My wife and I love the Mat Su Valley. Both of us grew up here, and this is where we have chosen to raise our son. It is our home.
Being here before the pipeline days, I remember just how hard it was to make ends meet. After the pipeline it seemed money was everywhere, and our State started spending and spending. Our spending is now out of control and must be brought into line with projected revenue.
Being a business owner, conservative, and former mayor, I know what it is to meet payroll, and how to balance a budget. States are no different, and this knowledge and experience will help me work efficiently and effectively in the legislature.
We must get back to a needs based government. This may require changes to laws and regulations to make it easier to create more jobs, to permit infrastructure construction to occur, and may necessitate changing our tax structure to encourage companies to create jobs. Only by promoting the creation of new economic development and diversity will we have a more balanced economy. By having a balanced and diversified economy we can have a balanced State budget that is not tied solely to the price of oil.
The Matanuska-Susitna Borough is Alaska’s fastest growing community, in fact, it is the 42nd fastest growing community in the United States. This growth is attributable to the region’s high quality of life, affordable land and homes. However, District 10 has a tremendous need for local jobs and new infrastructure. Too many of our neighbors are out of work, and we are forced to drive on far too many unpaved roads.
Sometimes, just like in business, financial investment is required to get to the next level of growth. Even with State and local projects coming on line, we are way behind the curve. We see it every day with traffic delays, torn up roads and we wonder what is next? The Department of Transportation (DOT) is using a 25 year old plan that “we have simply outgrown.” Changes to this plan have to be made for both the residents and businesses sake! This balance between DOT and our residents is what I will work for as your Representative.
The development of Port Mackenzie and the railroad extension puts us in the unique position to become the transportation crossroads for interior Alaska. Add in the Goose Creek Correctional Center and Knik Arm Bridge Crossing, and we have the potential for creating hundreds of high paying jobs and lowering the unemployment rate here in the valley. Yet, our district is so large that what might be good and reasonable for the southern part of the district, may not work for upper Susitna. Listening to, and working with, each area will be a priority of mine.
As District 10 Representative I will fight for you in Juneau to make these much needed changes. We cannot keep playing catch up on our infrastructure or keep spending without being fiscally responsible. We need a strong dedicated legislative body representing all of us in Juneau. The quality of life in District 10 and the Mat Su is what it is all about.
“If we don’t look at the future, we’re going to make the same mistakes we have in the past. By the time change comes, it’s too late to plan.”
I ask for your support.
Respectfully,
Roger Purcell
Candidate Alaska House of Representatives District 10