Alaska Public Media, Alaskas News Source and KTOO present Debate for the sSate.

The U.S. House race moderated by Lori Townsend and Mike Ross Good evening, everyone.

Thank you for joining us for debate for the state.

We're coming to you live tonight from Alaska Public Media in Anchorage, I'm Mike Ross.

And I'm Lori Townsend.

Tonight, we will pose a series of questions to the candidates on this year's ballot for Alaska's sole seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

because of the state's new voting system, Alaskans will rank up to four candidates at the polls this year.

Republican Sarah Palin and Nick Begich, Democrat Mary Peltola and Libertarian Chris Bye.

We've also gathered questions from Alaskans all around the state and from the Anchorage youth vote and will be monitoring social media tonight.

Other questions to pose to the candidates this evening.

The candidates will have an opportunityo ask questions of each other during the debate.

All questions and answers will be timed, those candidates.

Here's our first question tonight.

Inflation is running at about a 40 year high and gasoline prices are averaging about five dollars a gallon here in Alaska.

with some areas of our state seeing prices more than double that.

What would you do to address this issue affecting all Alaskans?

You'll have forty five seconds to respond.

And Mrs Palin, your personal.

Yes, inflation is at a 40 year high and we are in recession.

And it's a shame that our president and his party refuse to acknowledge that we are suffering from a recession.

We need to drill, baby, drill, energy costs are the driver of inflation, energy costs which affect absolutely everything that we do in America.

everything that we consume, oil and gas, it touches.

So if we have more supply of oil, our own clean domestic USA or coming from Alaska, ideally, instead of hat in hand asking for countries to pump and produce for us their dirty, dangerous sources of oil makes no sense.

The Biden administration's agenda.

Thank you, Representative Peltola.

You have forty five seconds.

Thank you.

Lori.

I do agree that we are in a recession.

We do have astronomically high inflation rates across the country and this is certainly most especially true in Alaska especially when you compound that with shipping costs.

I do believe that getting our energy prices under control are a huge piece of this puzzle.

I have already been working on moving forward the Willow Project.

I've had conversation with administration.

I'm looking forward to that project happening.

I do believe that we need to do more in America on the semiconductor microchips.

They're a part of every single piece of machinery that we use.

There are hundreds in automobiles and we're seeing that car even used cars are 30 percent more expensive.

I also think that a huge piece of this is supply chain logistics.

Thank you, Mr. Beckett's.

Forty five seconds.

Gas prices and inflation.

Well, it's it's incredible.

to see inflation this high.

As was mentioned, we haven't seen inflation high in forty years.

And it's hurting working families.

It's hurting working families here in Alaska.

We're coming up on Thanksgiving.

The price of a Turkey is seventy five percent higher than it was last year without if you're going to fix the problem, you have to understand the root cause of the problem and the root cause of inflation today is government spending financed by a Federal Reserve that's built a nine trillion dollar balance sheet.

If you really want to get inflation under control, we have to start producing again.

And we also need to make sure that government spending is is in control.

The government's put back in its lane and the private sector is not vilified as has been under Democrats and the Biden administration.

Thank you, Mr. Begich.

Mr. by you have forty five seconds.

Inflation and high gas prices.

Sure.

Thanks, Lori.

You know, as an outside are all I can tell you.

Is that right?

now in Fairbanks, they're paying four dollars and thirty nine cents a gallon for heating oil and by the way, the EPA came in and said that they can't use wood to heat their homes.

That has to be kiln dried.

wood not just went off the forest.

So families in Fairbanks are squeezed between federal bureaucracy and federal regulations.

And it's true that dysfunction energy policy that this administration has brought upon us is a prime factor for inflation.

I would also say Thomas Swoll has clearly identified that the injection of government spending, government money is a prime driver for us.

If we don't get this under control, we're going to leave out a larger debt than thirty trillion dollars for our kids Our next question, how salmon is allocated is hotly debated in Alaska.

How would you make sure that this vital resource is maintained for generations to come for all Alaskans?

Representative Paul Peltola, you have forty five seconds.

Thank you.

I think that we have to urge our managers at both the federal and state level to really invest and and I want to be part of making sure that we have adequate funding to do research and surveys to see what really is going on.

But we can't just wait.

We've got to take precautionary management.

We cannot allow metric tons of bycatch of juvenile salmon, crab and halibut to be thrown overboard every year.

This has led to a very devastating collapse of not only salmon but halibut.

And now we're seeing it in the crab industry as well.

We've got to get a hold on our bycatch as well as find out some of the reasons why we're having such low productivity in the Bering Sea right now.

Thank Mr. Baggage.

Forty five seconds on the salmon.

I think it's important to understand that we had a record year in Bristol Bay this year.

And so when we see these dramatically declining runs in areas of our state, we see other areas of the state that are succeeding very well.

So we need to look at those areas that are succeeding and and see we can draw some lessons from that.

I think trawl bycatch is a big issue, and that's something that needs to be addressed immediately.

I think that we need to be careful about how we go through our Magnússon Stevens actory authorization and making sure that we're putting precision language into the act.

that is actually going to demonstrably improve the sustainability of these fisheries.

We have a mandate to the state constitution from maximum sustainable yield and every fishery in this state needs to be managed with that objective.

