Candidates for Alaska governor and the US House and Senate will face off in Kodiak next week in two debates that feature a single topic: Alaska’s seafood industry. The fish debates will be broadcast live on Alaska public radio stations and via web-streams.
For nearly 40 years the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce has hosted fishery debates where candidates take the stage at the Kodiak High School Auditorium to share their knowledge and ideas about Alaska’s oldest industry. Fishing is the state’s largest private employer and seafood is its top export by far.
All of the candidates will be grilled by a Kodiak panel of fishery experts and stakeholders. Debate moderator is Alaska Senator Gary Stevens of Kodiak..
Leading candidates for Alaska governor are first up to “talk fish.” on Wednesday, September 9th at 6pm.
Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a former state representative from Sitka, and Anchorage business woman Bernadette Wilson, a Republican, will face off in a “one-hour plus” debate. Republican candidate and former Anchorage mayor, Dave Bronson, will miss the fish debate as “he is traveling to see family,” said Kodiak Chamber director Ellen Simeonoff.
Next into the fishery frying pan three days later are the leading candidates for House and Senate seats in the US Congress.
On September 12 starting at 11am, Republican House incumbent Nick Begich III and non-partisan candidate Bill Hill will field questions from the Kodiak fishery panel. Begich is seeking a second two-year House term in Congress. Bill Hill of Naknek in Bristol Bay is a lifelong fisherman and was 2023 Alaska Superintendent of the Year.
The candidates for US Senate will follow and have the final say on the fishery debate stage.
Senator Dan Sullivan of Anchorage, a 12-year incumbent, is vying for another six-year term. Joining him will be Democrat rival Mary Peltola, a former Congresswoman who hails from the Kuskokwim region.
Both the US House and Senate debates will run”for an hour or more,” Simeonoff said.
The Kodiak fishery debates have grabbed a lot of attention, she added, from around the state and from national media.
Find the fishery debates live on KMXT 100.1FM, statewide through Alaska Public Media and live streamed at kmxt.org and kodiakchamber.org.
