Knowles will not challenge Murkowski’s right to name replacement

In his farewell speech to Anchorage Chamber, Governor says budget cuts and opening resources not enough; change is needed

Jen Ransom

Staff Writer

Gov. Tony Knowles will not challenge Sen. Frank Murkowski’s right to name a replacement to the U.S. Senate if Murkowski is elected governor, Knowles said in his farewell speech to the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce Sept 16.

Two years ago the Alaska Legislature passed legislation enabling a sitting senator to name his own replacement, and the out-going governor said he would respect that policy.

While presenting his speech at the chamber’s Make it Monday Forum, Knowles did his best to stay away from the political race between Murkowski and Lt. Gov. Fran Ulmer. When asked about his own plans for the future, he replied only that he and his wife, Susan Knowles, were looking forward to moving back into their own home in Anchorage, and that he was planning to change his voter registration back to his own district.

Knowles did, however, go into some detail on his ideas for Alaska’s future.

“Cutting the budget and opening resources will not fix everything,” said Knowles. “We need a change.”

Knowles said he believes that change includes making the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline Project a reality. Happy that the gasline now has bipartisan support in the U.S. Congress, Knowles said the project was “clearly moving forward to getting the gas to market.”

He said that in order to do that, there are three major things that have to be done.

First, the Alaska government must continue to work with the North Slope gas owners – BP, ExxonMobil and ConocoPhillips.

Second, the government has to continue to look at the project components, streamlining plans in order to make the project viable.

Third, Congress must pass legislation that allows the Alaska Highway Gas Pipeline Project to go forward.

Knowles said that he will continue to press for the gas project to be approved by Congress this year. He said that incentives for energy companies to invest in the project must be addressed by Congress, and are important in the gas pipeline project’s success.