Editor's note: The below excerpt from this interview is not the full transcript and has been lightly edited for clarity and length. Listen to the full interview with Carrie Harris by clicking on the audio link.
Carrie Harris: I'm Carrie Harris. I've lived in Anchor Point now for 11 years, I moved to Alaska in 1999. I have two kids here, three dogs, and some goats. I'm running because I feel people aren't being represented, and that's it right there. I’m a regular voter, I’ve always voted. But I really feel like they get down in Juneau and they hear us. You can call them, you can talk to them, but they don't necessarily represent us. They kind of just represent whatever their ideas are, and I think we need a voice for the people.
Davis Hovey, KMXT: So we'll just start generally. What would you say are some of your top priorities if you were elected to the Alaska Senate?
Harris: My top priority is to get trawl out of the water. Those trawl nets need to go. We can't continue to sacrifice our fisheries to trawl, and I understand that the biggest amount of damage is done in the federal waters. However, there is damage being done in our waters also, and that damage matters. You know, fishing is not just for the commercial boats. The rivers are being closed. That also affects individuals' freezers. It also affects our tourism because, that's why we have tourism in this area, it's to fish. And if they can't fish, they're not coming, and they're not spending that money here.
KMXT: And so, just to be clear, when you say you want to get trawling out of the water, that goes for Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands trawling, Gulf of Alaska trawling, like all across the board no trawling? Or just in specific areas?
Harris: I want it across the board.
KMXT: Switching topics to transportation and the ferry system, the Alaska Marine Highway System has, of course, had funding issues and been plagued by aging vessels and infrastructure. What's your stance on funding the Alaska Marine Highway System, and how do you approach supporting that, or maybe even changing the system?
Harris: I support funding the ferry system fully. That's an important economic driver. We need to be able to move. We need to be able to move our vehicles. We need to be able to move products a little bit better, and I know the Alaska Marine Highway System doesn't do like large shipments, but I honestly think maybe they should start allowing a little bit more of that. I know that has some issues with the grant funding because they're not supposed to be shippers. But we've got to have the ferry system, and yeah, we do need more ferries. We need more of them.
KMXT: Talking more broadly about fiscal responsibility and a fiscal plan. How do you sort of approach the balance for, the need for more revenue in the state, but also it seems the strong desire from Alaskans not to have, you know, a state income tax or state property tax, et cetera. How do you approach generating more revenue for the state without adding more taxes?
Harris: If you look at the total cost, I think we're looking at about $1.1 billion of needed infrastructure just in [Senate] District C, and that's from revamping the docks and the ports, to adding ferries, and honestly, I think we're going to have to push Uncle Sam to help out a little bit more. You know, we became a state in 1959. Other states that have these ferry systems, they've been getting federal funds since the 1800s, so we're a little bit further behind. And I really do believe Uncle Sam should be helping out a little bit more on this funding.
KMXT: Could you kind of explain where you stand on, as the PFD currently exists, where you stand on paying that out, how much should be paid out, and how you balance that with paying for other state government services?
Harris: It’s not an either-or situation. When the PFD goes into the earnings reserve account, the people’s portion of it should be removed before the budget is even looked at…
That budget, there's a lot of areas that need some cuts. I know nobody likes to hear that, but there are. You know, we have 54 school districts. That's 54 superintendents. That's 54 HR departments. That's 54 payroll departments. Those can be consolidated. I'm not talking about consolidating the schools. I'm talking about consolidating the administration, and that's just one area where consolidation can happen.
I truly believe if you really start looking, you can find a lot of areas that can be cut or changed, and we need to look at things as: is this a want or is it a need? And then when we cut out the wants and we look at the needs. We need to look at the needs and say: is this the most efficient way to provide?
