The district stretches down the Richardson Highway from Eielson Air Force Base to Valdez and includes a large chunk of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough to the west.
The Republican hopefuls are Eric Feige, 49, a U.S. Air Force veteran who graduated from West Point in 1983; Pete Fellman, 53, a father of seven who supplements farming as an aide to Rep. John Harris; and Don Haase, 40, a father of eight with an endorsement from Alaska Right to Life.
Harris, the Republican incumbent, said he decided not to seek re-election because he is making a new home outside the district in Anchorage.
The candidate drawing the most votes will face Valdez Mayor Bert Cottle, a Democrat, in the November general election.
Eric Feige
Feige came to Alaska in 1995 and launched a career as a bush pilot, eventually landing in Chickaloon, where he operates a bed and breakfast with his wife.
He is running for state House because he thinks the Legislature can do better.
“I’m pretty disappointed in what I’ve seen with the Legislature to date,” Feige said. “Some poor decisions have been made that tend to rely too much on politics and not what’s best for the state.”
If elected, Feige would push for reform of taxes on oil production. He wants the state to boost support for agriculture with more product marketing overseas. Feige thinks the state ought to set a two-year spending plan. He supports an all-Alaska gas pipeline.
“Over the last several years, the Legislature has imposed so many new fees and taxes on businesses that many are finding it difficult to profit,” Feige stated on his campaign website, www.ericfeige4akhouse12.org. “I will look to make the state of Alaska a more attractive to investment than it is now.”
Pete Fellman
After a bout with homelessness, a stint in the U.S. Army and the loss of a farm in Washington, Fellman needed a fresh start. So he towed a U-Haul trailer to Alaska and stopped in Delta Junction.
That was 1988.
Now he’s hoping to draw on his life experiences, including five years as a diesel mechanic and 11 years as a legislative assistant to help residents of House District 12. His campaign slogan is “put my experience to work for you.”
“My first priority is to listen to and serve the people of District 12,” he said in a position statement posted on his website, www.petefellmanworks.com. “Being a legislator is, above all, a job, and that job is to work for the people of the state. Everything else is secondary. A legislator doesn’t work for big business, large corporations, lobbyists, special interest groups, the governor or any state employee.”
He favors limiting state government to its constitutional responsibilities and he opposes abortion and gun control.
“A free nation is a well-armed nation,” Fellman states. “Load them, tote them and show them.”
Don Haase
After earning a political science degree at Grand Valley State University in Michigan, Haase came to Alaska 17 years ago looking for adventure.
“I wanted to experience the last frontier while still young enough to climb the mountains and hike the trails,” he said.
For Haase, Valdez is home and he’s served his community on the trails association, the mental health advisory committee and he’s been involved with committees of the Copper Valley Electric Association. He works for CH2MHill.
“I am running to make sure there are jobs available for (my children) when they grow up so they do not feel the need to leave the state,” Haase stated in an e-mail. “I guess it is kind of selfish, but I don’t want to have to fly thousands of miles to visit my grandkids.”
He serves on the conservative Eagle Forum Alaska’s board of directors, supports the Alaska Family Council and describes abortion as execution on his campaign website, www.haaseforhouse.com.
“I am proud to say that I remain married to the mother of my children,” he stated on the website. “This also speaks to trustworthiness, for how can you trust me to keep my word to you once I’ve broken the most sacred vow I ever made, to honor and cherish my bride until death?”
Haase said the government should focus on what it does best — road construction, public safety and education — and leave economic development to the private sector, which he said can more nimbly respond to market demands.
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