hour. >> ladies and gentlemen, the governor of the great state of alaska. [applause]

thanks, everybody. the first thing i want to say is thanks for putting up with a little move yesterday. i want to thank you for working with your legislators. thank you very much. so, thank you lieutenant governor and members of the legislature. before i continue i want to do something important and recognize my wife and the mother of our three daughters, my wife of 36 years, first lady.

[applause] i would also like to recognize the members of the cabinet in attendance tonight and could you please stand as well. thanks for everything you are doing. [applause] and to the members of the legislature, welcome and thank you for stepping up. we can never forget why we are here and we are here to serve the people. serving the people of alaska as an educator into governor is one of the greatest honors of my life and a privilege none of us

can take for granted. every year on these nights when we squeeze into the chamber men and women of all backgrounds side-by-side. we are in this together and should never come second to our political differences. i've had the chance to live the alaska dream ever since i set out from pennsylvania more than 40 years ago. i met and married my wife and alaska. we raised over three daughters in alaska. they've gone to the public schools and now they all work at the red dog minds. i know, anyone who's heard me speak about my daughters probably knew i was going to bring up red dog. when i talk about it it isn't just because i'm proud of my daughters for succeeding in the industry that's traditionally been dominated by men. it's also important to talk about because i've seen firsthand how this opportunity is transformed. this opportunity was realized thanks to the people like rose's

father. the first chairman of the board robert's vision was that it's people could walk in his vision that people should benefit from the past into the future. robert didn't believe it. he believed in all of the above. you know what we didn't hear back then? we didn't often hear the concept applied to every resource project in alaska and other opportunities as well. thank goodness we didn't hear back then as we hear today whether it's pebble, anna mar, willow, and the list goes on and on. these tired arguments and false choices are trotted out over and over every time we try to do something that creates jobs and

opportunities. time after time throughout our history, we have had to overcome forces aligned against alaska building our own future. of time after time we've overcome those forces you to prove to the naysayers wrong. the resiliency and determination was and still is a point of pride for many. this is the basis for the most inspirational model i think of anything. north to the future isn't just the motto, it is the directive, the mission statement and roadmap for the alaska dream. we talk a lot about the north to the future but many of the laws and regulations are practices and attitudes unfortunately say something different. it's taken 56 executive actions in the past three years and if

allowed to stand they will turn into nothing more than a giant snow globe with no future other than a place on the shelf. fighting back against the actions but changing attitudes can be harder. many of the forces that worked against alaska in the past few years have come from outside the state. today however many of the forces are sadly coming from inside the state. too many and our great state have gotten very good at saying no. no two opportunities for other alaskans based on a false premise that one person's opportunity is somehow another person's liability. note to mining and oil and gas, harvesting timber, renewables, growing more food, trucks on roads, no to roads period. let us change the attitude.

i stand in front of you tonight as an anomaly is a two-term governor. i didn't run for this office and i certainly didn't win on a platform of no to this opportunity or to that opportunity. i wouldn't be standing here today if i did. we've gone from taking advantage of every opportunity in many cases to working just as hard to prevent opportunities from happening. it was important for me to understand that i had to oppose many of the opportunities as well. i was told that if i didn't it would be my own political peril. i was told bluntly that i would lose the raises and i would lose big. at the same time i was convinced that while i was being told was wrong because that's not what

alaskans wanted. what i found out was instead of the special-interest, it was the lady behind the counter, the guy at the hardware store, the plumber, electrician, the landscaper, they all want to do something different. these are those that tell me time and time what they wanted was opportunities across the board for them, their kids and their grandkids. unlike others alaska can't afford to say no to any opportunity it means less people on welfare or food stamps. it means more families. i came from the working class. my values are with of the working class and i've always had faith in them. these are the people that elected me for two terms.

