newsminer.com

JUNEAU — The primary election is still nearly five months away and the general election is more than seven months away, but state Reps. Mike Kelly, Scott Kawasaki and Jay Ramras of Fairbanks and Woodie Salmon of Beaver already face challenges to their seats.

In House District 10, John Brown of Fairbanks has already raised more than $10,000 for his run against Ramras, according to records filed with the state.

Other challengers include Sue Hull and Schaeffer Cox of Fairbanks and Ward Sattler of Stony River.

Brown, a Democrat, grew up in Washington state but moved to Alaska when he was 18 and worked on the trans-Alaska oil pipeline. He spent 33 years in the construction industry and retired earlier this year from Operating Engineers Local 302, where he worked as business agent.

He is a former president of the Central Labor Council in Fairbanks and current chair of the Boys and Girls Club advisory board.

“Truth be told, I just don’t like the representation District 10’s been getting,” he said Monday.

Brown said he would approach state issues responsibly and focus on resource development, education and public safety.

According to the Alaska Public Offices Commission, Brown had already raised $10,921 as of Feb. 1, mostly from labor unions.

Ramras, a Republican, is serving his second term in the Legislature.

In District 9, Hull is challenging Kawasaki, a Democrat serving his first term.

Hull is a long-time Fairbanks resident serving her second term on the Fairbanks North Star Borough school board. She has served on the state’s board of education and as chair of the borough’s childhood development commission.

She also owns a property management business with her husband.

Hull said she is concerned about the Fairbanks economy and the high cost of energy and wants to help spur development and find cheaper sources of energy.

“We need to be proactive in everything from mining to timber,” she said.

Hull, a Republican, added that she would look first to private industry and individuals rather than public resources to solve problems.

In District 7, Cox is challenging Kelly in the Republican primary.

Cox, who goes only by Schaeffer on his campaign Web site, runs a small residential construction company with his wife. He has lived in Fairbanks since 2000 and is 24 years old.

According to his site, Cox is an advocate of “smaller government, individual liberty and a return to our Constitution.” He described himself Monday as a “young man with old ideas” who didn’t want government to get in the way of people’s individual pursuits.

Cox has never held political office, but helped campaign for Ron Paul during Paul’s bid this year for the Republican nomination for president.

In District 6, Ward Sattler of Stony River has filed as a Republican challenger to Salmon, a Democrat.

Sattler is a former teacher, pilot and electric utility manager.

He said Monday he was concerned about the high cost of energy in rural areas and didn’t think Salmon was doing enough to address it.

Sattler said Rep. Mary Nelson, a Democrat from Bethel and his daughter, has been trying to address the issue but isn’t running for re-election this year.

“We need somebody in the Legislature yelling about rural energy,” he said.

Sattler ran in the Republican primary in 2006 but lost to Carl Morgan, who lost to Salmon in the general election.

Sattler and Cox have officially filed as candidates with the state’s Division of Elections. Hull and Brown have so far only filed paperwork with the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

Other Interior races are still shaping up.

Cynthia Henry of Fairbanks declared in February that she would run for Senate Seat E as a Republican.

Sen. Gary Wilken, a Republican, holds the seat now but is not running for re-election.

Kawasaki and Ramras, who represent the two House districts in District E, both said Monday they hadn’t had time to consider a run for Wilken’s seat.

Candidates have until June 2 to register with the state.

The primary election is Aug. 26.

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