Have you ever bought a used car without checking under the hood? Heck, no!

Then think twice before you vote for Mike Dunleavy for Governor. When it comes to buying a car, you check under the hood. When it comes to evaluating a candidate, you watch them debate, but you can’t really do that with Mike since he generally makes a point of avoiding debates.

So, why is he avoiding debates? Well, I think the answer is that he’s made promises he knows he can’t keep so the less said, the better. And Mike seems to be a product of wealthy, outside special interests who want to continue exploiting Alaska — at your expense.

If you want to vote for someone who really wants to serve you and me, we’re down to one choice — Mark Begich. Mark served honorably as our U.S. senator and he bucked the Democratic Party establishment and sided with Alaskans on the issue of gun rights. He’s had tons of experience in civic administration as mayor of Alaska’s largest city. And I think that Mark will help put a stop to our state’s practice of paying the oil companies to take our oil.

I believe that Mark is the one candidate with the knowledge, skills and values necessary to guarantee us a full dividend without cutting essential state services.

Unlike Mr. Dunleavy, who doesn’t seem to have the courage or respect to debate his opponents, Mark Begich is willing to tackle the tough questions.

— Eric Treider, Soldotna