Mystrom, working under a contract with the Mat-Su Borough as an economic development adviser, is making the circuit of speaking engagements between Anchorage and Fairbanks to generate support for the rail project.
This week he's speaking to Anchorage and Wasilla Rotary groups and to the Willow Chamber of Commerce Wednesday at 7 p.m. at Eagle Quest Lodge at Deshka Landing.
Mystrom touts the project as an economic boon for Anchorage, Mat-Su, Denali Borough and Fairbanks-North Star Borough residents. In a recent pitch before the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce, he said during this slow and unsteady economy, it's even more imperative that the state invest in projects such as the rail line to provide construction jobs and to take advantage of lower materials and labor costs.
"Think about the difference between spending $275 million for a project like that versus putting $275 million in a reserve account for the state. It'll do a lot better as an economic-development project and be better for the state, better for our kids and grandkids," Mystrom told the Anchorage audience.
Mystrom has some experience pitching big projects. After his service on the Anchorage Assembly ended in 1984, he began a campaign to host the Winter Olympic games in the Anchorage area after watching Sarajevo host them that year.
"I was thinking Anchorage can do that. I didn't know how to do it, but we could do it," he said.
Mystrom recruited supporters and formed a board of directors to coordinate the effort and twice got support from Anchorage voters to make the bid. The city was the U.S. Olympic Committee's choice to host the games more than once but was unsuccessful in its bid before the International Olympic Committee.
The Port MacKenzie Rail project is no Olympic bid, but Mystrom said he sees similarities. While hosting the Olympics would have been a big economic boon for Southcentral Alaska, the rail project has the potential of boosting the economies of four Alaska boroughs and uniting rival cities Fairbanks and Anchorage.
Mystrom talked about the project over coffee in Palmer this week. Below are excerpts.
Q. Why did you pick the Valley as your choice for a second home?
A. My wife and I had been talking about having a second home for a while. We still have a home in Anchorage and always will. We talked about and visited Hawaii, Arizona and Palm Springs. We debated about four years and finally chose Wasilla (on Finger Lake). We love it and spend the majority of our time in summer here, the majority of our time the rest of the year in Anchorage.
Q. I understand Borough Manager John Duffy pursued you for this job after he heard you moved out here.
A. I had known John (Duffy) while I was mayor. John approached me about promoting this project. First of all we talked about economic development. That's an area I'm particularly interested in. So we talked about it at a number of meetings and put together what we thought needed to be done.
Q. What is your role? You're giving 20 to 30 presentations, are you also lobbying the Legislature?
A. I'm not a lobbyist. The limit for a non-lobbyist is 10 hours over a 30-day rolling period. I periodically run into legislators and I'll talk with them. I met with the governor and, I have it on my calendar, we spoke for 22 minutes. I'll be going down to Juneau -- Pat Gamble (president of the Alaska Railroad) and John Duffy and myself.
I'm really limited in what I can do. But my main job is getting the business community and community leadership ... to understand the benefit of this project to Anchorage, to the Mat-Su Borough, to the Denali Borough and the Fairbanks-North-Star Borough. I really look at that as a central Alaska regional economy. They really work together -- they're so intertied.
Q. How is it that an Anchorage mayor is supporting a project in Mat-Su? The two ports are seen as somewhat competitive -- development at Port MacKenzie could affect development at the Anchorage port.
A. I've thought about that a lot and have come to understand, number one, that the Anchorage and Mat-Su economies are really inextricably tied. One-third of all the employed people in Mat-Su come to work in Anchorage.
The Port of Anchorage will always be the most important port to Alaska. No question about it. It handles containerized ships, consumer goods, but what it doesn't have is lots of space. For big piles of coal, for minerals, where are you going to put big piles of ore? I see these ports developing a real strong sister partnership. It makes the whole port system bigger and better.
If this is going to gain jobs for Mat-Su and not gain jobs for Anchorage, I wouldn't be interested.
There's no doubt that there are going to be more jobs in Mat-Su than in Anchorage, but it's not going to be by much.
Rindi White online at adn.com/contact/rwhite or call 352-6709.
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