Candidates split on priority areas in Southwest Alaska Senate debate
Southwest Alaska’s Senate district will see new representation in the Alaska State Legislature next year, after the retirement of the state’s longest-serving legislator, Lyman Hoffman. At a forum this week, four candidates offered different views on the district’s most pressing issues, from fisheries to energy and the rising cost of living in rural Alaska. Senate District S, one of the state’s largest districts, spans communities across Western Alaska and stretches to Cook Inlet, Bristol Bay and Aleutian islands that are only accessible by boat and plane. The candidates are Dillingham independent Rep. Bryce Edgmon, who currently serves as House Speaker, Republican Darren Deacon of Kalskag, Democrat Wassilie Guy of Napaskiak and independent Richard “Rick” Robb of Bethel. In the primary election, Edgmon was the frontrunner with 37.9% of the vote, Deacon received 23.9%, Guy received 18.9%…
