On Tuesday night, KYUK hosted a live debate between the two candidates vying for state House District 38: Incumbent Tiffany Zulkosky, a Bethel Democrat, and her Republican challenger, Darren Deacon from Upper Kalskag.
In the two-hour debate, each candidate laid out why they would be the best choice for House District 38. The top subjects of the debate were the Permanent Fund Dividend, the proposed Donlin gold mine, public safety, and strengthening relationships between state agencies and tribes.
Zulkosky took over from Zach Fansler as House District 38's representative when he resigned after being accused of assault this year. During Zulkosky’s short tenure, she sided with the bipartisan majority coalition of the legislature to dip into the Permanent Fund’s Earnings Reserve to fund state government as well as a dividend.
"I voted twice to increase the PFD this year because it was clearly in the best interest in our region," Zulkosky said. "I wanted to be really clear that I voted to increase the dividend less than the full statutory formula in order to reach a compromise that allowed us to keep the budget moving forward. It is all the legislature’s constitutional obligation to make sure we fund state government every year."
Deacon does not support the Legislature's decision dip into the Permanent Fund Earnings Reserve for more than the dividend. He believes that the PFD can survive using the traditional method of calculating it.
"Well I’m not sure if anyone can say for certain it can be sustained at that output," Deacon said. "It’s worked for 30-plus years."
For public safety, both candidates support increasing funding for village public safety officers and tribal law enforcement. That includes pay increases and more resources.
"We want to make sure if they are going to be a first responder in a village, they definitely earn a decent living wage," Deacon said.
Zulkosky says that the state Legislature needs to keep fully funding public safety programs even amid budget cuts.
"I think there’s really an opportunity during these lean budget years to fully maximize resources that come in from the federal level," she added.
The proposed Donlin gold mine was another big topic in the debate. The mine would be one of the biggest gold mines in the world, if developed. Deacon says that he’s not fully behind the mine, but supports it because of economic development.
"I support the jobs it brings to the region," Deacon said. "But I think we need to have two different plans. One, if the mine doesn't go through we need to have an economic plan in place to where we’re trying to bring jobs to the region. If Donlin does go through, we need a plan to place local people in positions of high authority so that they can make environmental decisions that would be safe for our area."
Zulkosky did not take a position on the mine, but she did say that she was skeptical about it. She also supports reforming the permitting process.
"There has to be clear and transparent permitting processes with adequate notice and meaningful community engagement," Zulkosky said.
Zulkosky is also undecided about how she’s planning to vote on controversial salmon habitat ballot initiative Ballot Measure 1. It would toughen the permitting process for big industrial projects proposed in salmon habitat, among other things, and it’s opposed by regional native corporation Calista. Deacon says that he plans to vote against it.
And finally, both candidates pledged to strengthen relationships between state agencies and tribes, if elected.
You can listen to the full two-hour debate between Democrat Tiffany Zulkosky and Republican Darren Deacon here. Election Day is November 6.