I recently had the opportunity to sit down at my kitchen table with Heath Smith, a candidate running to represent Alaska Senate District C as the next state senator. Two prominent candidates are vying for this Senate seat; the other is Louise Stutes, who currently represents Kodiak in the state House.
One month ago, I visited with Representative Stutes at her town hall in Homer and documented her comments here. In the interest of fairness, I offered Mr. Smith the opportunity to have a similar conversation, and I am glad I did. After doing so, it was very clear to me who would best represent Senate District C, and who I will be supporting in the General Election.
One of the motivating factors behind Mr. Smith’s decision to run was his frustration with the current legislature and its failure to serve Alaskans. Two examples he mentioned were the failure to pass legislation needed to advance the natural gas pipeline from Prudhoe Bay and the inability to pass a meaningful fiscal plan.
On the pipeline, he said the Legislature was hobbling the project by trying to include two pieces of legislation into one bill. In addition to setting up a fair tax policy for the natural gas line, they are attempting to include unrelated S-Corporation taxation aimed at Hilcorp.
Hilcorp operates Alaska oil fields in Prudhoe Bay and Cook Inlet. In the Legislature’s view, Hilcorp’s tax structure as an S-Corp deprives the state of corporate income taxes it believes are owed. Liberal Republicans and Democrats in the Legislature’s majority caucus are holding the beneficial natural gas pipeline hostage in an attempt to squeeze Hilcorp for more revenue. However, by doing so, they are missing out on the bigger benefit the pipeline would bring.
Using rough numbers, Mr. Smith noted the proposed new S-Corp taxes on Hilcorp would, at best, only bring in about $100 million annually, while first-year revenues from a gas line would be around $800 million. His opinion is that the Democrat led majority caucus in the Legislature is hurting the state by trying to use this strategy.
Smith commented that this gridlock is a product of the current majority caucus in the Alaska Senate, led by Democrats and liberal Republicans. I asked Smith if he would join this caucus, as both current Senator Gary Stevens and Louise Stutes have done. Mr. Smith made it very clear that he would not do so. Smith said, unlike Louise Stutes, he would never abandon his principles to advance his political fortunes. Stutes is a member of the liberal House caucus in the current session of the Legislature and would likely do so again if elected to the Senate.
Alaskans in Homer, Cordova, Seward, and Kodiak have a clear choice on who to pick to be our next state senator.
The second failing Smith noted about the current Legislature is their lack of a fiscal plan, which has required them to raid the statutory PFD to fill revenue gaps in the annual operating budget. Mr. Smith said he believes that a full PFD should be paid, but that it would be very challenging given the Legislature’s current budget process. However, Smith said that doesn’t mean it can’t be done, and he recognizes the importance of paying a full dividend, going back to guidance issued by Governor Jay Hammond when the dividend was created in 1980.
One thing Smith pointed out is that another $800 million of revenue coming from the gas line would make it much easier for Alaskans to receive the dividend they are entitled to, but legislative inaction is preventing this from happening.
On another issue, I asked Mr. Smith for his thoughts on the changes to the Grand Jury system made by a Supreme Court order passed in 2022, and if he thought they were an unconstitutional overreach. Mr. Smith said he agreed that SCO 1993 is clearly unconstitutional, and when there is a question about issues like this, he always sides with supporters of the Alaska Constitution. He did indicate that the Legislature’s only recourse for judicial misconduct was impeachment, and that action has never happened to a Supreme Court judge in Alaska. Smith noted that several gubernatorial candidates have pledged to take on this issue. He agreed that the status quo is unacceptable and action is needed to restore the system as defined in the Alaska Constitution.
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On the subject of capital spending, one infrastructure project that Smith indicated he supported was the Dixon Diversion project. This proposal would enhance the power delivered to the Railbelt electric grid by the Bradley Lake hydroelectric system near Homer. This project would divert additional water into Bradley Lake, allowing it to generate 38% more electricity. Adding the additional electrical power to the grid would mean a reduction in the natural gas used to generate electrical power at the Beluga power plant near Anchorage and would free up approximately 1.5 billion cubic feet of natural gas annually. That gas could instead be used for home heating and would help alleviate the existing natural gas shortage in the Cook Inlet basin. This project would benefit Senate District C, along with the rest of the Railbelt, and is the perfect example of the kind of win-win legislation that Smith would support.
Alaskans in Homer, Cordova, Seward, and Kodiak have a clear choice on who to pick to be our next state senator. They can choose to vote for Louise Stutes, a political partisan who betrays conservative principles to advance her own career, and has failed to deliver a fiscal plan, or they can vote for Heath Smith. Smith is a thoughtful conservative who wants to represent the will of the people in our part of the state and has a plan to do so without showing favoritism to any region in his district. After spending time with both candidates, the choice is clear: Mr. Smith should be the next Senator for District C.
The views expressed here are those of Greg Sarber. Read more Sarber posts at his Seward’s Folly substack.