many elected you and we can't forget that. what they voted for was the chance and opportunity to realize the alaska dream. our job is not to make policy for the special-interest with the rules in the press. they don't need our help. trust me. our job is a voice of the voiceless. we can't let the voices get inside our head into crowd out to those that elected us and expect us to do the right thing for them. how do i know the special interests have turned into a protectionist state? again, because i see some of you may have heard me say this and probably think i'm crazy. i get that. but the fact of the matter is we may be the only state in the country or possibly in the world that doesn't have a number of cranes operating right now building something and creating

a future. and unfortunately, we haven't for some time. think about that. you can go to iceland which i know a lot of you did, and it's working in a country a fraction of the size of alaska and half the population. just a few years ago there were more than 300 construction cranes working in iceland. think about that. why does this matter? the reason there are folks out there that track how many are working is because they are a sign of economic activity and opportunity. they are a sign of opportunity. on the flipside, it is a proverbial canary in the coal mine signaling a lack of opportunities and potentially a lack of future. so why do they have so many working and we don't? they don't have oil. they don't have timber. they don't have gold or copper. they have very little in terms

of the resources that we do. however apparently what they do have are great policies. they take advantage of every opportunity at the resources that they do have. they build roads and power plants. opportunities for jobs, kids, creating wealth, opportunities to build the future. that should be the conversation that we are having here. how do we create opportunities for our kids and grandkids. that's the conversation going on in states like texas, florida. unfortunately including some alaskans because of the opportunities they present. let's face it, people will go where there's opportunities. it's that simple. people will go where they believe and that should be obvious. people are flooding to the

country around the world because of the opportunity we present. but alaska we are not running down every opportunity. sadly we are spending too much energy running off the opportunity instead of embracing it. there are some that will sit back and pat themselves on the back for destroying an opportunity. we may be the only place on the planet that does that and it's a recipe for slow-moving disaster. alaskans voted for opportunity. they want their kids to have an opportunity. so as long as i'm governor, i'm going to work to make sure it's within reach for anyone who wants to pursue it so we can realize our dream of north to

the future. we are in competition for people and that's why we are proposing policies to make alaska the best place to live and have a family. we are uniquely positioned to make sure that of the alaska dream is within reach for anyone who wants it. whether they have roots that extend back for thousands of years or for those who just seek a better life. we need everyone there's no question about it it should be controversial. now there's some radical groups, some people who think fewer people in alaska is a good thing. we've seen the results of the efforts the past 50 years to discourage people from having families and more recently to

restrict and control through social engineering. whether you are a student of history or a casual observer, we can't have the kind of economic activity, growth and technological advancements that have built a civilization over thousands of years without an increasing population. believing in the alternative is basically sovereign suicide. i reject the alternative and i think we all reject the alternative. if we believe we need more people, the work we do here needs to reflect that. the tracking and keeping of people starts with public safety. i think we all know that. it's the number one responsibility for any government and one of the main reasons i ran for office was because alaska was on the wrong track. we immediately began by reducing

and refueled the disastrous policy under that contributed to record-breaking crime waves. these policy reforms are now paying off. the overall rate has declined every year of the administration to some of the lowest levels in 40 years. the budget is up by 81%. we have 88 positions compared to 2018. my proposed budget finds another plus salary increase and also adds funding for four investigators in the indigenous persons unit. there's the kickback we've been collecting dna that's been owed in some cases. of these efforts are helping us crack both cases and bring long-overdue justice for victims. we know we still have work to do. progress is not permanent and we cannot let our guard down.

the proposed budget includes funding for the investigators with of the troopers focused on crime against our children. we must do everything in our power to protect the most vulnerable. we need more troopers like trooper christian. she moved here in 2012 from west virginia with her husband to live at cooper landing. not everyone was cut out for that lifestyle that they loved every second of it and we are thankful they did. she got her masters degree in 2015 and joined in the matthew valley. she worked patrolling them and is an investigator with the child-abuse investigative unit. if we are being honest with ourselves, very few of us could do the work that she's doing. she has to see the pure evil in

the world personified by those who prey on our kids. she has to see the world through the eyes of victims and their families. that they not only deal with of the trauma of the crimes but the process of the secure justice. the work not only, but also through the trauma to the other side. she's received the lifelong connections along the road to recovery for the people she serves. representing the best of alaska and of the troopers she represents the best of all of us. will you please be recognized for your public service. [applause]

