Anchorage Daily News

All four candidates gunning for Don Young's seat in the U.S. House made their case Friday night for why voters should choose them over the 18-term incumbent.

"I want to restore trust to that office," Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell said at a Hispanic Affairs Council candidate forum in Anchorage.

Parnell also suggested Young could be doing more for an Alaska natural gas pipeline. He said what's missing is a congressional push for the project and that he'd work with the governor to convince members of Congress why Alaska gas is needed.

Parnell and state Rep. Gabrielle LeDoux are running against Young in the Republican primary. Young wasn't at the forum; he was supposed to participate by teleconference from Washington, D.C., but canceled by e-mail on Friday morning.

Young's campaign spokesman didn't return a cell phone message from a reporter Friday, but the forum's organizer said he understood it was a travel schedule conflict and that Young would meet with the Hispanic group later.

LeDoux, of Kodiak, told the crowd that Young has been in Congress since 1973. It's time for a new voice, she said.

LeDoux said an important part of leadership is to never give up. She said she lost her husband and youngest son in an automobile accident in 1992. LeDoux said she didn't even want to get up in the morning afterward, but pushed herself to raise her surviving children and build a successful law practice.

"I know I have been tested," LeDoux said. "I've been through hell and back and because of this I know that I can fight for you, I can fight for all my constituents."

Democrat Diane Benson pointed out that she challenged Young in 2006, when few considered him vulnerable and candidates shied away.

"Nobody else had the courage and willingness to stand up and face him when he wasn't under investigation," she said.

Young is under federal Department of Justice investigation in connection with the Veco Corp. corruption scandal and other issues, but he has not been charged with anything.

Benson also told the forum it's the year of the woman. "Quite frankly, it's time for women to take power, it's time for women to empower," she said.

Benson, whose son lost his legs in Iraq, said maybe the country wouldn't go to war so easily if women had more say. She listed the war as the main reason for high gas prices.

Ethan Berkowitz said he's been "field tested" through 10 years in the state House, most of them spent as Democratic minority leader. He said he's proven his mettle.

Berkowitz seemed most passionate when speaking about alternative energy. He started a renewable energy development company before running for office.

He said Alaska is rich in potential wind, hydro, geothermal, solar and other energy sources. At the same time, he said, the state is suffering more than any other from global warming.

"If we show the rest of the country we have a better way of getting our energy we can exert leadership and have moral authority," Berkowitz told the audience.

Few strong disagreements emerged Friday among the candidates. Moderators mostly asked different questions of each candidate.

The two Republicans, Parnell and LeDoux, expressed different ideas on free trade. A moderator asked LeDoux if she'd support expanding agreements like the North American Free Trade Act. She said she wouldn't, in order to protect American jobs.

Parnell was asked what he thought of allowing Mexican trucks on U.S. highways. He said that is a question of free trade.

"I do support free trade among countries as a way to better our economy and give our people more opportunity for the goods and services they provide," he said.

Find Sean Cockerham online at adn.com/contact/scockerham or call him at 257-4344.

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