By Delcenia Cosman

Reporter, Homer Independent Press

Alternative energy dominated the conversation between Republican gubernatorial candidate Click Bishop and potential future constituents last week during a campaign visit to Homer.

Bishop, who represented Fairbanks in the state Senate for 12 years, met with residents on July 8 at the Team Moderate office below Kachemak Center. He is one of 17 candidates vying for governor in the statewide primary coming up on Aug. 18.

Alaskans statewide are dealing with rising energy costs, a factor which several candidates and community members have said also contributes to the ongoing trend of outmigration. On the southern Kenai Peninsula, residents face a future  natural gas shortage in Cook Inlet that will affect both gas and electric utilities. 

Bishop said a key topic in Juneau for the next four years will be to resolve the power crisis in southcentral Alaska. 

“You’ve got a trillion cubic feet of gas out here in two deposits. That’ll get us to about 2036,” Bishop said. “To me, the single most important, biggest issue on the Railbelt is energy supply for the Railbelt.”

One community member in attendance asked, “In five sentences or less, what is the (energy) plan?”

Bishop answered in one word — “Hydro.” 

He referred to several existing hydroelectric projects, including Bradley Lake, which provides the cheapest electrical power to Railbelt utilities across the state, including Homer Electric Association. 

Part of Bishop’s energy plan is to extend hydropower in Alaska.

“I’m going to go for Susitna first, and then there’s three alternatives on the Railbelt as backups for hydro. But if I can cut the utility rate for electricity to the home in half, that’s the goal,” he said. 

A hydroelectric project was previously planned for the Susitna River between 1979 and 1985, but was cancelled in 1986 in the face of environmental and economic concerns.

Conversations about alternative energy also coincide with the current battle over the proposed Alaska LNG pipeline. On that project, Bishop takes a cautious approach.

“Do I want a gas line? If it’s an asset to the state treasury and not a decrement,” he said. “And the second thing is I want to sell out every molecule of gas to benefit the treasury, for the cut that goes into the Permanent Fund, to grow the fund.”

Future education funding by the state

Another key issue raised by those attending the meet-and-greet was adequate state funding of education. 

Bishop said he wanted to increase funding to the base student allocation, or per-student funding provided to schools by the state, for career and technical education. 

“That funding has stayed flat. It hasn’t kept up with inflation,” he said.

One way he would inflation-proof CTE funding in the BSA is increasing the funds deposited into the state’s Public School Trust Fund, which is funded by a percentage of income received for management of state lands, including sale or rent of surface rights and mineral, oil and gas rents or royalties.

Bishop has historically advocated for CTE in schools as a way to increase graduation rates and provide students with additional skill sets. 

“We went out and pushed CTE for six years,” he said, referring to his time as Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, a role he held from 2007-2012 under Govs. Sarah Palin and Sean Parnell. “One district, Bering Strait (School District), went from a 57% graduation rate to over 83% graduation rate.”

One community member asked if Bishop would fully fund education if elected governor. Bishop said that he “for sure” would raise the BSA and CTE, and that the BSA as a whole “needs to be looked at from top to bottom.”

Common issues

As the event drew to a close, attendees asked Bishop rapid-fire questions about a slew of other issues of concern, including state attrition and Alaska’s election process.

On the continued decline of Alaska’s population, Bishop said he understood anecdotally that people are leaving the state due to issues with affordability, energy and education. If elected, he would require the Department of Labor to conduct analytical exit surveys.

“When you have that data, it makes an easier case when you put that in front of the Legislature to move your agenda,” he said. 

Bishop said he has full faith in Alaska’s election system, and that he is adamantly in favor of open primaries. When asked at a GOP state convention he previously attended whether he would vote to repeal ranked choice voting, he said no. 

“That’s only part of the question — it’s a two-part question,” he said. “I’m not so much wedded to the ranking, but I’m adamant on open primaries, period. 

“It had been open primaries from statehood to 1996. Now, if parties want to have closed primaries, maybe they should pay for the primary and the state not pay for it — because I think it rubs up against a constitutional issue.”

A lifelong Republican, Bishop centers himself as “an Alaskan first” and a moderate candidate.

“I’m somebody that, on any given day, I can fill a room with people that, any other day of the week, they wouldn’t get in the same room with each other,” Bishop said. “At the end of the day, that (Capitol) building runs on one thing, and that’s relationships. I’ve got good relationships with people,” he said. 

Learn more about Bishop’s candidacy for governor on his campaign website.