thank you for what you do. they see first-hand every day our work is not complete. with a pursuit of justice we will build where we can all feel safe everywhere and criminals can't escape justice anywhere. [applause] another fundamental responsibility of government enshrined in the constitution is to provide for public education. while governors and legislators funded education in the past, what's been lacking in the commitment to ensure students are performing at the level that we expect. for far too long, the drumbeat

for more money is drowned out near every other conversation. the conversation always seems to begin and end only with money. as long as the conversation is only focused on money, it's difficult to discuss improving outcomes. thanks to a single vote in 2022, we have finally started having that conversation about outcomes. as a result of that moment, we are focused on implementing the act to ensure that every student achieves proficiency in reading by the third grade. [applause] we know this can be done. we know they will succeed when they are given the right opportunity and of the right environment. this past november, research from harvard confirmed that alaska's charter school system is the best in the country. that's right, you heard

correctly the charter school system is leading the nation. [applause] this fact should be a cause for celebration. every educator, every administrator and school board member in alaska should be embracing the opportunity to learn from what is proving to be successful. the cultural charter schools and example of that success. in 2004, then a teacher at the elementary approached her colleague about the traditions and values of the native people. after receiving the charter in 2007 the school began operations in a small church. then an old furniture store then a space for ten years followed by a brief stay. sheila now the principal of the school received the keys to the

former elementary last summer. no matter what space they occupied for the past 17 years, the school leaders focused on the academics combined with indigenous values. the values coexist in harmony under the same roof at the charter school. the leadership contributed for the results that made alaska's charter school system the best in the nation. it's not about money. it's not about a student's background of the determines how well one does. it's about the environment, connecting with students, building relationships and valuing the individual. with the right environment and the right approach to learning, our students can succeed beyond our wildest dreams. sheila, her staff, or 282 students are proving it every single day. she was raised in a small village on the yukon river. she is a role model for every

educator, no matter where they teach. so please stand up and be recognized on behalf of your efforts and all those of your staff setting the standards across the country. [applause] sheila, thank you. you've got a lot to be proud of and we are proud of you. when we focus on result, every student, every parent and every teacher will play a role in making alaska the best in the country to receive a public education. the class where the rubber meets the road, where we have the most value. where the students learn to read, to learn math and science and to forge a positive relationship with her teacher. that's why i introduced house

bill 106 and i'm calling on the members of the legislature to provide incentive payments to the classroom teachers. [applause] these payments will be from five to $15,000 per year for the next three years depending on where the teacher teachers. our classroom teachers should be paid well for the work they do investing in just the right thing to do it will also strengthen the ability to recruit in the highly competitive world and i like to go ahead and make a picture right here right now. if you are a classroom teacher in alaska were interested in being one, go online dot alaska teachers and you can see for

yourself the levels of the sentence by school district. if you are teaching and acreage you could earn an extra $15,000 over the next three years if you stay in that $45,000 over the next three years. and if you are a teaching couple in the remote district, you or your spouse can earn an extra $90,000 in those three years. again, -- [applause] you can find all this information online, and we hope you will be able to take advantage of the opportunity when the legislature passes the bill. the legislation will not only put money where it belongs in the pockets of our teachers, it will also be accompanied by valuable research to demonstrate the benefits of the recruitment and retention. it's imperative that the legislation passes this year.

just as we have proven we can be the best at recruiting and retaining classroom teachers nationwide. we must break the cycle of doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. that means putting a focus on outcomes such as reading and it means investing in classroom teachers rather than only a formula. we need great teachers, more teachers, sarah's father served for 24 years and therefore is individually retired. sarah grew up and wanted to be a teacher, an elementary teacher. while there, she asked if she could take an assignment in the school district and when she arrived she was paired up with a mentor. if that name sounds familiar, it's because she is now sarah's

mother-in-law and her families home where she taught for eight years. she teaches preschool, elementary reading, reading interventionist and she runs the stem program. in short, sarah does it all. could you please stand and be recognized for your service on behalf of all classroom teachers? [applause] >> what's heartbreaking sarah isn't just seeing teachers leave but leave the profession entirely. as a fellow educator myself,

