The candidates include Kimberley Strong, 46, and Tim June, 50, both from Haines, Kathy Leary, 46, of Gustavus, and Dewey Skan of Klawock. Skan would not reveal his age.

Kookesh, who has held the position since 1996, said he is not endorsing any of the candidates, adding that he will back whichever Democrat wins the primary election.

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The winner of the election will face one of three Republican candidates running for the seat.

As of late July, Strong led the group in campaign fund-raising with $11,540, but almost $5,500 of that came from her own bank account. Leary has raised $10,492 and contributed $1,000 of her own money. June has raised $6,572, and Skan has raised $2,205.

In addition to Haines, Klawock and Yakutat, the district includes such coastal communities as Hydaburg, Gustavus, Kasaan, Metlakatla, Skagway, Tatitlek and Tenakee.

Tim June

June, a commercial fisherman and grass-roots activist, served on the Haines Borough Assembly and the Haines School Board in 1999 and 2000. He also served on the state's Water Quality Task Force under Govs. Walter Hickel and Tony Knowles. In 1992, he co-founded the Alaska Clean Water Alliance, an advocacy group on water pollution issues.

June said he would join other lawmakers in re-evaluating Alaska's oil tax structure to bring in new revenues.

He said in the late 1980s the state established a sliding-scale tax on satellite exploratory oil wells, meaning that companies with remote oil exploration projects would pay less in severance or production taxes once they discovered oil.

Those projects now make up almost half of the oil produced in Alaska, June said, adding that it prevents the state from benefiting from recent record-high oil prices.

"Windfall profits now don't significantly benefit the state," June said. "It's an immediate thing we have to look at."

He said the oil tax constitutes just one element of a broad plan the state should pursue to fill its chronic fiscal gap. June said he also would support an income tax, use of earnings from the $28 billion Alaska Permanent Fund and a cruise ship head tax.

Kathy Leary

Leary is a library administrator for the city of Gustavus. She worked a variety of state jobs in Juneau in the 1970s and 1980s, from the Department of Environmental Conservation to Veterans' Affairs to the Department of Fish and Game, she said.

Leary also has served on the Chatham School Board for nine years and has spent the last six years as a legislative liaison for the district.

She said many in the district are struggling to pay their bills and afford prescription medication.

"A common problem is the loss of the Longevity Bonus," she said, noting that many seniors relied on the monthly checks to supplement their income.

She too said lawmakers should look to oil severance taxes to help pay for state services.

"Why are they balancing the budget on the backs of seniors when they've got that kind of money hanging out there?" she said. "We're one of the richest states in the nation and we're acting like we're bankrupt."

She said the state should look to geothermal, tidal, solar and wind energy to provide affordable fuel to communities.

Dewey Skan

Skan has worked as Kookesh's legislative aide for eight years and said he is knowledgeable about the issues that affect the district. He has worked on a blue ribbon commission on Power Cost Equalization under Tony Knowles' administration and served on Knowles' Rural Sanitation Commission for eight years.

He said he would work to increase funding for rural schools, noting roof maintenance that needs to be done for a school in Yakutat.

He said the Legislature should cut state workers' salaries and "fat in different departments" to help solve the fiscal gap.

He said he would not support an income tax or sales tax. When asked about his position on use of the Alaska Permanent Fund, Skan said he wasn't sure.

"It makes sense to me some times and other times it doesn't make sense to me," he said. Skan also said he wasn't sure if he supports a cruise ship head tax to help bring revenues to the state.

"I will cross that bridge when I get to it," he said.

Kimberley Strong

Strong owns a bed and breakfast in Klukwan and is a board member of the Native organization Klukwan Inc. She also is president of the Chilkat Indian Village of Klukwan and serves on several other boards and organizations.

She said the cost of fuel for small communities has made it difficult to live and own a business.

"They are shooting themselves in the foot by not fully funding Power Cost Equalization to bring affordable electricity to the people in general," she said.

She said some communities have an 80 percent-plus unemployment rate, and that the state ends up paying for social programs instead of establishing the infrastructure needed for healthy communities.

She said small businesses also need help with insurance costs and recommended that small businesses develop group plans, possibly through their local chamber of commerce.

Strong said she supports funding for the Alaska Marine Highway System and that communities should support road projects before the state proceeds with them.

• Timothy Inklebarger can be reached at timothy.inklebarger@juneauempire.com.