My fellow Alaskans:

People have a right to know where I stand on the issues that are important to Alaskans. Below, I summarize my views on a variety of topics. Please contact the campaign if you have any questions, comments, or recommendations. And thanks for caring about these concerns.

Integrity in Government

Enough is enough. Our democracy cannot thrive if elected representatives continue to violate their oath of office and break the bonds that tie them to “We, the People…” Self-serving arrogance, criminal activity, and unethical shenanigans by current and former office-holders have blackened decades of otherwise honorable service.

My pledge is honest service. With Jake Metcalfe, what you see is what you get. I am not beholden to special interests or to their money; I can assure you that the only “special interests” I represent are the people of Alaska.

Individual Freedoms and Security

Founding Father Ben Franklin said it best: “Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.” In the name of security, we have seen a steady assault on our privacy and on our personal freedoms.

It’s none of the government’s business who we associate with or what we read. It’s none of the government’s business how many guns we own. Unless the government has reason to believe a crime has been committed and has gotten warrants where required by law, it has no business searching us or spying on us.

Safety at our airports and on airplanes is important. While some measures taken since 9/11 make sense, so many of the procedures we’ve been forced to endure have added little to our security. We’ll be safer, and less hassled, if serious attention is paid to the real soft spots in our country’s defenses - cargo operations at our borders and ports.

We can be safe and we can be free. As your congressman I will work to roll back assaults on our privacy and our liberties, and I will work to strengthen our security where it counts.

Support Our Military and Our Troops

I care deeply about this issue, in part because my brother, a 59 year-old National Guardsman, returns in October 2007 from 18 months of service in Kuwait. A congressman’s most important responsibility is to ensure that our nation is protected from its enemies, both foreign and domestic. That means supporting our troops and maintaining a strong military. As your congressman, I promise you that I will oppose any president’s efforts to put our troops in harm’s way without compelling justification and without strict adherence to the constitutional requirements. On the most basic level, I will do all I can to rebuild our military assets, now stretched so thin that we are unprepared to face other challenges.

With respect to the conflict in Iraq, I believe supporting our troops means removing them, as quickly as possible, from the conflict. I favor re-deploying our troops away from the war zone to secure bases where we can stand ready to assist a true coalition of the willing. In January 2009, when I am sworn in, I will dedicate my efforts to find solutions to the Iraq quagmire.

I will also support rebuilding the military and re-supplying our ground forces (specifically, the Army and the Marines) to prepare them to do their job if they are called upon to defend our country. Protecting our country means not pinching pennies when it comes to military preparedness.

Finally, supporting the military means providing veterans like my brother with the medical services and career opportunities they deserve. The failures of the present administration to support the Veterans’ Administration are shocking and inexcusable. Improving services to our wounded warriors is a bipartisan obligation. Fulfilling our promise to them is a moral obligation. I won’t let our veterans down.

Jobs and Economic Development

Alaska needs economic development. We need a year-round economy. As a District Attorney in Bethel, I saw firsthand how unemployment contributes to increased crime rates. When people work, they feel good about themselves and their community. We have a moral obligation to provide economic opportunities for everyone in Alaska.

• Alaskans Together

It’s time for industry and environmental groups to work towards a common goal - moving Alaska forward. Resource development must be balanced with environmental concerns to protect our natural beauty, subsistence lifestyle, and economic vitality. But we can’t afford to be at polar opposites on development issues. It is the duty of Alaska’s congressman to maintain a balanced point of view and act as a mediator to forge agreements that put Alaskans on the same page and puts Alaska first. Let’s end the divisiveness.

• Build the Gas Line

As your congressman, I will keep my eye on one salient truth: this is Alaska’s gas. Alaska needs jobs, clean energy, and cheap power; as your congressman, I’ll demand that the gas line gets built. The gas line will be an Alaskan project employing and training Alaskans. It is a top priority for our state, country, the oil and gas industry, and labor. We’ve waited decades for this and it is a matter of national security. We can make it happen!

• Support Oil Production and ANWR

If we can be assured that environmental concerns are addressed, we must open more oil fields, including some within ANWR, to exploration and development.

• Develop alternative energy sources and address climate change

Alaska is ground zero for the effects of climate change, so we should be ground zero for developing sources of alternative energy, as well. Alaska is poised to develop tidal, geothermal, and wind power sources for electrical generation. As your congressman, I will vigorously promote the development of alternative energy sources and will further work to maximize the economic benefits of this relatively new Alaskan industry.

• Develop Tourism

We are one of the top tourist destinations in the world, but we can do more to sell Alaska as a year-round destination. I support expanding and modernizing our transportation systems, including the Alaska Marine Highway System, the Alaska Railroad, and public transit. With better infrastructure, we’ll open year-round recreational opportunities, help Alaskan businesses, and create jobs for Alaskans.

• Develop Mining

The Gold Rush brought my great-grandfather, Patrick Flynn, to Alaska in 1900 (as a matter of fact, he was the first person to own a car in Skagway!) Mining is an important part of our economic past and it is important to our future, too. Mining provides well paying, year-round jobs all over Alaska. In return for the privilege of extracting Alaska’s minerals, we expect honest efforts to recruit, train and employ Alaskans, and a serious commitment to protect our environment. Even though some projects are controversial, I am confident we can bring Alaskans together to solve the problems and to maintain our values. Alaska’s mineral resources represent prosperity for Alaska’s future.

• Support Fishing

Since statehood, Alaskans have done a great job of rebuilding our salmon runs and managing our fishery resources for sustained yield. We need to keep the politics out of management - and we also need to make sure the professionals in the Department of Fish and Game and the National Marine Fisheries Service have the necessary resources to do their job. As your congressman, I will work to accomplish just that.

Health Care

I grew up in a family of nine kids. For most of my childhood, my family had no health insurance. Often times, my parents had to delay our medical treatment because they couldn’t afford to pay for it. I believe that health care is a right, not a privilege. No American child or family should ever be denied access to high quality health care for lack of insurance coverage, and yet eighteen percent of Alaskans do not have health insurance. Meanwhile, health care costs are soaring because one out of five dollars spent on health care goes to administrative costs.

As your congressman, I’ll demand health care reform and mental health parity. All Alaskans need adequate health care so that our state will have a competitive and productive work force. No on should be left without health care.

Education

As president of the Anchorage School Board, I was a statewide leader in improving all of Alaska’s public schools. As a proud graduate of Alaska’s public school system, I believe in statewide funding parity. I will insist that our schools be accountable, show progress, and deliver results. I support increasing our investments in education, hiring qualified teachers, and lowering the student-teacher ratio in America’s classrooms.

For the most part, education is a local issue. Where the federal government chooses to intervene, its first principle should be to do no harm. No Child Left Behind, the most sweeping federal education legislation of my generation, has become a law that emphasizes data, credentials and sanctions instead of instruction that boosts real student achievement. As your congressman, I’ll also make sure that Congress lives up to its promise to fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

My kids attend Anchorage public schools, and I care about the education they, and all of Alaska’s children, receive. Congress needs more members who understand and support public education so it can make laws that really help our kids.