Alaska candidates speak at middle school forum

  • By Dan Joling
  • Wednesday, April 30, 2014 11:05pm
  • News

ANCHORAGE — Statewide political candidates Wednesday got a chance to say how they would shape the future for Alaskans who won’t even be able to vote for at least four years.

Three candidates hoping to be elected governor in November and three Republicans hoping to unseat Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich answered questions posed by students from 11 Anchorage middle schools in a forum sponsored by AARP Alaska at the Loussac Library.

Democrat Byron Mallott, independent Bill Walker and incumbent Republican Gov. Sean Parnell vowed strong support for public schools. They split over how health care should be provided for needy residents.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Parnell last year chose not to extend Medicare eligibility to those up to 138 percent of the federal poverty line. Walker said he would accept Medicaid expansion if the federal government paid 100 percent of the costs.

“Medicaid expansion is something that Alaskans have paid for, No. 1,” Walker said. Expansion would provide the benefits to 40,000 more Alaskans, he said, and potentially create 4,000 new jobs.

“If we don’t, our dollars will go to another state,” Walker said.

Mallott said his first act as governor would be to accept Medicaid expansion. “Every Alaskan deserves and should have affordable health care,” he said.

Parnell said the middle school students in the audience would pay the debt for Medicaid expansion. A better alternative for the 10,000 people he said would be affected was to address the gaps in health care.

“They need more help with chronic care and specialty care,” Parnell said. “We can do that on a more targeted basis with state funds rather than putting you all at risk for your financial future.”

Begich did not attend the Senate forum.

Republican Senate hopefuls touted their credentials for making tough decisions that they said have been put off by current congressional representatives on issues such as the long-term future of Social Security.

Joe Miller pledged to address “intergenerational theft,” or borrowing from future taxpayers to pay current debts.

Everybody knows unfunded federal liabilities are a problem, Dan Sullivan said.

“Right now, you don’t have anyone in Washington working on it,” he said. “They’re kicking the can down the road, and the people who are going to be harmed the most are you.”

Mead Treadwell told students he would take on the tough issues.

“We have a House and a Senate in Washington that won’t address these issues because they disagree, and I’m not going back there to kick the problems down the road,” Treadwell said. “I’m going back there to help solve problems.”

Several eighth-graders said they thought Parnell had acquitted himself well. Hunter Lukacz, 15, said he was especially impressed by Parnell’s closing remarks, in which the governor said he hoped their generation would be the last to experience domestic violence.

“Use your strength to protect and defend,” Parnell told the boys in the audience.

More in News

Nets are extended from North Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska, during the first day of the Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery on Thursday, July 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
‘A really good day’

Kenai River personal use sockeye salmon dipnet fishery opens.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Borough building in Soldotna is seen here on June 1. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough assembly to consider ordinance to increase residential property tax exemption

If approved by voters in October, the ordinance would increase the tax exemption by $25,000.

Vice President Kelly Cooper speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough considers seasonal sales tax rate

Borough sales tax would be modified from a flat 3% to a seasonal model of 4% in summer months and 2% in winter months.

The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
King salmon fishing on Kasilof closes Thursday

If any king salmon is caught while fishing for other species, they may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.

Un’a, a female sea otter pup who was admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center in June 2025, plays with an enrichment toy at the center in Seward, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
SeaLife Center admits 2 seal pups, 1 orphaned otter

The three pups join the Alaska SeaLife Center’s ‘growing’ patient list.

James Wardlow demonstrates flilleting a salmon with an ulu during a smoked salmon demonstration, part of Fish Week 2023, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Refuge to celebrate all things fish during weeklong event

Fish Week will take place July 16-19.

President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finalizes budget with deep cuts to programming, classrooms

Multiple members of the board said they were frustrated by the state’s failure to fund education.

Former KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes speaks during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development meeting at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School district finance department earns national awards

The two awards are based on comprehensive reviews of the district’s budget and financial reporting.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in