Thank you Mr. By forty five seconds.

You know, I'm a fishing guide and on the Cheena I saw three king salmon this year, three total and I spent 50 plus days on the Cheena I agree with Miss Patala on the bycatch but just throwing it back doesn't solve the problem.

I honestly think we need to get industry more involved in reducing their catch.

Otherwise it's not going to be there.

It's only a renewable resource until it's all gone and I think just like what Mr Nick just said about the Exxon Stephens Act, Mr Togiak has decided that we're going to use race as a as an increase for the seats allocations on the council.

I would say it needs to be done by region so that prioritizes all Alaskans for the four salmon renewal.

Miss Balen.

Forty five seconds on resources near and dear to my heart, the fish issues having for years sedimented on the Nushagak, Bristol Bay.

And as your governor, knowing that our state is doing a good job, fish game, we do maximise our resources and this is a renewable resource of fish.

Are we?

We manage it for maximum sustained Youlden perpetuity is the ideal.

It's the feds who lack the enforcement, the bycatch laws that too many people are getting away with, especially foreign trawlers.

They're not allowing those salmon to get back to where they need to be to spawn.

We need to bust these people who are doing these illegal activities.

You Kake their vessels, you take their gear, you take their permits.

and we start teaching them a lesson.

Thank you.

The pandemic greatly divided our country.

What can we do differently?

to prepare for the next public health crisis?

Should have come a long forty five seconds for this question and we'll start with Mr which I think it's critically important that we recognise what was done during this pandemic.

was not science, but political science.

We saw politicians dig in their heels and policy makers in unelected positions at the CDC and elsewhere decide how you and I were going to live.

This is not good.

We've ceded too much authority to the government, whether that be vaccine mandates that are required in order to get a job or to keep a job.

I've been opposed to that from the very beginning, and I think that we need to be able to trust the people we need to trust at the local level.

And we need to make sure that we're not unnecessarily shutting down aspects of the economy.

Thousands of businesses across this country were shut down permanently because of government.

Mr by 45 seconds.

How do we prepare for the next public health crisis?

You know I always think research is a good, good avenue that being said, we spent a lot of money on research in this thing, still crept up on us because there was no accountability within the Department of Health and Human Services or at the NIH.

I mean, it's pretty evident at this moment that there was a gain of function training or research being done in did anything about it because politicians both both both Democrats and Republicans, hide behind the bureaucracy.

They don't they're not in the business of fixing.

They're in the business of hiding behind it because they need it for their next re-election.

I trust Alaskans over bureaucrats every time I. I would say that and other councils are in an advisory role.

They are not in an elected official role and therefore they shouldn't be making.

Thank you, Mr Mrs Palin.

Forty five seconds on in case there's another one coming.

We make sure that Foushee is not head of CDC.

We depoliticise that agency that did play politics.

The covid crisis.

It was more about control than it was actually about a virus.

And we saw that in those of us who spoke up and stood up and said things like, no, I'm not going to get that experimental immunization And we were mocked and ostracized and lost opportunities at well, we were right.

It is experimental.

And by the way, those who did lose opportunities, specifically those in the military who were kicked out for exercising their own right and responsibility to decide what they were going to put in their body, they need to be reinstated with back Kake representative Peltola.

Forty five seconds.

I do believe that covid was and is health pandemic.

And I do believe that we are susceptible to pandemics now.

I think one of the critical issues in this debate and I'm just really it's disappointing that it is a debate is the fact that across America people can go on television and radio and print media and online and tell lies and there are no repercussions.

I think that being able to broadcast lies has really caused a lot of division on things that should be an open and shut case like whether or not we have a pandemic.

And I think that it really does add to the level of partisanship that we are now seeing in our nation.

All right, thank you.

On to the next question.

How much of a threat is political division to American democracy?

And if you think it is a threat, what in Congress do to address it?

For this question, you will have one minute to respond.

Mr. BI.

You'll be first.

I it's absolutely a travesty.

And unfortunately, both parties are on the same team.

I mean, you've got the Republicans over here and you've got the Democrats over here and the middle, they're swinging a wrecking ball back and forth, back and forth in down here.

Below is people like me, people who who are just normal Alaskans.

And we get we get pulled in one direction by one bully and that were that Republican drops the wrecking ball and it goes through and it smashes and then it goes up to the next side and the Democrats are they increase it and they smash back through.

And at the end, all we do is lose freedoms and liberties.

That's why I'm running, because I'm tired of both political parties ruining it for us.

I mean, the evidence is clear.

You can't trust either one of them.

Thirty one trillion dollars of debt.

The Patriot Act now, the Freedom, there's no freedom in it.

It's frustrating.

And I represent a 70 percent of Alaskans that didn't vote because, frankly, neither party put candidates that relate to them.

Now we're trying that's all we can do.

Right?

We can try to make it better.

Miss Palin, one minute I'm the one candidate up here with experience, especially in administrative role.

that has had to reach across party lines in order to get things done.

For those whom I served local level city council mayor those are partisan positions.

You learn to put partisanship away and the goal is to serve the people is really quite simple on a federal level.

It's really quite simple.

You follow the Constitution.

