Andrew Wellner, Frontiersman

WASILLA — At least to judge by the eight candidates who showed up at Thursday’s gubernatorial forum at the Alaska Club, a natural gas pipeline is the dominant issue facing the state right now.

The gathering was the first of a series of forums and debates the greater Palmer and Wasilla chambers of commerce are putting on this election year. The four no-shows among the 12 candidates were Gov. Sean Parnell, Republican Brad Snowden, Libertarian William Toien and Alaskan Independence Party candidate Donald Wright.

After the forum, the candidates were ranked on their performance and four of them — Democrats Ethan Berkowitz, Bob Poe and Hollis French, and Republican Bill Walker — were asked back for next week’s debate in which they will get to argue with one another rather than take turns answering questions.
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