House District 33 candidates Rep. Sam S. Kito III, D-Juneau, and Republican challenger Peter Dukowitz differ plenty on policies, projects and propositions.
Kito and Dukowitz are vying to represent Haines in the municipality’s new district that includes downtown Juneau, Douglas and Skagway.
Kito was appointed in February to complete Beth Kerttula’s term after she resigned. He is a lifelong Alaskan with 24 years of experience in engineering, economic development and government relations. He has lived in Juneau 18 years.
Dukowitz has lived in Juneau 12 years and in Alaska, 36. He is a systems operator for Alaska Electric Light and Power and has worked in the oil fields in Prudhoe Bay and the Kenai Peninsula.
Kito and Dukowitz diverge on many issues, including the Juneau Access Project. While Kito acknowledged building the road is technically feasible, financially speaking the project would be a mistake, he said.
“If there are people in those communities that don’t want the road and are happy with the marine highway system and the road isn’t going to significantly decrease the marine highway system costs, we should be trying to make the marine highway more efficient rather than building a road,” Kito said.
According to a report recently released by the Department of Transportation, the east-side road will cost $5 million more in annual maintenance and operations than the existing ferry system.
Dukowitz, however, believes the road will be a boon to Haines and Skagway.
“I think the road is a long-term project that benefits the community. It will mostly benefit Haines and Skagway. With the road, Haines will get full-time state workers, a dock. You are going to have those capital projects coming through there. It will make it easier for residents of Haines to come to Juneau and make a day trip to Costco. Hopefully, it will make products cheaper for Haines,” Dukowitz said.
Feedback about the road has also been positive, Dukowitz said. “I am hearing a lot of Haines residents supporting the road. I haven’t met anybody that is against it,” he said.
The two also don’t see eye-to-eye on Proposition 2, which would legalize and commercialize marijuana in the state. Dukowitz said he will be voting “yes,” while Kito will be voting “no.”
Kito said his reluctance to support the proposition stems from law enforcement’s inability to effectively and efficiently test for driving under the influence of marijuana.
“I don’t have a problem with people using marijuana. It’s their own free choice,” Kito said. “I think ultimately we will get there, but I have public safety concerns in the meantime.”
Dukowitz said while he supports Proposition 2 and thinks it will pass, he personally doesn’t and won’t smoke pot.
“The negative aspect I have with it being illegal right now is essentially good people are going to jail for having it. Our prison system, our court system is overloaded,” Dukowitz said.
Dukowitz opposes Proposition 3, which would raise the minimum wage from $7.75 per hour to $8.75 per hour beginning Jan. 1. It would then raise the minimum wage from $8.75 per hour to $9.75 per hour starting Jan. 1, 2016.
“If we increase the minimum wage, it’s avoiding the bigger issues of housing and skills and jobs. To me, we’re ignoring the problem and we are just taxing businesses more. It’s not a long-term solution,” he said.
Kito, on the other hand, supports the measure to raise the minimum wage and doesn’t think it will put an untenable strain on business owners.
“We should encourage employers to pay higher wages. The more people you have making a (higher) minimum wage, the more people there are participating in the local economy,” Kito said.
They also voted in opposite directions on the repeal of SB21, which gave tax breaks to oil companies in the hopes of incentivizing production. Kito supported repealing SB21, while Dukowitz wanted to keep it in place.
“I think we need to give it a chance to work. If it needs reform, then by all means, but I give Gov. (Sean) Parnell credit,” Dukowitz said.
Both candidates seemed to agree on one thing: the money is drying up, and finding funding for capital improvement projects like the Lutak Dock and sewer treatment plant is going to be difficult.
Kito and Dukowitz also agree that school funding needs to be increased.
“Our school funding is not adequate,” Kito said. “I don’t think we need to be looking at cutting the budget for education. I think we need to make sure the education budget is held harmless.”
Dukowitz said he is tired of the legislature bickering about the base student allocation every year. “I would like to see the state come up and standardize this and fully fund education,” he said.
Dukowitz said one of his assets is that he is a Republican. “I can do something that my opponent can’t, and that is as part of the majority I can be a voice for Southeast, which hasn’t happened in the past,” he said.
Kito said one of the driving forces behind his decision to run is his teenage daughter.
“I really want her to be able to live in Alaska, have a good job and raise a family here. With the current situation with state revenues, I see concerns with being able to make that happen,” Kito said. “People will start leaving the state and it will be a downhill slide.”