KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kodiak Senator Gary Stevens is back in town after the state legislature finally wrapped up, and he dropped by KMXT to be on Talk of the Rock yesterday. For a second year in a row, the session was marked by a deep divide between the Senate and the House over oil taxes.
— (Stevens 1 31 sec "As I’ve thought about this … lasts for hundreds of years.")
The Senate is currently evenly split between Democrats and Republicans, but under Stevens, a coalition majority was created that included all but the most conservative senators. Because of the Senate’s refusal to slash oil taxes as much as the House and Governor wanted, the recently replaced Republican Party chairman had announced a goal of ousting coalition Republicans in the Senate. Already Anchorage Senator Lesil McGuire has a challenger in the Republican primary:
— (Stevens 2 36 sec "Lesil has really done a great … see it necessarily as happening.")
Last weekend at the Republican Party convention in Anchorage, Ron Paul supporter Russ Millette was elected to replace Randy Ruedrich as chairman. Stevens said he hasn’t had much of a history with Ruederich:
— (Stevens 3 37 sec "He was from the oil industry … being a little more independent.")
In response to a listener’s question posted on Facebook about the Pebble Mine, Stevens tried to make his position clear:
— (Stevens 4 43 sec "This is just the wrong mine … of the salmon fishery up there.")
There is a huge list of construction projects set to happen in Kodiak this summer, and almost all of the funding for them came out of the legislature with Stevens as Senate President and Representative Alan Austerman the House Majority Leader:
— (Stevens 5 31 sec "That’s one of the rewarding … not going to go up because of that.")
Stevens said he will be seeking re-election to the Senate this year, though until the courts settle the redistricting issue, he’s not sure what part of the state – besides Kodiak – that he will wind up representing. It could include parts of the Alaska Peninsula, or it could include Whittier, Cordova and Yakutat.
You can hear the whole Talk of the Rock interview with Stevens here.
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