We need common sense, which is an endangered species in DC nowadays.

We need common sense constant national conservatives elect dead who have that experience or at least the wherewithal to work with others as a team.

Now, Lincoln had said President Lincoln, he had said no foreign power will ever crush America.

They have no chance against us, against our military.

However, we should be cognizant of this.

We would be crushed from within if the division gets any more rancorous, if it gets any worse, and it is, we need to protect our foundation.

Thank you, Representative Hill.

Peltola, you have one minute.

Thank you.

I do believe that partisanship is the number one threat to our country, both in terms of foreign policy and domestic policy.

We've got formidable enemies.

We've got Russian and Chinese ships information practicing outside of Alaska and in our waters, we the list goes on and on in terms of new foreign aggression, I really feel like I'm back in the Cold War again and worse, we've got domestic policies like domestic issues like we haven't seen in 40 years that we really need to coalesce and work together on.

I think that we have a tradition now in America of tearing one another down just to get into office.

And this is just so normal.

We take it for granted.

When I was coming this was not par for the us course.

This is not the foundation that our country is built on.

And we need more peacemakers so that the day after the election, half the country doesn't feel like they lost.

We are all going to win.

We're all in this together where all Americans, Mr Rebecca one Well, I think that sounds great, but I think the reality is that you've got two very different visions for this country.

You've got the Democrats who are about control control of your freedoms, control of your actions, centralized authority, the federal government telling you what to do.

And you've got the Republicans that are about decent realized control, local local control, control with the states and giving you the authority to make the decisions that you want to in your life.

This is the basis.

This is the genesis for the political division that you see, the political division is an emergent property is an outgrowth of these very different based philosophies that we are in a very robust conversation in this country.

We are having this conversation about social media on mainstream, on alternative media, over the dinner table.

And it's good to have these discussions.

It's good to have these discussions It's part of our freedom of speech and we need to exercise that speech.

And I'm a full supporter of it.

Thank you, Mr President.

The January 6th committee voted unanimously to subpoena former President Donald Trump.

In your opinion, did they make the right decision?

And do you believe the Trump committed any crimes in regard to the January 6th riot at the US capital?

Forty five seconds for this question And Mrs Palin, you were first knowing President Trump, as I do, he's probably saying bring on subpoena away because he has nothing to hide and no, I don't believe that he committed a crime.

I think that the media and those who are obstructionists to so much of what Trump represent.

I believe that they just want to hang on to this thing and keep stirring it up.

They get it.

They got to hang on to something because it can't be his policy is that they slam and that they are against what his policies did for our country.

We have this inflation.

We didn't have the two million illegal aliens crossing the border with the fenthion and all the problems that they're bringing.

We didn't have so many of the problems that we face today.

So what are they going to do to disparage him?

and his supporters like me?

they're going to make the representative Peltola.

You have forty five seconds.

Thank you.

I'm going to not make that judgment call right now.

I'm going to be watching what the committee decides, but I do.

Having now served in Congress, you Congress members to get to the House floor.

You have to go through metal detectors.

Now, there's such a lack of trust among members that we can't even trust each other to not come on to the House floor, unarmed.

I think that is a terrible position we are now in when constituents come to DC, they have to be met outside congressional office buildings and brought through by staff.

This is not the kind of access that we need to our to our elected representatives.

And I do believe that crimes are committed.

On January six, people died so Mr. Well, well, it is within the authority of the Congress to subpoena an individual, including a past president.

And that's that's within their legal authority to do that.

Now, whether this January 6th committee is really just a political witch hunt, or an actual well intended commission, I think that's for some debate as well.

The Democrats have wanted to hang on to January six, but they've ignored the fundamental problems of this country.

They've ignored the fundamental problems of working families.

Inflation is the issue that they don't want to talk about because it's a losing issue for them.

And when you look at the Democrat policies across this country, and how they've wrought havoc on working families, you know, why and Mr. by forty five seconds, I'm going to speak for the rest of Alaskans not on the ballot The four of us are.

That's is on this ballot in the media and a political party are dragging this out.

And pretty much all of Alaska realizes this.

If there were stolen documents or secret documents taken to a bathroom server or to wherever the heck he had, then, yeah, go get the guy because laws are broken.

But for just about every other Alaskan, they're really worried about energy.

They're really concerned about heating oil.

They're really concerned about salmon.

Unfortunately, they're not really concerned about a media party Kumbaya fest.

They're just not.

And I think the more we talk about it, the more we elevate it and the worse it gets.

Thank you.

Candidates.

Next, 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.

Hello, My name is Josh Akiak and I'm a sophomore players K-12.

And our question is, in the wake of the pandemic's uncertainty and stress, youth mental health is a serious concern.

Not only Alaska, but across the nation.

How will you prioritize youth mental health and wellness in our state and the rest of America?

All right.

An excellent question from the youth vote, Representative Peltola.

Forty five seconds.

Thank you.

I do think that acknowledging that mental health is a critical part of our overall health is is a key thing.

And I think that we've got to do more.

I think one of the things across Alaska that will help is getting broadband and Wi-Fi in people's homes so you can have better access to telehealth.

I know a lot of people are taking advantage of connecting with someone who can help just vent to or, you know, coaching on, on anxiety and other things that we're facing.

