It’s an election year in Alaska, and there are nearly 20 candidates running for governor. The person elected will be tasked with balancing budget deficits and political turmoil.
Democratic Senator Matt Claman is in the running. He sat down with KRBD’s Sydney Dauphinais during his most recent trip to Ketchikan to talk about his priorities and his goals if elected.
Sydney Dauphinais: Why are you running for governor?
Matt Claman: First and foremost, because I love Alaska, and I really want to see Alaska move forward in a really positive way. And what I’m hearing from people more and more is they want to be working together, and so many people are tired of the division we see on a national level, and people really want to see Alaskans who know how to work together and want to work together, and want to keep improving how we work together and becoming less partisan.
Dauphinais: So what does that mean for you? I guess, practically speaking, what does working together look like?
Claman: That really looks like sitting down with people of different perspectives and different visions and working together to find a vision that we really can share, that has parts that really reflect what people all around the communities and all around the state really care about.
Dauphinais: What would you say are your primary focuses or goals?
Claman: I think I’ve always focused primarily on public safety, public education, and in really trying to grow the economy and making ways so that people that are looking for opportunities economically, so they can support their families and contribute to the community, can really move forward.
Dauphinais: What differs you from the other candidates that are running?
Claman: I would say a couple of things. The first is that I really have had a history, both when I was in the assembly in Anchorage and then in the last 11 years in the state legislature, I really got a history of working in a bipartisan way, finding common ground and finding ways to move forward.
Dauphinais: Say you are elected, what is your first mission in office?
Claman: Well, I would say the first mission as governor would be, in the first month, would be to propose a balanced budget that doesn’t rely on massive savings draws to pay for it. So that conversation with the public will be really on the level about this is what our budget looks for. I’m not going to make promises that we can’t deliver, and I’m going to propose a budget that that’s going to work, and part of that budget is going to be figuring out the right investment in public education, in public safety, public health, and certainly making sure we can pay an affordable dividend.
Dauphinais: What would you say, in your experience, qualifies you well for this position?
Claman: Well in terms of experience, I was the acting mayor of Anchorage for six months in 2009 at the height of the financial crisis, and that required making tough decisions that really brought the community together and recognized the challenges we have, and dealt with those in ways that are constructive and move the community forward. And I think in terms of very direct experience to being Governor, that would be a key experience. As you know, I’m a practicing lawyer, and I’ve been been practicing law in Alaska now for 38 years… and I’m reminded that on the one hand, practicing law is we have an adversarial system, but doing it well depends on cooperation, which means working with people that may have very adverse interest to you, but if you’re doing your job well, you’re finding ways to move forward, to resolve conflicts and to work together.
Dauphinais: Something here in southeast Alaska, not being connected to the road system, is there’s a lot of conversation about the ferry system. Is that something that is of importance to you? And if so, can you speak to that a little bit?
Claman: Continuing to invest in the state ferries is really important. I’ve ridden on the ferries many times, and in different directions, and not just in southeast Alaska, but also in south central Alaska. And I think having a functioning and a well functioning marine highway system is really critical for Alaska’s future. And I think we need to be both thoughtful about how we do that, but I also think we need to continue that investment.
I think there’s been investment opportunities in the ferries just in the last few years that we as a state didn’t do well to work to maximize federal funds available. And I think we really need to work to make sure the marine highway is working well for Alaska.
Dauphinais: What is something that you think is most important that listeners know about you and your campaign?
Claman: I would say two parts. A real commitment to public education, recognizing that our best investment in Alaska’s future is investing in our children, and that means having a good education system that really works for Alaskans. So that as they get older and and get out of high school and go on to careers or go to college or whatever they choose to do, that we’ve built the opportunities for them when they finish high school that will be exciting futures for them, and as their parents, exciting futures that their parents can see their kids going into. That’s really important. And the second is my longtime commitment to public safety. I’m kind of amazed, I went back and counted, in all the years I’ve been in the legislature now, we have passed 21 pieces of legislation affecting public safety. I voted for every single one of those, and my commitment to public safety is going to continue as governor.
