2023 Juneau Municipal Election
What makes you a good candidate for the Juneau Assembly?
- What makes you a good candidate for the Juneau Assembly?
- The city is asking voters to fund a new city hall through a $27 million bond. What are your thoughts?
- Do you think the city should limit cruise ship tourism? Why or why not? If so, how?
- What do you intend to do about Juneau’s housing crisis?
- City-hired experts produced hazard maps for avalanches and landslides — how should the city balance responsible development with the needs of community members already living here?
- What do you think is the most important issue facing Juneau right now?
- School Board
- What makes you a good candidate for the Juneau school board?
- What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the Juneau School District right now?
- If the school district were to consolidate schools and close certain campuses, what factors do you think district leaders should consider?
- How do you think the district should handle communicating with parents during emergencies?
- Do you think transgender students should be allowed to use bathrooms and play on sports teams that match their gender identity rather than their sex assigned at birth?
Areawide Assembly
Jeff Jones
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I would say my experiences within the local unions that I’ve had with negotiations, being on the e board – essentially we make all the decisions for the union, we pay all the bills, we’re responsible for the building and all that good stuff – and just being a longtime resident of Juneau. I complain about how the city spends their money, so if I don’t want to get involved, I’ve got to stop complaining. So I’m here, I’m getting involved. But I think my union background really helps with the issues we’re having. I think my skills there will definitely benefit.
Nano Brooks
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I would make a great candidate for Assembly because I’m a born, raised and lifelong Juneauite. I’ve spent my entire life working here and gaining experience in fields from child care to trades. As a business owner and employer, I have seen the things that affect people within the community. I’m running for Assembly to put my skills and experience to work for the people, to create programs that can allow everyone to thrive for now and for future generations.
Ella Adkison
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
In my day job, I’m a legislative aide for one of Juneau’s legislative delegation, and so I’m very familiar with the legislative process and advocating for policy, as well as working with people who my views don’t necessarily align with and still coming up with a really cohesive solution. I’ve also worked with the city in some capacities, especially on education issues, as I’ve been staffing my boss on education. So I feel like I bring a lot of that baseline foundation to the Assembly. Whatever the differences in municipal and state government are I think will be pretty applicable and easy to pick up. I feel like I have a lot of experience I bring to the table.
JoAnn Wallace
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I’ve lived in Juneau for 40 years, so I know the community and I know the good and the bad about the community – I guess I should say maybe the hard things and the easy things. It’s a great community, but we do have our struggles with housing and it’s expensive to live here. So I feel like I have some ideas and skills that might help with some of those issues.
Paul Kelly
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I think there’s a couple things that really make me stand out from the other candidates. For one, I think the most obvious is that out of the entire field of candidates running in this race, I’m the only one who’s held elected office before. I served three years on the school board from 2018 to 2021, and that gives me experience in not only knowing what it’s like, in being responsive and knowing the practicalities of what I can do, but it also puts me in a position where I have crafted a budget before, where I have had to decide on my own priorities and vote as a group and make these decisions together and work collectively with people. Another thing that really stands out is my approach in really talking to the people. I started my campaign in May, and since then I’ve knocked on almost 1,400 doors.
Emily Mesch
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I think there’s a lot of things. I’ve had a lot of different perspectives, both in Juneau and outside of Juneau. I’ve worked at the state, the city level as well as private industry. I’ve lived downtown and in the Valley. And I think I have a good perspective on a lot of different issues and I’m able to listen. I think that’s one of the key things for you to listen to your constituents. And even if you disagree, sometimes you have to go with what the city wants as opposed to what you want, and that’s a value that I hold very strongly.
Laura Martinson McDonnell
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I think what makes me a good candidate for the Juneau Assembly is that I have a different voice to offer than what we’ve currently got sitting on the Assembly. I’m a small business owner, and I’ve been born and raised in Juneau. I’ve got a small child here and I think it’s important to mix up the perspectives and bring a little bit of a different view on board. My experience with the small business community and our economy is just a little bit of a fresh take to add to the mix.
Ivan Nance
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I’ve lived in Juneau for a little less than 20 years. I’ve been involved in a variety of activities in the community. The one that’s closest to city and borough government is the systemic racism review committee, that I’m a member of for basically the last year and a half. And that got me more aware of people who work for the city and borough and issues going on with the city and borough. So that leads me here.
Michele Stuart-Morgan
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I’ve lived in Juneau for 31 years. I lived 20 years in the Valley and I now live in Douglas. I’m running for the Assembly because I’m seeing, coming out of COVID, we’re having a lot of changes. I don’t take contributions, I don’t have any ulterior motives. I care about the families. My sons and my adopted nephew live here, I live here, and I want to make sure that we keep this a great place. This is really at a juncture. Juneau is my home. This is the longest I’ve lived anywhere.
Dorene Lorenz
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
I have common sense. I have a lot of experience, actually, in public policy, and I’m an easy person to get along with. I don’t just listen, I actually hear what people are saying. I try to find a creative solution to problems instead of going, I just don’t know what to do. And I think that’s an important thing for an Assembly person to have, are those characteristics. I’m also a fiscal conservative, which helps, too. If you know how to add up the numbers and do the math, it makes life a lot easier for a lot of people.
District 2 Assembly
David Morris
Candidate for District 2 Assembly
I’d be a good candidate for the Juneau Assembly because I’ve lived in Juneau for 43 years. I’ve been involved in many things in the community, I’m presently on the board for Family Promise and I do service work for the elderly. I know a lot of the people that work here in all aspects of business and they’ve been coming to me and asking if I’d run, because they don’t like how things are going now.
Christine Woll
Candidate for District 2 Assembly
I think the number one thing that’s going to make me a good candidate is that I have three years of experience serving on the Assembly. It definitely takes a long time to get up to speed on how the city works, what are the big priorities that we need to be focused on. We’ve done a lot of work on some pretty big issues, so I’ll be able to kind of start from that place of having that experience. I also think that I’m a bridge-builder, that I have experience working with people who don’t always agree, helping them find a common vision and then moving forward on solving big problems.
District 1 Assembly
Alicia Hughes-Skandijs
Candidate for District 1 Assembly
I think I’m a strong candidate for Assembly because I’ve been serving in this position for the last four years and change. In that time, I definitely got battle tested. I was on the Assembly during the pandemic, so I learned really quickly how to navigate within the system and how to work well with other people. I think that’s one of my strengths that I bring as a candidate – I’m good at reaching consensus and working with people who may not agree with me. I think as somebody who’s really invested as a young person in the community, I’m bringing a perspective that will serve Juneau well in the time to come, focusing on those issues that are really important for us to address.
Joe Geldhof
Candidate for District 1 Assembly
I think my best quality is actually listening to people. I’ve done that as a lawyer, I’ve done that in a number of situations, and listening and actually hearing what people express as an issue or a problem is one of my strengths. And then finding solutions that actually work in the real world.