And it's very private when you're doing it through the Internet.

So I think Internet connectivity is a huge piece and just making sure that we have more accessibility to mental health providers and make the insurance covers it.

Mr.

So, Joshua, thank you for this question.

This is an excellent question.

and it's a really important issue.

You know, we're dealing with an environment that we've never seen before in human history.

It's never been easier to connect with people on social media, but you've never felt more disconnected from others.

And I would tell the youth out there, put the phone down, have a conversation, connect with somebody, make friends.

And if you see somebody who doesn't have a friend, be their friend because the loneliness that I see among our nation's youth is driving so many negative outcomes from mental health perspective and behavior that are are unhealthy over the long haul.

Be a friend, be a connector, be somebody that someone else can count on.

Mr by your response.

Forty five seconds.

Thank you, Joshua.

That's that's a pretty good question.

And we see it in Fairbanks all the time, especially with darkness coming on.

There's a couple of things we can do, right?

I mean, Alaska native corporations have a tremendous amount of influence within the tribal area.

They've got a lot of money that they can spend on a lot of this.

And for those people who can't get that kind of care, from the native corporations, the mental health trust has over a million acres that they manage It's time that we start leveraging some of that to address these issues.

Know a lot of this was unfortunately political.

We self-inflicted gunshot wounds because of it.

And we've got to get past that I agree with Mr. Noorvik getting outside and being brave and being encouraging is probably the best medicine for your peers and for yourself.

Miss Baylor, pretty government waste a lot of money on a lot of things.

And it's a matter of priorities.

And government must prioritize is addressing mental health issues.

But, Joshua, we're not just talking about teens and we're not just talking about covid perhaps having such an impact on an increase in mental health problems.

We're talking about all segments of society in the culture that we live in today.

Look at the vets.

Nobody talks about this much anymore.

Twenty two vets a day commit suicide.

That number has not gone down despite all the rhetoric, all the talk about it, all the promise is there are things that government can do.

But heaven forbid we leave this to government solely government messes things up.

They can prioritize funding.

They can assist private sector help.

Thank candidates.

All right.

Now we're going to go over to our colleague Rebecca Palsha on our social desk for some questions from social media tonight Rebecca.

All right.

So the first questions from Facebook, what are we doing to address veteran suicide?

Mr.

I get your first.

Well, this is a major issue and it's a major issue with Unalaska when when veterans are coming back from foreign conflicts, you know, they are not getting the kind of treatment that they deserve and that they need.

And I think we need to do a lot more to destigmatize reporting of mental health issues.

I think this is a big problem, particularly among veterans who feel that they've got to be tough.

They've been trained to be tough.

The tough thing to do is to go in and admit that you need some help and we need to do more to make that easier.

Our veterans, Mr by, you know, as the only combat vet up here on us, this really touches home.

I appreciate this question.

much like like your dad exercise is always good.

and getting out in the cold is always good.

Right.

But those are just fleeting things.

I think.

What's the most important thing to address?

is, is connection.

Building those relationships that build upon themselves so that veterans feel comfortable in addressing these issues.

And until we do that, we're always going to be stigmatized with the VA reporting system.

Hispan, I'm glad that we are addressing.

Finally, speaking of priorities, this must be a priority.

First, if you love your freedom, you think of that we better start treating our vets as they deserve to be treated.

And that's as America's finest.

What they've been willing to sacrifice.

Look at the VA scandal under Obama and Biden that shows what goes wrong when bureaucrats run programs, health care programs, the VA.

It's been a disgrace and it's been a disgrace to those who are willing to die for our country and Congresswoman Peltola, thank the first bill that I introduce and worked on that wasn't one of Congressman Young's bills is a bill to help vets with food security.

And it will open an office in in the Veterans Administration to help coordinate veterans with services that they can apply to.

But I think it's so much more than just making sure they have food security.

We've really got to destigmatize mental health issues.

We've got to make sure that our VA is adequately funded to help across the board mental health and physical health and to get to know you all a little bit more from Twitter.

We want to know what you read for pleasure.

Savi I read a lot of fishing books and a lot of fishing magazines and a whole host of sci, Miss Palin.

I don't do a whole lot of leisure.

I run.

I exercise.

That's my sanity.

Sweat.

So, yeah, I don't do a whole lot of just sitting around reading my reading mostly is for work.

It's for politics.

It's to help serve others.

Congressman Peltola.

Yeah.

I don't have a ton of time right now to do much leisure reading.

A lot of the reading that I do is also work related.

The last thing I read, the last report I read was the Kuskokwim River Situation Report.

and various pieces of legislation.

What I've been reading lately and Mr Begich for the last year, I've been working every single day on this campaign.

Think I've had a day off.

But when I get a few minutes, sometimes I'll jump online and read financial news.

Believe it or not, that's easier for me right now.

And trying to keep track of what's happening in the economy is is almost a full time job in and of itself All right.

Thank you very much candidates.

We need to take a short break now.

And when we come back, we'll continue with debate for the state US House of Representatives.

We hope you'll stay with us.

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Find more election coverage, including our candidate comparison tool and live coverage of the election results on November 8th at nine p.m. at Alaska Public Morgue Welcome back to debate for the state.

