Nome’s Neal Foster is headed back to the house after earning 58% of the vote for District 39.
Rep. Foster is set to embark on his ninth term in the Alaska House of Representatives following a career that began in 2009 when he took a seat formerly occupied by his father, Richard Foster. He said his seniority is a strength, particularly as co-chair of the finance committee.
“When it comes to attacks on subsistence, the rural priority, or whether it's an attack on folks who want to balance the budget by doing it all through the PFD, because of the position I'm in I'm able to put a stop to those things,” Rep. Foster said.
With help from a new bipartisan majority in the house, Foster is optimistic that they’ll be able to push through legislation like index-based increases to the Base Student Allotment and overhauls to the TRS Defined Benefit pension plan.
“I think within the house, there could very easily be support for that, whether or not that's the case on the Senate side, and then you have to assess, is it Governor Dunleavy or is it Governor Dahlstrom,” Rep. Foster said.
Rep. Foster was alluding to speculation that Republican Governor Mike Dunleavy is interested in a position in the nascent Trump administration. He said if Lieutenant Governor Nancy Dahlstrom takes the helm in Dunleavy’s place, District 39 should be well-positioned to benefit.
“Nancy has been a good friend of our district. She was a good family friend, a close friend of my father's. I feel like our working relationship would be better, not only for that reason, but also she seems maybe a little more open minded about things,” Rep. Foster said. “Many legislators have indicated that they could work with her, even if they're not at the same party, so I'm excited about that.”
Rep. Foster squared off against his third-cousin, Tyler Ivanoff, for the third consecutive time. He credited Ivanoff for a hard-fought race and said he learned some social media campaigning tips from the Shishmaref resident.
As he prepares for his next term, Rep. Foster hopes his constituents will continue bringing their issues to him.
“I just want to encourage folks, if they've got ideas feel free to get a hold of me, because we've seen a lot, but we haven't seen everything,” Rep. Foster said. “If folks have ideas on how to do certain things, that's what we're here for. To represent people and not necessarily impose my thoughts on how we should do something.”
