Juneau Assembly member Alicia Hughes-Skandijs is running for reelection against attorney Joe Geldhof. It’s one of two races on this year’s ballot featuring an incumbent and a single challenger.
Hughes-Skandijs works as a program director for the Alaska Municipal League, a statewide organization of local governments. The Assembly appointed her to fill Sen. Jesse Kiehl’s seat in Jan. 2019, and she served the remaining year of his term. Voters elected her to a full three-year in Oct. 2020.
In an interview, Hughes-Skandijs said housing is her top priority. She’s been glad to see programs like the city’s accessory dwelling unit grants expand.
“We need to continue really aggressive subsidization until we can kind of catch up with the state of the crisis that we’re at,” she said.
When it comes to hazard maps and development restrictions in landslide and avalanche zones, Hughes-Skandijs said it’s important to balance educating residents about risks with ensuring people can still build more housing.
“I think you do have a responsibility to notify people and let people be aware of the fact that they are taking some personal risk by what kind of hazard they’re living near,” she said.
Geldhof is an attorney. He wrote the marine passenger fee initiative that Juneau voters approved in 1999. At a forum hosted by Tlingit and Haida, he spoke about his experience working with the Crow Tribal Court in Montana.
In 2020, Geldhof successfully challenged a state tax credit program for oil and gas companies. That same year, he represented a Juneau man who sought to block the state from sending pandemic relief funding to some small businesses, saying it was unconstitutional to do so without the Legislature’s approval. More recently, Geldhof represented the same Juneau man when he said the state’s management of the Yukon River and Kuskokwim River salmon fisheries was unconstitutional.
In 1995, the Juneau Empire reported that Geldhof, then 44, allegedly struck an 8-year-old girl with a hockey stick and swung it at her 14-year-old brother because he felt they had gotten in the way of his roller hockey game. He did not know the children.
Geldhof was charged with two felony assault counts, but they were reduced to one charge of misdemeanor assault in the plea bargain.
In 1996, the Juneau Empire reported that Geldhof pleaded no contest to two assault charges – one for the hockey incident and another that was related to disciplining one of his children, according to the Empire. Geldhof was sentenced to 15 days in jail, three years of probation, 200 hours of community service and a $500 fine. He was also ordered to pay for the girl’s hospital costs.
In an interview, Geldhof said he “learned a tremendous amount” and that voters would have to decide whether the events were relevant.
“I deeply regret what I did,” he said. “I went through court-ordered anger management, which I found very useful. It allowed me to put my life together and my family’s life back together, and we’ve had a great deal of success in my personal life and family. At this point, it’s up to the electorate to decide whether my mistakes from 30 years ago are relevant to the contemporary political issues in this election cycle.”
At candidate forums, Geldhof has billed himself as a candidate who will change Juneau’s city government. He’s been endorsed by Save Juneau, a local advocacy group that opposes property tax increases.
“If you want increased taxes, you should keep the people who are in place,” Geldhof said at a forum hosted by the Juneau Chamber of Commerce. “If you want change and relief, you better vote for change.”
Geldhof opposes the $27 million bond proposal to fund a new city hall, saying city leaders should have listened to voters when they rejected a similar ballot measure last year.
“The City and Borough staff and the Assembly have not made a compelling case,” he said in an interview.
Hughes-Skandijs voted to put the bond proposal back on this year’s ballot. She said repairing the existing city hall, which fits fewer than half of city employees, wouldn’t be a good use of public funds.
“It feels like it’s going to be a waste of city money if we remodel rather than building something that’ll serve us for the next bunch of years,” she said.
As of Sept. 5, donors to Hughes-Skandijs include Kiehl, Mayor Beth Weldon, former Mayor Bruce Botelho, Assembly member Michelle Hale and former member Carole Triem. She’s raised more than $4,400 and spent about $900 on yard signs, brochures, stickers and mailing materials. Geldhof has not reported any campaign fundraising or spending.
Hughes-Skandijs and Geldhof both live on Douglas Island and are running for the District 1 seat, but Juneau voters can vote in all races on the ballot. Election Day is Oct. 3.
