Neal Foster files for House District 39 re-election

State Representative Neal Foster filed for re-election in House District 39. The Democrat emphasized his seniority and his work on rural energy assistance, dividend payments, and senior benefits.

Foster has served in the Alaska State House since 2009. He currently co-chairs the House Finance Committee. He said his seniority will make him the top-ranking legislator in the 40-member chamber next year.

Foster described that position as essential to countering urban districts that he said try to take rural funding. He wrote that there are only four rural districts. The only way to overcome 36 urban votes, he said, is to occupy influential positions.

Foster cited his role in securing a $3,284 Permanent Fund Dividend in 2022. He also pointed to creating the Alaska Heating Assistance Program and fully funding the senior benefits program to pay elders $3,000.

He said he has stopped attempts to dismantle the rural electric assistance program. Losing that program would cost rural households upwards of $3,500 more per year for electricity, he said. He also said he is fighting to get subsistence seats on the Board of Fish so families can put food on the table while living a traditional lifestyle.

Foster said the Alaska Heating Assistance Program could provide many rural families over $4,000. It is paid out like the dividend.

In legislative testimony, Foster described fuel supply as a concern for western Alaska communities that rely on it for heating and electricity.

The candidate statement was filed in accordance with AS 15.58.030 and 6 AAC 25.690. The Division of Elections does not endorse the views expressed in candidate statements.