Dillingham independent Bryce Edgmon, currently the most senior member of the Alaska House of Representatives, has announced his bid to represent Southwest Alaska in the state Senate.
The three-time Speaker of the House is running to fill the Senate seat left vacant by Sen. Lyman Hoffman (D-Bethel). Hoffman is retiring after nearly four decades in the Alaska Legislature and encouraged Edgmon to take his place.
Hoffman retires as co-chair of the powerful Senate Finance Committee, and veteran legislator Senate President Gary Stevens (R-Kodiak) is also retiring. Edgmon said the loss of decades of experience means historical knowledge is especially important in the Alaska Legislature moving forward.
"The most immediate example at the moment, of course, is the debate on the gas line, which reaches into very arcane, complicated issues like oil taxation and things like that, that only a veteran legislator who's, who's been through the past episodes can fully, in my mind, appreciate and grasp," Edgmon said.
The debate over the Alaska LNG project comes as fuel prices in the state spike due to the war in Iran, but high oil prices have also had the effect of boosting state revenues. Edgmon said he and other lawmakers rallied during this year’s regular session to pass a budget with more than $50 million in funds aimed at energy relief.
"I did everything I could to work with members of both the House and Senate to make sure that every single program that we had available could be funded and be made available," Edgmon said.
In Edgmon’s current House district, many residents rely on barged fuel shipments. The first barge of the spring has already bumped up gasoline prices in Dillingham to more than $9 per gallon, Edgmon told the Alaska Beacon.
A significant price bump is expected to follow for the numerous communities in Western Alaska yet to receive their first fuel of the spring. And Edgmon said he’s especially concerned about the last barges of the fall.
"The last round of fuel coming into the area could even be higher, which just scares me to the bone about what this all could translate to in terms of, you know, everything," Edgmon said.
Edgmon joins a field of Yukon-Kuskokwim (Y-K) Delta candidates ahead of the Aug. 18 primary – Aniak independent Wayne Morgan, Napaskiak Democrat Wassillie “WG” Guy, Kalskag Republican Darren Deacon, and Bethel independent Richard “Rick” Robb.
Edgmon was born and raised in Dillingham and still calls the Bristol Bay hub community home when not in Juneau. He’s been a staunch opponent of the proposed Pebble Mine and moves by the state to support the project.
"The Y-K region really is a sister region to the Bristol Bay region … and so I think there's a lot of common interests, a lot of common challenges," Edgmon said.
If elected to Senate District S, Edgmon would represent constituents with a mix of opinions on another controversial mine, the proposed Donlin Gold project. When asked about his stance on the project, he said he still has a lot to learn.
"In the Y-K area, I'm going to be doing a lot of listening, a lot of learning, a lot of talking with people, but I will always, always put subsistence and fish first, no matter what," Edgmon said.
So far, two candidates have filed to run for Edgmon’s vacant House District 37 seat – Evelynn Trefon of Iliamna and former Vitus Energy CEO Mark Smith.