Four U.S. House next up we have a video question from a voter in Kotzebue.

Candidates will have thirty seconds to answer Hi, my name is Darvin Goodwin.

What is what are your thoughts on bringing renewable energy to rural Alaska?

store by old take the first answer and you have 30 seconds.

Thank you.

Know, Mr. Goodwin, that's a good question.

Right now.

Transportation just to get oil out there is expensive.

So we do need to look at a myriad of renewable sources, not just tried and true diesel for your generator out there.

I'm in favor of a very diverse energy policy, not just for the state but for the government as well and for the nation as well.

And I think right now, like in Bethel and some other locations, small nuclear reactor would work really well And if needed, I think one would work in Kotzebue.

Miss Palit.

Thirty six.

That's a great question, because when we boast about Alaska, we're just talking about our oil and gas, minerals, coal.

But look at the power that we have in water that surrounds us and that flows through our state hydro.

That's an exciting thing to start looking at for rural Alaska.

But, you know, a lot of the green energy projects that perhaps Darren was kind of alluding to, a lot of those are boondoggles, a lot of those are just some crony capitalism.

projects that politicians pass on to their friends.

We've got to be careful.

All right.

Representative Hill, Peltola, 30 seconds, Alaska has so many good examples of renewable energy sources in Kodiak.

They're electric generate.

They're elected, their electricity is generated.

Ninety eight plus pernt by wind and solar in Kotzebue.

They've had wind farms for twenty years.

The Chignik win group is a coalition of four villages on the coast, and they're even able to put energy into four wheelers.

I think that we need an all of the above approach, especially for the off the shelf technologies.

Mr. Baggage.

Thirty seconds.

Well, I do think that renewable energy can do a tremendous good for the residents of rural Alaska and we're experimenting now with some small nuclear programs out there.

I think those are fantastic programs.

They provide a base load.

It helps to lower the cost of energy in those areas and start to add value to the resources that are being extract extracted in those regions of the state.

title.

When traditional hydro and even pumped hydro, which is a sort of a form of a battery storage technology for hydro projects, can be very helpful in lowering the cost of energy All right, thank you, candidates.

All Lori it.

I've been asking all the questions tonight.

Now the candidates get a chance to ask one of their opponents a questn.

The format for this will be a e minute answer.

followed by thirty seconds of rebuttal.

Then the remaining candidates will also have thirty seconds to weigh inn the topic as well.

And as ballot your first kay, I'd like to ask Reprentative Peltola.

We know that Joe Biden is kind are known for his anti ener anti Alaskan energy, specifically projects that we know that our country needs.

How are you going to convince him and your fellow Congress men as you're seated today?

that we need to drill, baby, drill?

Well, I think so.

much of what we're seeing stalling the process right now is just he permitting process and the judicial process.

So any so often, unfortunately, projects are met with legalawsuits and things like that that slow them down.

And I think that'really what we're looking at w. And I have made I have had conversations with White House staff.

I have had conversation with the secretary of interior about the Willow project and the urgency of .

And I was very happy to see that the president is looking at our Strategic Petroleum Reserve and allowing more of those that product on the market.

And I think that if there was ever an argument to progress and get Willow going, the aument is present now with inflation and the costs that we'reaying for energy, it's critical that we open the Willow project.

And I have been very clear about that in in writing and and orally Les 30 seconds of rebuttal.

The project is going to be key to roing up our economy again.

Well, we have to convince and hopefully you will be successfuat this in Ben Retrack in what it is that he promised America.

He said on March 15, 20, 20, he told Jake Tapper, no more oil industry.

He said no more drilling, not even offshore, no ability for the oil industry to continue to drill, period.

ends.

He said that's his number one.

We have to make sure that he doesn't follow through on the Kake energy isis he's causing.

Mr Begich, you want to take 30 seconds on this one?

Well, I do think that there is a there this administtion ish And Joe Biden is on the record saying he will end fossil fuels.

You traditional energy n this state and Alaska.

That's a huge threat to us.

And this is the leader of the Dimmock party tt is pushing this agenda on us.

It is a of energy we can from domestic sources, including in Alaska secondsf us?

You know, 0 Willow's is important.

There's no doubt about it.

But it's just one pie of the puzzle, rig?

I mean, what's what's the next enterprize?

I would I wouldenre to bet that this ainistratiodoesn't have a next energy enterprize or project.

I mean, it's pretty clear that they wanted to use fossil fuel development.

And that's not thr job.

period.

A rightThe next candidate qstion to another candidate is from Mr. BI.

You have 30 seconds to ask one of your oonents.

Sure.

Mr Nikolai, you know, I think everybody up ere agreeshat sustainable, natural resourcdevelopmt recommend theand given to Alaskans without givingand?

question and I ablutely believe that we neeto get government control rit now,re l over 60 percent of the land in Alaska is controlled the federal govnment and in my view, this is unconstitutional They not have the authority to control so much of Aska's land.

We haveo do more.

You now, the mining t of eighteen seventy two is still on the oks and it allows you to tentand to transfer land fromhe federal ownsh.

And this was a ge trendous way to to open up landscross the United States for developme and Congress failed to fund the land transfersIn addition, the state of Alaska has a number of land trafers that are still pending.

