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Primary Profiles: District 32

Photo courtesy of Louise Stutes
Credit Photo courtesy of Brent Watkins

Two hats are thrown in the primary ring for the House District 32 seat. Voters on the south side of Kachemak Bay and from Kodiak to Yakutat will see Republican Louise Stutes or Democrat Brent Watkins on the primary ballot Tuesday.

Both live in Kodiak, Stutes since 1980 and Watkins since 1968. Stutes retired after 25 years as owner of the Village Bar. She was elected to the House in 2014. Before that, she was on the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly from 2006 to 2013.

She says it’s crucial for Alaska to have a balanced, sustainable budget. She proposes further cuts to government, but says that the departments of Fish and Game, Education and Public Safety need adequate funding. She is in favor of decreasing oil tax credits, pursuing new revenue generation and looking at using Alaska Permanent Fund earnings to help bridge the budget gap.  

Watkins is a carpenter and organic grower and has worked in the fishing and tourism industries. He’s served on a variety of boards and commissions in Kodiak, and recently attended the Alaska Democratic Convention as a delegate for Sen. Bernie Sanders. He says that clean water, affordable housing, local food production and infrastructure are some of the issues he’d like to address. He’d also like to work toward a moratorium on coal mining and fracking in Alaska.

Both candidates have more information available on their election pages on Facebook.Primary Profiles: District 32

Jenny reports on the Kenai Peninsula Borough and other stories in the Central Kenai Peninsula for KBBI.