November 03, 2004
Wednesday

With the 2004 campaign season now behind us, it is now time for Alaska's elected leaders to focus their energies and attention on the issues that face our great state. We have a big task ahead - and I look forward to working with legislators in moving this state forward on the course that we set two years ago.

The Alaska voters who cast a ballot in the 2004 general election deserve special recognition for fulfilling what we all should agree is the most important civic responsibility in any free democracy.

We should also extend our gratitude to the candidates, irrespective of their party affiliation, for their willingness to step forward and take an active role in improving our great state.

Alaskans sent a strong message to our elected officials. Voters want a strong economy that produces good paying jobs, responsible resource development, a responsive and fiscally responsible state government, and high-performing, accountable schools.

Voters saw fit to retain Republican control of both houses of the Legislature and they've told us that they believe the course on which we have embarked is the right course for economic growth.

Recognizing the tremendous job the Delegation did in moving a gas pipeline through Congress, voters affirmed that a united Republican delegation is best for Alaska-returning Don Young to his powerful seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and sending Lisa Murkowski back to Washington to continue the good job she has already begun.

During this election, I found myself the frequent focus of pointed remarks by some Democratic lawmakers. I believed all along that this election was about Alaskan issues and values, about which candidates would stand up for those values and about which party would most effectively move Alaska forward to jobs and prosperity.

The campaigns are over, the political theater is now yesterday's news. The only way we will move forward, to build the gas pipeline, to open ANWR, to open new mines, to rejuvenate the timber and fishing industries, to expand tourism, to fund and improve our schools, to keep our communities safe, is by putting partisanship aside and standing together as Alaskans.

I now stand ready to work with lawmakers on both sides of the aisle, to do what is right for Alaska. My administration will continue the job we began two years ago-working hard to create the kind of economy that gives Alaska's families jobs for today, and hope for the Alaska of tomorrow.

 

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