthquake, testifiers.

And Mr. Pierce, one minute on the biggest challenges facing the next governor.

I would just ask all Alaskans to go out and Google rankings and look at Alaska and how it ranks nationally Compare us to other states And I think the list is long and arduous.

is there's very there's much to do in this state.

There's a lot of dots to connect in this state.

many challenges.

I think it goes back to building relationships with your legislature, fiscal, our fiscal response ability.

How would anybody want tie up capital in the state of Alaska Why would they without a fiscal policy in place?

And we certainly need that.

Again, that's the legislature's responsibility.

It goes back to those relations chips.

I would say we need an opportune we need to work with some legislators and some elected officials.

Kelly Tshibaka, Nick Bajrangi, Sarah Vance, Mike Showers, Mia Costello, These are some Tuckerman's Babcock's.

Some of these people are running for office and the governor needs good people that are have a good minded people that want to see you.

Sir, it's now time for closing statements.

We pulled names from a hat earlier.

Governor Dunleavy, you'll go first.

You have one in it.

Thank you.

Unalaska is better off today.

than it was four years ago.

I've just listed a whole a whole host of reasons why.

And that was just or time constraints or Peltola going on my opponents, with the exception of Charlier Litigator's, this is what they do.

I'm an educator.

I learn from things.

I respond to things, I adjust.

This, this this debate shows that they haven't learned from the past.

They want to go back to raising taxes and attacking industries that drive our economy.

They don't have a plan other than what they decided.

Bill knows best on everything.

Les knows best on everything.

They don't want to hear from the people of Alaska They don't want them voting the Constitution Convention.

They're are trying to unite.

They're dividing us.

So my vision for Unalaska Alaskans is having an opportunity, a future of their choosing.

We can do this together.

It's been an honor to be your governor.

I look forward in the next four years and working together, we can build Alaska not just for the next four years, but for the next 50 years.

So appreciate your vote on November 8th.

One Charlie two.

Mr. Walker, one minute for your closing steak.

Mr..

Some enter politics for a purpose for power.

How do you do?

I guess and I, as two lifelong Alaskans are in this clearly for purpose and we're trying to rebuild Alaska, it needs rebuilding to secure the future of the next generation, not the security.

The future of the next election.

No one's more bullish on Alaska than me I will rebuild Alaska.

I will aggressively go after the public funds available, bipartisan infrastructure bill and that will be the largest benefit to our economy since we're building the transacts oil pipeline.

You know, we need to grow the permanent fund over one hundred billion so that we can provide our services to Alaskans without Alaskans having to pay taxes.

We're the only state in the nation that could do that.

We need to go to permanent fund whatever our growing economy has in the world.

is low cost energy and that's exactly what we're going to do, is time.

We are aggressive about getting low cost energy.

Every home and business in Alaska, regardless of where it is, we have over one hundred Alaskans from across the state leaders that are co-chairs of our campaign of all political persuasions.

Remember a unity ticket.

Thank you, sir.

We're the one time vote, Mr Gara.

You have one minute.

I believe what I believe in comes very much from the way I was raised My parents and get along when I was young.

My father was killed when I was six and I grew up in Foster care.

I don't need any sympathy.

Things worked out well for me.

I became an assistant attorney general and did the civil prosecution against Exxon after the Exxon Valdez oil spill.

My wife, Kelly is wonderful.

I lead a good life, but I want to make sure other people have a fair chance to succeed in this world.

That's why I'm running.

Governor Dunleavy pats himself on the back for the worst school crisis in Alaska history, for the worst mental health crisis in Alaska history, for rape numbers going up while he's been governor, even though he told you the opposite for us having the worst rape rate in the country, even though he told you the opposite, we can do a lot better.

We need to create opportunity for people.

We need to create jobs for people.

Again, And you can't create jobs for people again if you don't educate them.

And you can't do that if you want to ignore that.

We're in the worst school crisis in Alaska history and you pat yourself on the back.

That's not leadership.

That's negligence.

Mr. Pearce, one minute you're closing statement.

Thank you.

for this event.

I'd like to say that I'm the only candidate in this race with a successful career in the private sector on the only candidate that went on the offensive with covid events reminding all Alaskans that the Kenai Peninsula was open for business and that all of us are essential.

I'm the only candidate standing up here tonight that will push back aggressively against the federal overreach in this state.

There will be no delays I will select the three million acres of federal land that is still owed to our great state.

And I will manage the fish stock scientifically, not politically.

I will stand firm against the federal departments that are keeping our projects from moving forward.

We need to see a new day in Alaska.

And I would encourage you to vote on the vote and rank the red vote.

EDI Grunwald, Charlie Pierce first and then rank the current governor Dunleavy second.

Thank you, gentlemen.

That concludes our gubernatorial debate for the state.

Twenty, twenty two.

We'd like to thank our candidates for being here tonight.

And thanks as well to our colleague Rebecca Peltola for monitoring social media this evening.

The Election Day is November 8th and we encourage every Alaskan to get out and vote and make your voices heard.

Join us again next week.

for the second debate in our series, The U.S. House debate.

Thank you for joining us this evening.

I'm Lori Townsend.

Good night.