this troubles me greatly as well. by focusing on the classroom, we can and we will reverse the cycle of turnovers by doing so we will give our students and our teachers the opportunity to succeed. [applause] for decades we tried education policies based little more than what comes after a dollar sign. i'm asking you to join us in a new approach based on what happens after a student walks into a classroom. we need to prepare our students in the competitive world that we are in and that also includes higher education. before i became governor in the university of alaska was declining, like the conversation today around k-12 the focus back then was mostly about the budget. since taking office we have taken a different approach. we've worked with university leadership to helpful fill their mission. that mission is to prepare students to a job of today such

as nursing and jobs in the future in emerging energy arctic research. unmanned aircraft and so much more. implementing a different approach wasn't easy ant it wasn't popular but like our approach to public safety the evidence shows we are making progress. this falls for the first time in ten years university enrollment is up year over year. [applause] >> the freshman class is up 40% since last fall and 80% of graduates find jobs in alaska within a year. as proud graduate of the university of alaska and parent of two university graduates as well, this is great news. my proposed budget provides additional resources for the university to obtain the highest research certification level available. with your support for these resources the university of

alaska will be a global leader in the research and workforce development we need for today and for tomorrow. [applause] public safety and education are critical to achieving our initiatives to make alaska the best place to live, work and raise a family. just as critical lowering the cost of housing. we will be introducing legislation to eliminate electrical tariff on the railway system that stand in the way of low cost power. by eliminating tariff we will transform into public highway rather than series of toll roads. by doing so -- natural gas,

advance nuclear or abundant renewable resources, we must pursue every opportunity to secure affordable and sustainable supply for alaska. in addition, upgrading the transmission system is another step to reduce the cost of energy and recent reliability. we now have tremendous opportunity to grow. any time without interruption. this project and other necessary infrastructure improvements will take years to complete. it'll require patience and investment and take our skilled

men and women to complete. the project will create jobs that will attract the skilled workforce but keeping the workforce in alaska will require affordable housing. affordable energy and housing are magnets for economic growth and while alaska's population hasn't grown much over the past decade it has relocated. at the same time someone who live on and off at the road system as well as understand the challenges of building affordable housing in rural

alaska. our federal delegation to fund teacher housing in rural areas. program is marking 20th anniversary this year. it's also nearly doubled to $48 million. so with your support, create new mortgage down payment assistant program for alaskans, we estimate the new program will be able to help 1100 to 1300 families purchase the first new home. >> we are also working to lower the price by reducing cost of

materials. we are addressing in part to state lumber grading bill that i was able to sign with your support. we have resources and creating in-state supply chain for critical building material will lead to more and more affordable housing for all alaskans. we are required under the constitution to develop resources for the benefit of all alaskans and where he can do better, we can do much better when it comes to our forest. so consider sweden located at the same latitude as alaska in 2022 the value of their fourth industry was up $18 billion. that's $18 billion sweden realized from the forest industry. they aren't clear-cutting lands and aren't sitting back and watching forests burn. fortunately meanwhile here in alaska we made about 1 million from timber sales last year and also last year we spent almost 90 times that amount or

90 million to stop fires. rather than continue to watch timber resources burn, we are instituting policies to reinforce management. these policies will help prevent fires and stop the spread of disease and create new jobs. [applause]

>> providing for their families and communities. uniquely alaskan way of life. it's the way of life i will always fight to protect every alaskan but we can't rely solely on wild harvest to provide food security for alaskans. we want to produce half of the food we consume through local farming but now rely an import about 90% of what we buy. what happened we took the eye off the ball. it became cheaper to ship a gallon of milk to alaska rather than produce it here. even before the pandemic, most alaskans know what happens, store shelves get stripped down pretty quickly.

work great until they don't. in alaska it's left with abundant clean lands and water and we can develop resources to become food independent once again. [applause] >> that provided everything the family knew including small farm. opportunity that matched love for farming when the state held first auction for ag land

project in 2022. he cleared his land last spring including the sweet corn he had been growing in the backyard with his nama. instead he's proving them wrong. if you don't believe me, you could see for yourself on his coffee farm youtube channel. that's coffee farm youtube channel.

