“There’s No Rest for the Weary” Power The Future Energy Hour Recap with AOGA’s Kara Moriarty and Must Read Alaska’s Suzanne Downing

November 19, 2020

On last night’s Power The Future Energy Hour, Alaska State Director Rick Whitbeck caught up with Kara Moriarty, the CEO of the Alaska Oil & Gas Association, as well as the OneAlaska campaign manager, whose coalition vanquished the “Alaska’s Fair Share” ballot measure in the recent election.

Kara and Rick discussed the broad base of support she and her team built against the measure, and she noted the coalition had people and groups from “Utqiaġvik to Ketchikan to Bethel, and everywhere in-between…one of the best things about working on a campaign is working with amazing people, and that was certainly a key to success.”

From there, Kara focused on what the recent election results might mean for the oil and gas industry in our state, noting there “is no rest for the weary” when it comes to potential attacks on the jobs and industry from a federal government under a potential Biden administration, as well as an emboldened group of anti-development legislators at the state level.

Kara’s insight was clear on how people perceive the oil and gas industry at budget time: “We’re under no false pretenses that just because we defeated Ballot Measure One that the state’s budget challenges have gone away.  And when you’re the largest private contributor to state revenue, you’re always a target.”

Following Kara’s segment, Rick spoke with the founder and editor of Must Read Alaska, Suzanne Downing.  Their discussion focused on state election results, and what those might mean for legislative organization in the House and Senate, as well as what types of legislation may arise from the majority and minority caucuses in each body. Noting that Democrat-led ballot harvesting helped flip seats in districts 25 and 27, where Mel Gillis and Lance Pruitt were beaten by Alaska Center (for the Environment)-endorsed candidates, Downing provided insight into how those races may lead to increased threats to energy projects in the next Legislature.

If you missed this week’s show live, you can still catch it – as well as every episode from the past 21 months – on Power the Future’s Soundcloud.

The Energy Hour can be heard live every Tuesday night from 5:00-6:00 PM local time on KNVT (92.5 FM, 1020 AM and online at 1020KVNT.com).  The show (also replayed during the same hour on Saturday night) is heard throughout Southcentral Alaska communities, and acts as a recap of Power The Future activities in Alaska, as well as an opportunity to hear from various members of Alaska’s energy and political communities.  Feel free to reach out to Rick@PowerTheFuture.com with show ideas or feedback!