And ter 50 plus years,e're still waiting e state of Alaska.

As as a lan e cgressman, will aocate every single day to me that lanout of fedal control and io ivate ownership.

andtate hds.

Mr. BI, uld y lik30 seconds?

Absoluteat h doeit g to Alaskans andot get gobed up by the next mingorporation?

or by he next lobbyist adventure rom attl Howoes it how do we prevent tt?

My simple piod.e elinate governmt inuee ts orati.

We just ve ito he Alaskan pple.

Anyy simple he to be ve vigilanto nsure thatndustry est hava Gambel sonds to foowp on the questionN I thi we al nd to get bn waiting r 50 yearsor their nive allotmts.

And thi that weeed to advce that.

also thk th there are fivlandlessribeinor oueast who he beents.

And waing for 50 ars for nd for tm utize awell uer Unalaska.

A those are two I want wk very haron.

RresentativPeltola, you have 30econds to k a queion.

Andne of the her candidas I'd li to ask Governor Paliour histor urprises a lot of peopleWe workevery weltogether a bartisan way with at ast the folks on the use side and those are two of the best y ten years becau of the good worki relationsp with the third forAnd in particular you.

And I'wondering how you can translate that to working with th administratioand Demrats in Congress.

It so funny that even in this race, people actually hold ourrking friendship against us.

They act like, oh, we're noteally committed to the planksn r individual atforms cause our ptforms are quite there not adversebut they're quite opposite of one another's.

t I have great spt foMary.

Hopefully my tracrecord proves that again, I'ab to plao wt it takes to n and in this day d age, of so mh divisio smuch politics of personal destction and lies quite dishetening.

So in cas disheartening to get to snd bese somebody who gets it.

Alakanuk chick thing, you knowt same time in myffice, took some at for that to on and on personally.

speaking and even professionally, somebody likMary and I who can g along with that, an example Mary ltola like 30 seconds for rebuttal in the.

Yeah, I just think it's really important that as people who are running for elected position, we show young people in particular and other Alaskans and the nation how to be a candidate in a civil way without tearing people down personally.

or professionally.

And I think that it's really time that we get past vilifying people in the other party.

Again, we're all Americans.

We're all in this together.

We all are.

We all have the same future together.

Mr Bayridge, like 30 seconds you know, I'll be honest, with you, just about every Alaskan is rrified when they hear bipartisan because what that really means is both parties are getting together to to gang up on taxpayers.

That's really what it means, right?

I mean, I don't mean to vilify both parties, but I mean, just look at our track record.

Thirty one trillion dollars of debt.

And I haven't seen any good news out of it or the infrastructure bill.

I mean, it's a boondoggle.

And just about every Alaskan understands that I'm concerned about that greatly.

Mr Begich, would you like thirty?

I think it's important that we that we communicate with one another, but I'm not about to hold hands while we go over the fiscal cliff.

We've got to be strong.

We've got to be principled and sometimes that means that we've got to be tough.

And toughness was a unique characteristic of our former congressman.

I don't think anyone who knew him would suggest that he wasn't tough.

Sometimes you've got to be difficult.

You've got to be tough.

You've got to be firm.

And those are the things that we need as a nation.

We need to stop going too long to get along and we've got to take a stand for once.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Begich.

Now it's your opportunity to ask a question of one of your opponents.

You'll have thirty seconds.

Many people know that I was engaged in Don Young's campaign in twenty, twenty as his co-chair.

I went down to DC in March of last year to take a closer look at what was happening in the office and understand Congress a little bit more.

What I saw was very disappointing.

Staff forwarding the phones to voicemail so they could watch episodes of Friends.

I saw lobby writing bills, sending them directly to the staff, getting rubber stamped, send it to committee.

My question for Mary Peltola is why would you hire the staff and connect with these same lobbyists?

I think it's really important to have continuity every constituent from Alaska who's come into our office has praised the Republicans I've hired.

They say they know our issues.

They know our state.

We work together.

We trust this person.

I'm sorry.

You had a terrible experience, In Site, but I have had a very positive experience.

So I find my staff very hard working and committed to our state.

They have been working for our state.

One for ten years, another four, seven years.

And this institutional knowledge that you can't just recreate from somebody off the street overnight and I think that it's especially important when our congressmen passed away unexpectedly and there were a lot of things hanging.

And so having somebody on board who has that institute of knowledge and understanding to provide continuity for Alaskans, this is about Alaska This isn't about me, about me.

This is about Alaskans and our issues.

Mr Begich, would you like 30 seconds?

Yes.

I got into this race because I saw exactly what was going on.

and I was upset by it.

I'm still upset by it.

You know, these people are making decisions for you that have nothing to do with you.

They have everything to do, a special interests.

And when I saw that these same lobbyists started to attach themselves and these same cadre of people started to attach themselves to other candidates through this race and now with Representative Peltola, it's upsetting folks.

We have to take our country back and we cannot do business as usual.

Mr. BI, would you like thirty seconds?

You know, I kind of agree with Mr. Miss Mary on this one.

I think it's good to have a diverse group of people helping to run this country.

I have always said when I get there, I'm goingo take all the animals out by the biggest table I can.

