Hunting and fishing are deeply rooted in Alaska’s culture. Yet when political candidates face off, it’s surprising how few of the debate questions focus on fish and game. But this Saturday, the Alaska Outdoor Council aims to change that. The sport hunting and fishing advocacy group is hosting its first ever governor’s forum.
Caleb Martin, executive director for the group, says this election is one of the most consequential for Alaska in years.
“There are some of the biggest conservation issues of our lifetime,” Martin said.
But one of the biggest immediate challenges is how to handle a debate with 17 candidates. Rather than wrestle with an unwieldy forum, Martin says debate organizers let their members narrow the field.
Based on survey, they were asked to choose six candidates to appear in the forum. Campaign contributions and the candidate’s social media following were also factored in.
The six candidates who made the cut are all Republicans:
- Former State Senator Click Bishop
- Former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson
- Former State Revenue Commissioner Adam Crum
- Matt Heilala, a podiatrist and business owner.
- Former State Senator Shelley Hughes
- Bernadette Wilson, a longtime conservative activist and business owner
That leaves six Republicans, three Democrats and two Independents out of the mix. And Martin says that’s OK, because the process of selecting the candidates was democratic. “Our real focus right now is to get the outdoor community involved, because there’s some very big issues facing Alaska --the decline in Chinook salmon, trawler bycatch issues and caribou decline.”
Martin said candidates selected for the debate should not be considered an endorsement. Those will come later in the election season, he said.
The Alaska Outdoor Council has also asked all candidates to fill out an extensive survey. The results will be distributed among the group’s 3,000 members -- including one from former state senator Tom Begich, a Democrat, who came less than one percent of a percentage point from securing a spot in the debate.
Begich says he is happy to fill out the survey but questions why, as a candidate who has performed well in polling, he wasn’t invited. Begich is also disappointed the forum will only hear views from a conservative slice of the candidates, which he believes is a disservice to the Council’s members.
“If you want to fully inform your members, you should inform them not just of the positions you like, but maybe even of the ones you might be uncomfortable with,” Begich said. “What the Outdoor Council has done is they've restricted the dialogue. They've taken voices that are important to the state of Alaska, and they've not offered those voices an opportunity to be heard, in a way kind of sad.”
Begich says one thing his years in politics have taught him: solving the state’s biggest problems takes compromise -- and a genuine understanding of opposing views.
But how do you effectively juggle 17 voices in a debate?
James Brooks, a political reporter for the Alaska Beacon, says that’s a good question with no easy answers.
“I was just at a forum, that had all but two of the Republican candidates,” Brooks said. “And giving each candidate 30 seconds to answer doesn't really allow people to dive into policy -- doesn't allow you to touch more than the surface.”
Brooks has covered dozens of debates and political forums over the years. He says in this year’s governor’s race, hosts like the Alaska Outdoor Council must weigh some difficult trade-offs.
“As a private group, they're allowed to invite whoever they want to it,” Brooks said. “I do think that the most informed debates, the most informed panels, are going to be those that present a variety of issues.”
Brooks said the candidates invited to Saturday’s forum have mostly similar views on the budget and Permanent Fund Dividend, with the exception of Click Bishop -- so the focus on fish and game issues may help some of the candidates differentiate themselves from the pack. And while hunting and fishing policy rarely gets much bandwidth in most candidate debates, Brooks says this political season is shaping up to be different with a myriad of issues that put access to fish and game in the spotlight.
The debate is at 4:00 p.m. Saturday in the Sydney Laurence Theatre at the Alaska Performing Arts Center downtown. Radio talkshow host Mike Porcaro will moderate the forum. Tickets must be purchased to attend the debate. Live coverage will be streamed on the web and aired on KYUR, Channel 13.