[applause] so i'm going to ask if he would stand up and be recognized so the pioneer of you and all your fellow farmers here in alaska. [applause] >> we are building an environment for opportunity to succeed. over the past year we provided $1 million in feed cost assistance to livestock owners in whether related short falls in 2022. we also paid the freight cost to import 1,000 tons of barely into alaska to feed and sustain livestock herds until last fall

harvesting. this past november, the division of agriculture took another big step to support farmers and ranchers by allocating $1 million to establish reserve in delta. this will allow for larger herds by increasing in-state feed supply. it'll also provide additional market for farmers who want to grow their businesses. also expanding power lines in delta and upgrading roads and bridges to reduce the cost to improve access. we are also updating our cottage food regulations to expand opportunities for home-based food producers. we will reduce risk with legislation we just introduced to increase access to capital through the cultural resolving loan fund. this will also provide premium support for crop insurance. in addition, this legislation will repeal institutional purchasing limit on products for

the next dive years. state dollars should be used to support alaskan producers. [applause] >> i will never forget with a phone call with a warning of shutdown and as i think in the past five years i received a lot of five years presenting alaska with challenges both natural and manmade. i also think about how we have overcome the challenges. we've seen challenges from negative prices for oil and hostile federal administration trying to shut us down. we recovered from a pandemic,

historic earthquake, grand slide, flood, wild fires and typhoon. including 7.1 earthquake in 2018 i've gone governor during 35 state disaster declarations. that averages out to one with every 54 days. as alaskan we know it's not a matter of strikes but win. as governor i also know that i can always count on alaskans to pull together in tough times. i never seize to be amazed at the character resiliency of the alaskans i meet during these times. just before thanksgiving tough times came to wrangle. on the evening of november 20th, massive 450-foot landslide engulfed homes and cut off roads. despite the win, the rain, the cold and the dark the community sprang into action

6 fellow alaskans perished. she and her husband began the adventure in card ofa. cardova. they eventually made it to wrangle where she has continued teaching for another 23 years. along the way, she served two terms in the senate council and ben on the borough assembly. she's a president of the foundation that raises funds to pay travel expenses for alaskans who need treatment for cancer. she also helps raise money for student scholarships and

healthcare careers. mayor gilbert gives back to the community that has given her so much and we are glad she's here tonight. mayor, i'm going to ask you to stand and be recognized for all the hard work you do and the first responders across the state. [applause] >> i want to thank you mayor for what you do. you know, i want to give you a little story here. i know it's beautiful, they have big mountains.

we don't run from them. we face them head on. i wasn't sent here for two terms. we weren't done here to do things the way they've always been done. i want to introduce you to one

of those people that we never see here. her name is janna marshal. we always get service at store. raising a family and making ends meet. matthew was 14 and matthew is here tonight as well. folks like jenna often work when the rest of us are off. they work late at night when our day is over. they get up early and they don't have time to be tired. she's here to remind us all 61 of us in this room who we really

work for. i work for her, you work for her. it's families like jenna's that benefit the most. they are the ones impacted the most. some of the special interest or some members to have press why i wonder why i fight for the pfd or want me to give up on it entirely. reason i fight for pfd it's because it's an alaskan institution and benefits the working families of alaska. [applause] jenna represents thousands, hundreds of thousands of alaskans just like her who don't have the time to think a lot

about politics. now let's be honest, for politicians like us, if there isn't somebody lobbying on your behalf it can be easy to forget about folks likes jenna. if folks like -- if folks like jenna do think about politics, we are just hoping people like us do the right thing by them. jenna wants to get to work on safe roads.

that is of the people, by the people and for the people. [applause] it's not about us, it's about you. [applause] thank you very much, jenna, and thank you for alaskans you're represented here tonight.

we are here to represent every alaskan like jenna to leave, to do the right thing on their behalf and to say yes to opportunities. so to the special interest don't be disappointed if you knock on my door asking me to kill an opportunity, so you'll be knocking on the wrong door. on the other hand, if you have an idea, an opportunity and dream that will benefit forward and benefit alaskans without coming at the expense of fellow alaskans i will meet with you.

nor to the future the choice is really up to us. so thank you and let's work together, folks. [applause] hearing is

just under an hour and a