Editor’s note: Pierce did not respond to the questionnaire until mid-October, after the other candidates’ responses were already published.

(Editor’s note: Grunwald dropped out of the race on Oct. 26 after Pierce was sued for sexual harassment. Her name still appears on the ballot.)

Edie Grunwald, 59, lives in Palmer. She served as chair of the Alaska Board of Parole for three years (2019-2022), and state director of the Selective Service System for two years (2019-2021). Prior to that, Edie served for 31 years in the United States military. She has a master’s in strategy in national and military security from the Air War College and a master’s in business organizational management from the University of LaVerne.

Look at the state budget, our economy, our education scores and the unemployment rates in our state. In some of these categories Alaska ranks dead last. Look at the broken relationships between the governor and the Legislature. There is no sense of urgency to change anything. Our current government is simply not getting the job done. I believe I can, and that’s why I’m running for governor.

It’s all about relationships. Right now, the Legislature and the governor’s office will not work together, and the result is the deadlock we’ve been seeing. I would find at least 21 House members and 11 senators and focus on building a relationship with each one. I’d invite them over to dinner — let’s break bread together, and talk. We can agree to disagree, but let’s at least start the conversation. I’ve proven I can do this as mayor. For six years, I worked with an assembly where five of the nine members were ideologically opposed to me. Nevertheless, we found a way forward and made positive changes in our borough. It can be done.

Case in point: I was at the Kodiak Crab Fest this year, and there was no crab! Our depleted ocean harvests are killing our coastal communities. I would do everything I could to restrict the trawler bycatch that’s killing millions and millions of our fish. Outside of state waters, I’d work closely and urgently with the federal government to shut down this annihilation of the ocean’s harvest. We need to return to true science on this issue. It’s been a political football for too long. We used to have more biologists who truly studied this problem; now we’re just making assumptions about what’s causing our fisheries to decline, and one group blames the other. What’s the science? We need to hire the best biologists and make our predictions based on real data.

We must first go back to funding what the state government is required by state statute to do. Then when there is surplus, we can evaluate supplying the other “wants.” As a state, our administrative burden is utterly top heavy. For example, in education, 70% of funds go toward administration, while only 30% gets to teachers and students. This ratio needs to be flipped! Let’s get creative and incentivize saving. Offer department heads a 15% bonus if they can come up with a 15% savings in their department. If a department has money left over at the end of a budget year, don’t spend it. During my 28 years at ENSTAR, I used the same furniture I had inherited from Perry Johnson. It was wood furniture that I had reupholstered, and it was functional. Another example — we started fostering a safety culture within the Kenai Peninsula Borough. In the first eight months, the number of reported safety incidents dropped 40% to 60%. Obviously, our employees’ safety was the focus, but it’s a fact that fewer safety incidents also saved the borough money. Our state government spending could be balanced within five years. As governor, I will make the tough decisions and use the line-item veto. We simply can’t spend $140 for every $120 barrel of oil we produce. Alaska has been “for rent” to the highest-paying special interest groups for decades now. This must stop. There will be no quid pro quo under a Pierce/Grunwald administration.

(Editor’s note: School districts budgets are set locally and vary. For example, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, in the borough where Pierce was mayor, spent 14% on school and district administration in 2021-22 and 71% on instruction and student support. The Anchorage School District spent 10% on administration and 75% on instruction and student support.)

The fund’s original formula needs to be protected within the Alaska state constitution. Our legislators simply lack the will to balance the state’s budget or respect the original intent of the Alaska Permanent Fund. As stated earlier, too many of their votes are “for rent” and are going to special interest groups. We need a constitutional convention to protect the Permanent Fund and establish a spending cap that the Legislature cannot ignore. Additionally, those who champion withholding the PFD for state spending need to be honest about the fact that they are taxing every qualifying man, woman and child in the state. They have violated the original “contract” made with the people at statehood when individuals were denied subsurface rights on their property.

There needs to be a spending cap established for campaigns. I propose looking to the last election expenditures for a baseline. Identify the highest and lowest totals spent by campaigns for each office, and then set the median as the next election’s spending cap. People want to know where all the “dark money” is coming from; let’s start by limiting how much can be spent.

(Editor’s note: The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently invalidated campaign spending limits.)

Government can respond to the weather. It can’t control it.

This issue has finally been returned to each state for its citizens to decide. I want to see a constitutional convention, where elected delegates come together to hash out Alaska’s answer. As governor, I will work to remove the barriers to adoption. Consider all the legal fees, travel expenses, home studies and medical costs of pregnancy and delivery. This is where the state government can encourage and support mothers, children and adopting families to work together toward building a stronger Alaska.

I will evaluate existing programs and make improvements and adjustments as needed.

I respect the tribes’ will and ability to be sovereign and to govern their affairs. My administration will seek out regional liaisons to report directly to the state governor. Alaska is wonderfully diverse, and all our people need to be heard.

Other issues near to my heart include the urgent need to completely overhaul the Office of Children’s Services, support medical freedoms, see the judicial selection process revised through a constitutional convention, move the Legislature to the road system, support parents’ rights in their child’s education, and streamline our elections process. I’m also keenly aware of the need for Alaska to be less reliant on the “outside” for our daily survival. Most of us are now aware of the state’s food insecurity, but what about other materials? For example, we currently import 90% of our lumber, either from Canada or the Lower 48. I want to see a permitting process created through DNR, where we can grade our own lumber and harvest from Alaska’s state and federal lands.

No. He was confirmed by Congress, but there was an organized effort to undermine the people’s will in the 2020 election. Watch the movie “2000 Mules” for documented evidence.

(Editor’s note: The claims made in “2000 Mules” have been widely debunked.)

No. It’s too confusing and does nothing to encourage faith in the results. Alaskans need to know and be certain that their vote was counted correctly. In fact, I’d like to see more simplicity in our voting system. Why do we have multiple election days, with municipal and borough, state, and federal elections occurring on various days? We should have one election day (not month), end vote-by-mail and start hand-counting our ballots.

Yes. Just look at the results produced by our Legislature. They are not listening to the voice of Alaskans, but rather special interests. The constitutional convention is a safe method provided by our forefathers to reign in an out-of-control government.

No. I would find savings through budget cuts. I did this while mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough through hiring and travel freezes and incentivized budget controls. There are only 300,000 of us who work in Alaska; new taxes would hardly put a dent in our overspending and would cripple our economy. Instead, we need to strengthen our private sector, which can then support the non-revenue generating sectors of our economy.

No. The amount of CO2 released into the air during the lightning-caused wildfires a couple years ago was more than what 100 years of automobiles has produced. But if we want to move toward using more electric vehicles, etc., let’s at least be realistic about it; it can’t be done in 10 years without completely shutting down our economy. Perhaps shoot for a goal of 40 or 50 years, but also acknowledge that hydrocarbons or nuclear power will always be part of maintaining our electrical grid.

(Editor’s note: Wildfires do not emit more carbon dioxide than vehicles. Learn more from the Air Quality Research Center here and from PolitiFact here.)

Pierce and his wife, Vonnie, are the campaign’s biggest donors. They gave a combined $28,633 in monetary and in-kind donations. Shelia Pollard, owner of Pollard Wire, donated $10,300.

Data drawn from APOC Campaign Disclosure Reports using all income disclosures for report year 2022 until Nov. 3, 2022.