Ralph Samuels

The defining issue in this year's governor's race is who can best help improve our economy and confront the long-term fiscal problems facing Alaska.

In a speech on March 12, former U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens offered his assessment on the prospects for the Alaska Gasline Inducement Act, or AGIA. His verdict: AGIA will fail to produce a large natural gas pipeline to the Lower 48 because a market for Alaska gas no longer exists. At the same time, Sen. Stevens advanced a course of action that mirrors a key platform in my campaign for governor: Build a natural gas bullet line from the North Slope to Fairbanks and Southcentral to deliver affordable, reliable natural gas to Alaskans.

In 2005 the Alaska Legislative Council commissioned a pollster to ask state residents their opinion about whether teenage girls should be required to receive a parent's consent before obtaining an abortion. The result: Almost 80 percent of Alaskans endorsed this concept.