Ward Sattler enters the race for House District 6 again
May 2, 2008
Tim Bodony (KIYU)
 

Original audio version of the story, as heard in the May 2, 2008 KIYU newscast 

Republican Ward Sattler is a candidate for the District 6 seat in the state House again.   

Sattler was unsuccessful in two prior attempts to be elected to the state legislature, in 2004 and 2006.   

In 2004, Sattler prevailed in a three candidate field in the Republican primary, only to lose in the general election to the current District 6 representative, Democrat Woodie Salmon.   

In 2006, Carl Morgan defeated Sattler in the Republican primary.   

But with the candidate filing deadline about one month away, Sattler is unopposed in the Republican primary.   

Sattler is 67 years old, and has lived a various locations around the rural Interior for more than 30 years.  He has a home in Stony River on the Kuskokwim, and also maintains an office in Anchorage, which appears as his official address with the Division of Elections.  That is the case, Sattler explains, because Stony River does not have its own post office, and the delivery of mail to Stony River is slow and intermittent.  

Sattler asserts that his past experiences as a teacher, bush pilot. legislative aide, among other professions, gives him the background needed to argue for changes that are needed in the district, such as lowering the cost of energy.  

Sattler: Going back to the early 1980s, and the discussions about Power Cost Equalization - I remember those discussions vividly.  And urban Alaska dominated the legislature at that time, and very frankly they were anti-rural, and they weren't going to give us a thing. And they didn't.  Consequently, we are paying double and triple for our energy than they are in urban Alaska. To a certain extent, that is a result of ineffective representation.

Sattler would rely on a more assertive legislative style, and believes that playing politics is an essential skill for the House District 6 representative.  Sattler finds some good examples in lawmakers that have represented the villages in the past.    

Sattler: To bargain things through - that's the real crux of being an effective legislator.  Not knowing our needs, we know what our needs are.  But knowing what their needs are, and how much they are willing to pay for it.  Frank Ferguson, George Homan, Johnny Sackett - these were people that knew how to work that system. I worked with every one of those people.

Sattler is a strong supporter of natural resource development, as long as it doesn’t disrupt the quality of life in the communities nearby.   

He cites the Donlin Creek gold mine north of the Kuskokwim River as a prime example of how resource development can improve rural standards of living.    

Sattler: As a resident of Stony River, and the middle Kuskokwim area, I've seen over the last 10 years the benefit.  Cash incomes have gone up, the villages are happier, social conditions have improved. It's been a tremendous revolution in the economics of the middle Kuskokwim because of Donlin Creek mine.

Sattler is opposed to extending the road and rail system into the western Interior, but does support a road connection between Ruby and McGrath for the purpose of trucking fuel and gas to the Kuskokwim. 

Sattler remarks that he is trying to replace Woodie Salmon as the House District 6 representative, in large part, because no other Republican challengers have shown an interest in doing so.   

In an attempt to find new leaders, Sattler wants to find a way to slow down the brain brain of talented young people out of rural Alaska.    

Sattler: So that leaves me, a grizzled old timer, with the job. Our district leadership has been actively searching for someone to pick it up. That would be another priority of mine, is to try to find people who will fit into [the District 6 representative job], and allow me to do whatever I can to mentor them.

The filing deadline for candidates is June 1.   

Woodie Salmon is also unopposed at this point in the Democratic primary.