So everybo has a seat at the table.

But I would mply ackwlge Mr. Nick here on this one, that Don Young was a Repubcan.

He allowed this like I don't know what else we can say about it.

I mean, he oered to give nurs Les pay Palin, would you ke to se is to ect strong administer even theegislati branch Ty need to know how to run an officeWe need fiters in Congrs, a that includes getting rid of people who are trying to run the show when they're not an elected officiae Congrs, a that includes show.

Lawyers and lobbyists.

And usually they' quite youngThey have worldview aboute cling the shots and therets.

putting legislate ifrt of their bosses nose.

We need tote be aware of how the operation works.

There and need to change it via elections.

All right.

ank you, candidate Now is time forur seconds to aner yes or to these questions.

and provide a would like.

We'll continue oury rotation from before the candate questions.

And the morlaws othbooks.

All fira it'gointo lead to is confiscation.

Ultimately, bause that's the goal otoo many libels o there.l fira Conscatn of ourirearms No, we haven inherent right and a codified right to bear arms presentative PeltolaI d't think we should be vey stctive,ut I think we should have some bar inimum, me ageequiments and maybe increase the age and ammition, espially on s thiy bo hunng and it'not about food securi.

It bo self-fee and protectg yo fam, vy clear th the rightfyounow, s Constitution.r.

Bar I'm two fan.

I'veot plentofA if u t y own firems.

I say nfor theurrent res, even wi t FBIakgBar I'm mistas, one morrule isnA if u t oing to afcthe nt murr orhe next commucation beten frien jusist nd family.ll rightShould t feral goverent prove dt reliefo college student Fifo nswer.

RepsentativPeltola oul go firsts long as also inudvocational technal debt reef.

I do we' setting uthe next think wek generation to sceed witou inflati, our justo many succe.

All right, Mr. Beghgs ar I think iisompletely unfair d immoral r e not to goo secondarystep edution, post-secondary chose ecaon, to pay for that.

I think that'wrong.

Mr. by no ay.

No, no.

not no.

There you go.

No, Next, all right.

Miss Peltola, though, that if they're going to do this, hichs not even legal, with Biden claiming some exetive order for ts anthat, then, yeah, they better include holding t purse strings.

Next question, shld the govnment be able to mandate vaccitions?

Mr. Begich?

Absoluty not.

I've en firmly opposed this from t vy beginning.

This is something that is youinner sanctum.

You decide wt you're going to put into your body.

And think this is absolud be no vcine mandates.

Mr. Obama.

No, no, at is your right to make that decion.

Wasbsolutely not.

And I remember beg ridiculeand mocked for on national stage goingo jab my kids or me.

I was right because I talked about the jab being experimental and now even the head chef is saying it's experimental.

Representative Peltola, I don't think it should required nationally.

No, but I do have concerns about pandemics, especially after so many experiences we've had in Alaska with pandemics going back hundreds of years.

So I do think that Alaskan take this seriously.

Do you support continue US aid for the for Ukraine in its war against Russia?

Mr by.

No, we need to reduce it.

We're at twenty nine billion dollars.

We're basically making the military industria complex filthy rich since we need another war.

We entered, we entered a second war that we entered another.

It'll just continue on and on and at the end of the day it's going to be a taxpayer holding the bag.

Miss Palin, we need to reduce it.

Absolutely.

Here we are intervening under the guise of help citizens in a foreign country when we aren't even sweeping our own ports here in America.

Look at the crime.

Look at the whole homelessness Look at the adversities here first.

Representative Peltola.

I do think that we should provide relief to Ukraine.

I, I am not prepared to talk about to what extent, but I think it is the humanitarian thing to do.

And Russia is one of our biggest adversaries and we should be helping people under the gun.

All right.

One last question before we move to closing statements.

This is not part of our lightning round.

How will you work across the aisle to get things done?

Could you vote for a bill that was proposed by the other party?

You'll have forty five seconds for this.

Representative Paul Peltola.

I absolutely vote for a bill by the other party if it's in the best interest Unalaska no doubt about it.

And I've already started working across the aisle.

We have continue fish Friday that Congressman Young worked on and the recipients of so much of the fish that I've already shared with congressmen in DC are Republicans that I work with the Natural Resources Committee and other legislators who reached out to me and were verwelcoming.

I think that this is the most important thing that we can do as a sitting legislator is work to heal the divisions in our country and it starts with me and it starts with every good relatiship that I can build with anybody who's interested in helping Alaska and helping our country.

Mr Begich.

Forty five seconds.

Bills are about policy, not about party.

And I know we've talked a lot about party tonight, but but the bill content itself is something that you're voting on.

You're not voting for a party or with a party.

You're voting for the content of those bills.

And to the extent that there are bills that are coming across my desk that that show that they're going to be good for the nation, and good for the country, absolutely.

They're going to get my support, regardless of who introduced those bills.

I think it's important to recognize that most of the bills that actually passed passed through the House of Representatives are bipartisan.

in nature.

And so it's important for people to recognize that there is common ground.

But when you're you're compromising your principles in order to get there, that's wrong.

That's what I have a problem with.

Mr by forty five seconds, you know, they call it the house of Representatives and it's the Representatives where the people not for industry, not lobbyists, not for special interests.

