Statewide issues were discussed as KSRM’s coverage of Decision 2022 focused on the Senate District C race. The Tuesday evening radio forum focused on the race to fill a four-year term seat for the Alaska Senate District C.
Incumbent Gary Stevens and challenger Heath Smith spoke on issues impacting the State of Alaska and the Kenai Peninsula in advance of the General Election on Tuesday, November 8. Candidate Walter Jones was not in attendance.
The subjects discussed included the Ranked Choice Voting, party politics, abortion, Homer large vessel port expansion, permanent fund dividend, and gas prices.
The candidates also discussed what ideas they had for sustaining our halibut, salmon and crab fisheries.
Gary Stevens:
“You know so much of our fisheries occur outside of state limits, so we have to work closely with our delegation in Washington DC. We need excellent scientific research to make sure that we have the best management decisions. Certainly we have to listen to our fishermen, find ways to manage our resources fairly and equitably it all has to be done with science. I think that really means that we have prioritize research, perhaps it worked in the past, that will work in the future and to make sure the over fishing does not happen. So, basically work with our DC delegation, work with our fishermen and make decisions based on science, that is what we have to do.”
Heath Smith:
“Well we have to look at the heart of who is in charge of management and we have to make sure that the people that are appointed to like the Board of Fish or the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council that those people are objective, that they’re looking at the fisheries as a whole and that there’s no self interest invested in there decision making. Obviously the science as the Senator said should be the basis, our fishermen get very frustrated at time because they are ignored in process of these decisions and I mean they’re fully invested in this and they have decades of experience and they should be at the table in the discussion and coming to the conclusions and the recommendations and implementations of policies that are open minded. And really in the greatest interest of the sustainability of our fisheries. So, I think there is a process there and I think we need to have objective players at the table and our appointments to those commissions and boards need to be representing them.”
Click the player below to listen to the candidate election forum in case you didn’t have an opportunity to: