The only person running for Alaska’s U.S. Senate seat who publicly supports the Pebble Mine is a miner. Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe says that he supports all sorts of mining, including the proposed Donlin mine.
“I think we do ourselves a disservice when we Alaskans think we’re too stupid to figure out how to run a mine without causing environmental damage,” said Howe. “My biggest interest in the state, really, is the small mining. There should be more of an expansion of that, but again, the land has been locked up by the federal government, by the state government. It’s just not there to be as free for the individual to go out and start a small mine as it should be.”
Howe also has unusual ideas about taxation. He’s opposed to taxes, but believes that individuals should decide what parts of government they want to support, and pay directly. That way, most of the rest of the taxes can be cut.
“We need to move the government to a proper direction,” said Howe. “It’s not saying the whole government is bad. The government does some good things. We need to set up a method where people could voluntarily give to those departments so they can continue on.”
Howe said that he doesn’t have all the answers, but thinks that people should support a third-party candidate like him to help eliminate the hold the party system has on the nation’s politics.
You can hear the entire “Coffee@KYUK” interview with Alaskan Independence Party candidate John Wayne Howe on the KYUK website.
