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When my fellow candidates for the borough mayor’s seat strongly criticized my position and promise to have gas here in two years, I redoubled my resolve that it can be done. My confidence was based on spending my Monday afternoons for the past three years with a group of fellow concerned residents. We called ourselves the Railroad Safety and Development Group. This think tank includes several engineers together with other professional and businesspersons who have spent their careers helping build our community. No one in this group has any personal agenda except to ensure community decisions are made knowing all the facts and will benefit our community.

It was the results of our research that made me confident on the gas to Fairbanks time frame. I knew I was right. Recent developments have confirmed that the promise I made to you is a promise I can keep. I expect there will be a strong opposition movement mounted to derail this project. Twenty years ago the Interior missed out on gas because of special interest intervening. If elected I will not let gas slip away again.

My focus now is to begin preparing the community for gas. I promise to:

• Keep this project on a two-year schedule. It is the key to achieving EPA’s PM2.5 standards without jeopardizing our right to heat with wood. It not only eliminates threats to our military economic sector but actually enhances it. Natural gas makes our military bases more attractive to Congress; our university campus more attractive for research and academic purposes; our international airport more economic for international flights; and our community an efficient hub for Alaska.

• to keep a watchful eye on project development to ensure that those delivering gas have taken full advantage of every private and public opportunity to keep the price of gas low and stable.

• further I promise to provide the leadership to prepare us for the challenges of growth attracted by low cost and stable energy.

• fight off any and all attempts to derail this project.

Of course the energy situation is not the only issue awaiting the next mayor. PM2.5, as briefly mentioned earlier, is a challenge. But once gas arrives, the PM2.5 issue is fixable. I do not want state oversight when it is rightfully ours. We can best represent ourselves because we care more. If you vote for local control I will seek terms favorable to our unique circumstances.

Making our roads and highways safer is a concern of mine. The mayor sits on the FMATS policy board, and I will use my influence to eliminate railroad crossings and hazardous-material trains traversing through this community including Fort Wainwright.

I will support a self-supporting recycling effort — but not a bag tax. My definition of self-supporting is one that collects, separates, processes, and markets the finished product and breaks even.

I will promote winter tourism. Winter tourism is premium to our community because it promotes off-season employment and the tourist dollar tends to be greater and roll over more often in the community.

I promise to take the planning powers entrusted to the borough seriously. The arrival of natural gas will be joined with unprecedented growth opportunities. I will plan and implement those actions that will safely accommodate growth of existing businesses and attract new ones. I will chart and set the course to make the banks of the Chena River a hallmark park that grows out of Pioneer Park.

I gained 20 years of military experience in the Air Force that includes combat flying and commands assignments that range from flight leader to over 2,000 flight and support personnel where I was responsible for maintaining alert ready flight status.

After retiring from the Air Force, I grew a successful real estate business in this community and can readily relate to issues that local business owners face and the effect of government action can have.

My civic contributions include serving on many service organizations on the local, state, and national level. I was elected five times to the Borough Assembly, serving for 15 years, five of which I served as presiding officer giving me an inside, in-depth understanding of every aspect of borough operations.

I earned an undergraduate degree in business and a graduate degree in education — both helpful in directing the borough and working with the school district. I am well prepared to fill the mayor’s chair and I have the energy to fill it well.

Hank Bartos is a candidate for mayor of the Fairbanks North Star Borough.