Community Questionnaires

February 13, 2026

During the campaign, many community advocacy groups and NGOs submit questionnaires to the candidates. Many of the questionnaires are kept internal for the purpose of endorsement or campaign support. Because there are many important questions for rate payers to consider when making their choice on who to vote for, I've received permission to repost my answers to these questionnaires. The group names have been removed so only the questions so you can see my answers.

1. What is your experience with the CEA board? Have you attended or participated in CEA board meetings or committee meetings?

I have attended board meetings in person and virtually. At the moment, I attend virtually and listen to the audio postings after the meetings to fit into my schedule.

2. Chugach Electric Association (CEA) is the largest electric utility in Alaska. What is your ideal vision for member-owner engagement? How do you plan to engage CEA’s extensive member-owner base in their cooperative, and do you have any suggestions for increasing transparency and member engagement in Board meetings?

My vision for member-owned engagement is connecting with members in the way that they communicate. Social media has allowed diverse channels for communicating information and receiving feedback that don’t require additional hurdles to be overcome. Currently I write articles and Op-eds for Must Read Alaska on energy related issues and plan to continue through the campaign and even after, win or lose, because I think its important to educate people on what is happening. To increase transparency, there should be no reason to conduct business in close session unless it deals with an HR issue or other confidential manner that is not ready for public release.

3. What improvements do you think could be made to foster meaningful Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) participation and increase the accessibility of board meetings?

I wouldn’t make any changes because the board meetings are conducted openly in person or online. Notifications are made through the mail and through email of board meeting. I do not see any limits to access of the board meetings.

4. What strategies would you propose to meaningfully incorporate the Native Village of Eklutna and other Indigenous communities within the Chugach Electric service area into CEA's decision-making processes, particularly regarding energy infrastructure, land use, and resource management?

Understanding that they are rate payers, I see no reason to engage them any differently than any other rate payer or group of rate layers. When it comes to decision making, their opinions are important but not paramount to the other 90,000 members in the service area. Chugach should make decisions for the best interest of all rate payers that make energy more reliable and more affordable. If the indigenous communities are aligned with that, then there would be no issue. If their opinion runs counter to that, they will be heard but will need to defend it based on the technical data and financial strength of the counter point. Even then, Chugach reserves the right to act in a way that is in the best interest of all the rate payers.

5. CEA is one of three parties responsible for addressing the impacts of the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project on fish and wildlife habitat. Because the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project infrastructure doesn't release water, wild salmon are unable to migrate through the majority of the river system.

Do you support river restoration with fish passage to the lake and adequate flows in the Eklutna River in order to support the revitalization of wild salmon for the benefit of Native Village of Eklutna and area residents? If so, how should CEA move toward making that a reality?

I support the owners plan of using the portal valve to restore flows in the river. This is consistent with the 1991 agreement where the purchasers agreed to implement all provisions that do not require major capital expenditures.

6. The 2023-2027 Strategic Plan states Chugach Electric will "reduce its carbon intensity (Metric Tons CO2/MWh) by at least 35% by 2030 and at least 50% by 2040 using 2012 as a baseline year without a negative material impact on Chugach members' rates." Do you agree with the goals and timelines as stated in the strategic plan? Do you have policy and project suggestions for how continued emissions reductions can be achieved?

I do not agree with these goals and timelines. I do not think emissions need to be reduced because it has yet to be quantified that the amount of money spent reducing emissions actually achieves the desired outcome. 3% of emissions are attributed to human industry. Alaska produces 58M tons of emissions which is 1% of the US total where China makes up 27% of the global total of emissions. I will pursue policies to eliminate decarbonization from the strategic plans so the organization can focus reliability and efficiency. With the elimination of the EPAs Endangerment Finding, there is no barrier to pursue coal power projects to increase firm baseload power. The same goes for hydro and nuclear. Many of these sources have high thermal efficiencies and high reliability that will do more to reduce emissions in the long run that attempting to emissions limitations on legacy equipment.

7. In 2022, the percentage of Chugach Electric’s renewable power generation was 19% (from wind and hydro sources). Chugach issued an RFP in 2021 to develop an additional 100,000 MWh of renewable energy generation, equal to 4.5% of total generation, resulting in a total of 23.5% renewable energy generation with no specific timeline. To date, no new renewable generation has been added as a result of this RFP. Do you support the adoption of a robust Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) for the railbelt with specific goals and consequences for noncompliance?

I do not support adopting a robust Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS).

8. How can CEA better partner with local municipalities and boroughs to achieve increases in renewable energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency in their service area?