If Alaskans want the bill, they need to contact us.

So I'll put it out when I'm there.

You can read the bill.

You give me feedback and that's how we get things done.

If the bill is constitutional, then yes, if the bill doesn't add any debt to it, to the national debt, then yeah, I'm for it.

If it's personal responsibility, I'll let you know and then you can take that bill and pass it on to another House.

All right.

Miss Palin, Alaskans deserve to have a representative willing to stand on common ground, but also not willing to compromise but to fight for what's right.

If people only knew how this In Site baseball stuff worked in politics, the obsessive part sonship that gets in the way of is doing what's right.

We see that in our own state.

We saw it recently where partisanship trying to get somebody elected changed our voting process to one that's not real good.

But we also need to remember in D.C. today you know, Barack Obama is still he's calling a lot these shots.

Remember, he promised to fund or mentally transform America.

So if a bill came over that represented anything But he's representing.

No, absolutely not.

What I work on Thank you, candidates.

No time for closing statements.

The candidates will have one minute to make those closing statements.

And Mary Peltola your first.

Thank you.

Just forty four days ago, I was sworn in as your representative to represent all Alaskans when Typhoon Burbach hit our western coast.

I worked with our delegation and urging President Biden to swiftly approve the major disaster request I was on the ground to see firsthand the destruction.

I'll continue to make sure you're getting a federal need, that you that the federal help that you need.

I've asked the House leadership for consideration of disaster funding for the Bering Sea and Bristol Bay crabbing fishery and not just the boat owners, but the crews, the community and all the service businesses hurt by this year's total closure.

I continue to work with Alaska's two senators pushing the administration to make timely and favorable decisions to proceed with the WILLO project six days ago, the late Representative Don Young's daughters presented me with his Alaska flag.

Bolotnaya, the Alaska Federation of Natives convention.

I wear it proudly tonight.

and I humbly ask for your vote on November 8th.

All right.

Thank you, Miss Palin.

You have one minute.

We heard some a little bit alluding to it being Democrats, serving some special interests.

Well, keep in mind, Republicans who have special interest funding, they're serving them to my only special interest is Alaska.

It's you.

I have nothing to lose by running for Congress.

We have a country to lose.

But like President Trump when he called me right after the untimely passing of our representative, he said, yes, sir, you have anything to lose either.

What more can they do to us?

All the life experience that I have under my belt now, it's preparation is preparation for the good things that are in store for Alaska, go with great opportunities.

I'm going to put my experience is to good use for Alaska.

It's prepared Asian for have it to be that fighter and being able to hit the ground running, which I'm able and I promise to do it again, having no special interest except Alaskans.

Mr Biden, one to please.

Sure.

know with every federal dollar we get, it always comes with strings attached.

And those strings reduce our freedoms and liberty.

And I would say that Politico donations like in the tune of millions of dollars, also come no strings attached.

And both political parties take plenty of money.

In fact, some of the folks standing up here took plenty of money.

I am just a normal little ask and I've raised, I don't know, seventy eight hundred bucks.

And I encourage other Alaskans to get up and do what I'm doing, have a little courage and fight the system because if we continue to allow political private organizations like the Democrats and the Republicans, you end up with trillions of dollars a day, you end up with reduced liberties and freedom.

pick up garbage along the way.

And I don't need the federal government to tell me that.

So when you're looking at who you're going to vote for, think about those strings.

Think about how much money has been given to all three of these candidates.

and then make a wise decision.

I encourage you to vote.

My name is Chris Bye.

All right.

Mr. Beckett, you have one minute for your closing statement.

I'm proud to say that over 80 percent of the money that I've raised in my campaign has come from you.

come from Alaskans and that's how it should be.

Unfortunately, for Mary Peltola and Sarah Palin, that number is reverse.

About 80 percent or more of their ney has come from outside.

In fact Mary Peltola just had a one point six million dollar independent expenditure group that was stood up for her benefit from a lobbyist in Seattle.

That's what you need to know.

You didn't know what is actually happening behind the scenes.

You couldn't have a more strong choice or clear choice in this race.

Right.

We've got two teams in this country right now.

That's just the way it is.

We've got the Democrats, we've got the Republicans.

The Republicans want to give you more freedom.

They would put more money in your pocket.

They want to get inflation under control and they want to stop this green new quest that the Democrats seem to always be on.

The Democrats want to take freedom from you.

They want a centralized government.

They want to tax you more and marry Peltola been a part of that from her time in the state legislature.

to today.

She's been interested in growing government and adding taxes.

Thank candidates.

That concludes our US House debate forhe state for twenty twenty two.

I'd like to thank our candidates for joining us and thank you as well to Rebecca Palsha for monitoring social media for us tonight.

Remember election Day is November 8th and we encourage every Unalaska to get out and vote and make your voices heard.

Join us again tomorrow night for the final debate in our series.

The US Senate debate.

Incumbent candidate, Republican Lisa Murkowski, Republican Kelly Tshibaka and Democrat Pat Chesbro will join us at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 27.

We hope that you will also tune in for that debate for Alaska's news source and Alaska Public Media Thank you for joining us this evening.

Good night.

Good night.