Watkins: “We need to recognize and digest that we are in a post-oil economy’
Commentary By Brent Watkins
For The Cordova Times
I’m Brent Watkins, the Democratic candidate for State House in district 32. Kodiak Island has been my home and workplace for the past 30 years. I am a carpenter by trade with a background in aircraft maintenance, fishing, and tourism. I operate several community aid programs for Seniors and Veterans. Currently I am the Vice Co Chair for the North Gulf Coast Region of the Democratic Party, and a member of the State Central Committee. I have been involved in local government on Kodiak, with over 10 years of experience in leadership positions on the Planning and Zoning Commission and the Architectural Review Board.
Our District covers a vast area that stretches across our Southern coast. My goal is to develop a connection with the people that are working so hard to meet their communities’ needs and bring their voice to the discussion. We are faced with many significant challenges in our State right now. No balanced budget, seniors’ fixed incomes being cut, Alaskans PFDs evaporating in front of our eyes. Gerrymandered districts that the courts declared illegal, and ordered it to change; yet to this date Republican leadership has not fixed it.
Taking money from the wallets of Alaskan families will not fix anything. When the funding gets cut to pay back bonds, your property taxes have to go up to cover the bill. Sales taxes get raised, fuel taxes get raised, and municipal fees get raised. Next new State income and State sales taxes get added on. The impact that’s felt is all from your wallet. We need new ideas and approaches, new coalitions. More of the same won’t get Juneau back on track; no new family taxes until oil pays it’s fair share.
We need to recognize and digest that we are in a post-oil economy. It is key to our economic recovery and survival as coastal communities that we move beyond the unstable and un-sustainable relationship we have had with oil.
We do need to extract resources. But we need to raise the bar on where and how we extract these recourses. We cannot trade a thousand years of salmon for a couple of Texas corporations to sell coal to China for twenty years. Yet this is the reality of our leadership to date. Cook Inlet and the Copper River drainage are being fracked. More lease permits are coming on line in the waters around us. Now for coal mining, from another Texan company. It is my objective to see a moratorium on coal mining and fracking in Alaska. I’m actively working to prevent salmon habitat destruction during resource extraction. Special interests cannot come before the safety of our water.
I suggest different ways to diversify our spending and resources. Carbon credits, light industry, clean fishing, organic farming, and renewable energy are the foundation we will need to stabilize our State. Mining and forestry must be done in a way that does not destroy the habitat around it. If it cannot be safely extracted now then it must wait for the technology to advance.
Another subject of serious interest is local food production; this is a key element in maintaining physical and mental health, and in keeping coastal communities sustainable.
The heroine and meth epidemics sweeping our state need to be addressed. The funding for rehab and mental health should come from 1/3 of all taxes on recreational and medical marijuana, and on industrial hemp sales. This problem requires our immediate attention; the people on drugs require immediate attention. It has to be accessible from the farthest reaches of our State. This CAN be accomplished and done well.
A new dynamic is needed in Juneau. The Democratic platform allows for us to address climate change, looks for Alaskans to keep their PFDs, and will fight for a balanced budget that doesn’t crush families. I am one of the Democrats running this year that can make Alaska the proud, resource-rich and state-of-the-art State we should be. With a fresh outlook and new insights we will bring a level of efficiency and fairness to our government that we all need. As Democrats we look to a future that is inclusive, progressive and sustainable.