There are many options available to the individual should they want to pursue renewable energy, clean transportation, and energy efficiency on their own. CEA’s mission should maintain affordability and reliability even if an individual wants to pursue those options. The partnership should come in the form of managing risk where the utility can clearly articulate the power margins and response times during extreme weather conditions. CEAs goals should be zero interruptions and reliable and dispatchable redundancy so the municipalities can deploy essential services that rely on the power available. 

9. The Railbelt Reliability Council has been established to ensure a regional approach to planning and standards. As a member of the RRC, what policies and projects can CEA support for the diversification and development of renewable energy sources? Please speak to the Integrated Resource Plan currently in development by the RRC.

The Railbelt Reliability Council should not focus solely on renewable energy sources. Given the scale of generation under consideration, sources like nuclear, coal, and natural gas fired plants should be considered as part of the baseline. If the intent is to lower the long-term cost, increase reliability, and encourage demand growth, the economy of scale and thermal efficiency needs to be on equal footing.

10. Home renewable energy and energy efficiency improvements have long been investment opportunities inaccessible for low-income families and renters. Tariffed On-Bill financing (TOB) presents an opportunity for broader demographics to invest. Do you support CEA undertaking a TOB program?  MARK ONE: YES / NO / MAYBE 

(Optional: 100 word explanation)

No. Given the current programs and legislation there is a higher risk that low-income families or renters will be perpetually paying a tariff on these upgrades at a varying rate. The objective is to provide a path to reducing costs for the rate payer and this program creates a subscription program instead of a loan for an investment.

11. Hilcorp has stated that it cannot guarantee providing natural gas after 2027. How will you go about identifying and executing a response to the natural gas shortage crisis that takes sustainability, cost, and reliability into effect?

First there is no gas shortage. The DNR-DOG stated as recently as November that the producers, CEA included, have had more success investing in their drilling programs which in turn netted high gas volumes and reserves placed in to storage. There is a contract shortage which is an effect of decarbonization. CEA needs to refocus their efforts on maintaining and adequate supply plus reserve of gas to its thermal fleet, this is operational discipline. Because of this deincentivization of buying gas to burn coupled with federal subsidies being removed for wind and solar projects, CEA has put itself in a difficult negotiating position on contracts for gas supply. This may mean putting off other investments or reallocating resources but it is necessary to make sure firm commitments are in place for gas since it is the largest source of energy in the portfolio. CEA has the ability to incentivize the producers so they can keep up their drilling campaigns and not lose pace. The delay in drilling can be the difference in a winter blackout scenario.

12. Chugach Electric Association pays lobbyists to advocate for or against bills like Annual Net Metering. What are your top state legislative priorities related to energy?

HB247/SB120 Climate Change Commission, HB 259 Large Energy Facilities, HB271 Kitchen Lights Unit Royalty Modification, HB284/SB227 Tax Compact, Sales Tax, Oil & Gas Tax, SB 91 Large Scale Clean Energy Projects, SB92 Corp. Income Tax, Oil & Gas Entities, SB112 Oil & Gas Production Tax, SB114 Gas Pipeline Fairbanks Spur, SB125 AK Gasline Finance Corporation, SB149 Renewable Portfolio Standard, SB180 LNG Import Facilities. All these pieces of legislation will have a direct or indirect impact to CEA and the rate payers.

13. In 2023, the Board agreed to revisit the issue of a more energy-efficient rate design in the future. Do you support creating a new rate design focused on energy efficiency?

On an industrial scale looking at thermal efficiency and distribution, yes. On a member-by-member basis, no.

14. In a scenario where the Board agrees to pursue a course of action that is counter to the wishes of Chugach Electric management, how will you provide direction and influence policies to ensure CEA management and staff comply with and actively pursue Board policies?

In this scenario, I would help clarify how this course is set up to achieve the intended outcome. This will take relating it to the mission and vision of the company that likely has some strategic value where the CEA management may not be fully aware of all the details. This also requires having discussions throughout the organization to understand their concerns. In my experience, top-down decisions do not go over well with the workforce unless the workforce has had a chance to provide their feedback on issues. This also impacts the rate payers since they own the coop. Compliance cannot be achieved unless there is a belief throughout the organization that the mission is worth pursuing. Commitment is the objective because it gives ownership to the people, the management, and owners to support the action.

15. When there comes a moment where you disagree with the proposed or actual actions of the majority of the Board, how comfortable are you speaking up in a meeting to push back against the prevailing opinion?

Very comfortable.

16. Do you support organized labor, and, more specifically, the right of workers (both public and private) to form a union and collectively bargain? MARK ONE: YES / NO

        (Optional: 100 word explanation)

        A worker has the right to know, the right to question, and the right to refuse work conditions they are asked to perform. Whether this takes place through an organized union or through the administration of HR and Safety programs, both can serve a purpose. I support an individual’s choice to join a union or to be independent, they have to do the best for their personal circumstance and should not be treated any different.