Shaking hands and talking to potential voters in Sacred Grounds Café on Friday afternoon, Mark Begich was interrupted by the booming voice of Tlingit and Haida President Richard Peterson.<\/p>\n
The Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska hasn’t endorsed a governor candidate this year, but Peterson had no problem offering his personal support.<\/p>\n
“I’m honored to say I personally endorse Mark Begich … and thank him for stepping forward,” Peterson told the crowded room.<\/p>\n
Four days before the general election, Alaska’s Democratic candidate for governor stopped in Juneau and went on a walk along Channel Drive with the Juneau Empire to discuss Juneau-specific issues. Two months ago, Begich appeared on stage in a debate hosted by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce<\/a>.<\/p>\n Since then, one of the three men on that stage has dropped out of the race<\/a>, and the contest between Begich and Republican candidate Mike Dunleavy has grown much closer<\/a>. While the race has changed, Begich’s views haven’t.<\/p>\n Juneau Access and Second Crossing<\/strong><\/p>\n He said he still would not restart the effort to build a road north from Juneau. When asked about the remaining money from the Juneau Access Project, he said he would like to keep it in Juneau.<\/p>\n “There’s been a lot of talk about the second bridge, which seems to be more compatible in the sense of what people are interested in, and that interests me,” he said. “You know, that’s a good project and probably easier to build.”<\/p>\n He said that’s not a certainty; he’d want to hear from the community first.<\/p>\n The Alaska Marine Highway System<\/strong><\/p>\n Without a road north, what would the ferry system look like under a Begich administration?<\/p>\n “It’s going to be treated like (hard surface) highways. And the first thing is, I don’t support the idea of modeling it like the (Alaska) Railroad,” Begich said.<\/p>\n Two years ago, Southeast Conference (the regional economic development organization for Southeast) signed an agreement<\/a> with the administration of Gov. Bill Walker to create a new long-term strategic plan for the ferry system.<\/p>\n The result of that agreement is the Alaska Marine Highway Reform Project<\/a>, an approach that looks to the Alaska Railroad as a model<\/a> and envisions an independent ferry authority. Rep. Sam Kito III, D-Juneau, introduced legislation<\/a> along those lines this year, but the measure did not advance.<\/p>\n Why does Begich oppose that approach?<\/p>\n “Because the railroad is a profit-making entity and therefore it can sustain all the elements of this idea,” Begich said. <\/p>\n He said he envisions the ferry system as a beneficiary of his proposal to issue general obligation bonds for capital projects across the state. <\/ins><\/p>\n “Whatever the highest priority is,” he said, “if it’s an actual vessel or some deferred maintenance. There are some deferred maintenance at some of the facilities onshore that we have to really deal with.” <\/ins><\/p>\n Alaska will soon have two new Alaska-class ferries in service, but those ships were built to serve the now-canceled Juneau road and are ill-suited for routes beyond northern Lynn Canal because they have no crew quarters, meaning their operating hours are limited. <\/ins><\/p>\n The Alaska Marine Highway System has proposed adding crew quarters to those vessels. Begich said he doesn’t know enough about that idea yet, but he would rely on the advice of the ferry system’s three core user groups (as he sees them): residents, tourists and businesses. <\/ins><\/p>\n Tourism<\/strong><\/ins><\/p>\n Juneau is in the middle of defending itself against a lawsuit brought by the cruise industry, which alleges the city has improperly used passenger fees. The city has spent several hundred thousand dollars defending itself against the lawsuit, which has broad implications for cruise ports across Alaska. The state briefly filed, then withdrew, a letter of support for the city’s position<\/a>. Would a Begich administration offer help to the city?<\/ins><\/p>\n