Lieutenant governor candidates vow to carry out Ballot Measure 2, split on what comes next

At a Commonwealth North forum Thursday, three of the four candidates for Alaska lieutenant governor promised to carry out whatever voters decide on Ballot Measure 2, then split on how to fix the problems rural voters ran into this year and on what they would want from their governor on day one.

Alaskans elect the governor and lieutenant governor as a ticket, and most voters "never hear the second name on the ballot speak for more than a few seconds," said moderator Jon Bittner, opening the virtual forum held by the policy group Commonwealth North. But the lieutenant governor runs the Division of Elections, which would carry out Ballot Measure 2 if it passes. And the lieutenant governor becomes governor if the governor cannot serve, as Keith Miller did in 1969 and Sean Parnell did in 2009.

Registered Republicans Josh Church and Candi English and nonpartisan Zac Johnson took part, according to the forum's recording. Church is running with Dave Bronson, English with Treg Taylor and Johnson with Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins. Michael Shower, Bernadette Wilson's running mate, did not attend. Election Day is Nov. 3, and early voting is open.

Ballot Measure 2 would bring back party primaries and single-choice general elections, replacing the top-four primary and ranked-choice general election voters approved in 2020. It would also repeal campaign disclosure rules passed with them.

Church called the question "a really easy one." "Whether it passes or not, I'll administer it," he said.

English said a repeal would be handled "professionally with transparency before the 2028 election." "My job isn't to pick winners," she said. She did not say how she would vote.

Johnson said he will vote no, calling himself a fan of ranked-choice voting and, as an independent, of open primaries. If the repeal passes, he said, his job would be to implement it in good faith, "rolling our system back to where it was some years ago."

Their tickets answered a related question in writing. Asked in a Tanana Chiefs Conference questionnaire whether they support keeping open primaries and ranked-choice voting, Bronson and Church answered, "Absolutely not." Kreiss-Tomkins and Johnson answered yes. The Taylor-English and Wilson-Shower tickets declined to answer.

The question about rural voting came with recent examples. In the August primary, 75 absentee ballots cast in person in rural communities, including Kotzebue, Naknek and Igiugig, arrived too late to be counted because of mail delays. The Division of Elections has since rerouted those ballots to its Anchorage office instead of Nome.

Johnson cited one of them: a Naknek voter's ballot that reached Anchorage, was sent back to Nome and missed the deadline. He also cited Nunapitchuk, where polls did not open until 5 pm on primary day. He pointed to Senate Bill 64, which passed the Legislature but was vetoed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy. The bill called for online ballot tracking, a way for voters to fix a rejected ballot and a rural community liaison. Johnson also called for counting votes closer to where they are cast and more language help.

English said mail problems hit rural Alaskans hardest and called for faster processing and a chance to fix ballot mistakes before Election Day. She also called for a review of voter rolls and audits of third-party election vendors.

Church called for a chain of custody "from the point that vote happens all the way till it's counted." He said he would try to visit all 402 of the state's voting communities.

Asked what assignment they would want from their governor on day one, each named something different.

Church, a Fairbanks financial adviser and former Marine, said he would work on growing the economy, including selling more state land. He also wants more people with investment experience on the Alaska Permanent Fund Corp. board, arguing the fund pays too much in fees.

English, who spent 20 years with ARCO on the North Slope and founded Northern Solutions, a machine shop in Anchorage and Deadhorse, said she would ask Taylor to put her in charge of a statewide competitiveness initiative on energy, infrastructure, housing and workforce.

Johnson, an Anchorage Assembly member and former Alaska State Trooper, would take public safety. He said the state had about 50 empty trooper positions when he was hired in 2013 and has about the same number now. He called for a return to defined-benefit pensions and adequate funding for the village public safety officer program.

On closing a budget gap, Church and English both said they would build a zero-based budget, justifying every line from scratch. Johnson pointed to new revenue, including Senate Bill 113, which he said would have captured taxes from large online retailers, and having S corporations in the oil and gas industry contribute.

Asked which past lieutenant governor they most admire, Church and Johnson both named Jack Coghill, a delegate to Alaska's constitutional convention. Johnson also named Fran Ulmer, and English named Miller.