Republican Senator Gary Stevens ran unopposed in this year’s race for the Senate District P seat. He received nearly 97 percent of the vote.
Stevens says he’s pleased.
“There was not an opponent, so that makes a little different election than most, but still I hope folks believe I’ve been doing a good job, and they’ve trusted me to do this for four more years. So, it’s really a privilege. It’s an honor to represent this district," he said.
He says one of his priorities moving forward is to maintain high quality education while reducing cost. He also has an eye on the committees he’d like to join.
“I really hope I can do Budget and Audit. Half of the members are the Senate, half are the House. All of the finances go through Budget and Audit. And then they also audit issues that need to be looked at and find out if we’re spending money in the proper ways, and so I’m looking forward to that. We’ll see if that turns out to be the case," he said.
Stevens also commented on President Elect Donald Trump.
“You know, I’m hoping the new administration will be pro-resources, pro-resource development. That is where Alaska is. And I think that bodes well for Alaska to have Donald Trump there in terms of making sure that we move ahead on gas and oil development as well as fisheries. We are a resource state and we really need to have this government pay attention to that," he said.
Senate District P includes the southern Kenai Peninsula, Kodiak, Tyonek and Cordova.