Natasha Von Imof, a former member of the Alaska Senate, shared a presentation at a Kenai Chamber of Commerce Luncheon on Wednesday, May 15th.
Currently, Imof serves on the board of the Rasmuson Foundation and the Alaska Chamber Board.
She served six years in the Alaska State Senate, serving as Co-Chair of the Senate Finance Committee, chairing the audit Bidget Committee for two years, and serving three years on the Alaska School Board.
Before she began her presentation, she wanted to clarify that these views are hers alone and not affiliated with any organizations she belongs to.
Imof began her presentation by showing a 2023 CNBC poll showing Alaska scoring dead last and having the “dubious honor” of being dead last in business.
“You can see, according to that poll, we score straight F’s in infrastructure economy, technology innovation, education, and access to capital, which is ironic, access to capital. We have a permanent fund. We have two and a half billion in our CDR, a constitutional budget reserve, and a savings account. We have AIEA, Alaska Industrial Export Authority. This has been going on for several years across several investment administrations. Alaska has been between 45th and 50th. Last in economic standings from 2013 to the present,” said Imof.
However, she does offer some solutions to this.
“We need to solve the dividend calculation. We need 21 members of the House and 11 members in the Senate to pass a new formula calculation that is affordable and sustainable over time…Number two, I recommend that we pass a state spending cap for operations. Number three, we need to develop a multi-year plan approach to invest in capital and infrastructure as well as human capital. And lastly, we need a coordinated vision for the future. We want to focus on green energy, tourism, being the global transportation hub, Arctic Studies, being a strategic military location, I say all of it. We have so much potential it is to open the doors and see how far we can go” said Imof.
Imof then refers to a slide titled ‘Building Alaska’s Future Together: The Four E’s.
The topics shown are ensuring that essentials are met (safety, food, housing, access to health care), education preparedness (early learning, K-12, University, Vocational Technology), economic opportunities (attract capital investments), and environmental (natural gas, carbon subquestion, coal, hydro).
Imof thinks the state should pay for an individual to ensure the essentials are met. That way, the next steps in the plan can be followed accordingly.
“We just have to put our egos aside, so what’s right for Alaska, [and] share knowledge. And [if we can do that], I actually think we can last first on every list,” said Imof.