Why are you running?

Martin Stepetin Sr.

Candidate for School Board

I’m running because I want to help tackle some of the longstanding issues our school board has faced over time. And, I have a deep care for education. I started advocating for education starting in 2014 at the state level. And I learned kind of where the money comes from as far as the state goes. And I started learning how our local government supports our education, and I have kids now so I guess I have a real strong reason to want our school district to be successful. I have four kids in the Juneau school district and, so yeah, I just I want to see our school district succeed.

Brian Holst

Candidate for School Board

I’m running because I believe in Juneau’s schools and importance of our schools and building a future for Juneau citizens. My background is economic development. And it is abundantly clear that there’s an incredibly good return on investment in education for individuals and for society. That’s the big reason why, and then more specifically, you know, I believe that our schools can be better and if we collaborate, they are improving. I think Juneau is a very fortunate community and that we have a lot of support for our schools. As a community, we see that through commitment of our parents of our Assembly, and I just want to make it so that there are more opportunities to collaborate across, inside our schools and outside of our schools with our community.

Derek Dzinich

Candidate for District 2 Assembly

I’m running for District 2 Assembly person because I have been a lifelong, born and raised Juneauite. I deeply care and love this community. My family’s been involved here for a long time and it just means the absolute world to me. I graduated from Juneau-Douglas High School. I was educated here in town. I served as the first openly gay student body president there and then I went on to study International Relations and Political Science at Elon University. And now, after graduating amid the pandemic — cum laude as an Isabella Cannon Leadership fellow — I am more excited than ever and more passionate than ever to be back in town here in the community that I care about and love most, to really try to affect positive change and represent Juneau’s youth as the generation of tomorrow, as the generation that will inherit the impacts of what we choose to do now amid our current circumstances. So that is why I’m running and why I’m asking for the community’s support.

Lacey Derr

Candidate for District 2 Assembly

I’m born and raised here in Juneau, and I am now raising a family of my own. I’m a homeowner. And you know, I’ve seen where Juneau has been, I see where Juneau is, and I see where Juneau can go. I want to be able to live here, I want to be able to retire here and I want my children to be able to find sustainable work and have the option to live here and not worry about sustainable work (or) the cost of living rising. And so we’re in a time of tremendous change. We are looking at not only our social issues, but just economic issues, tourism, everything as a whole. So during this time, these trying times, we find our strength to, you know, want to push forward and make a difference and make a change. So I look forward to taking experience here in Juneau and really moving forward and coming out of this pandemic stronger.

Robert Shoemake

Candidate for District 2 Assembly

As the small business owner of Budget Appliance Repair, I’m no stranger to trials and hard work. My business started with a need — I needed a job, so I created one. I built my business from the ground up through dedication, diligence and a commitment to respectful and excellent customer service. I spend much of my day determining what is broken, finding a solution and fixing the problem. I’m running for Assembly because I want to be part of making things work. I know the challenges and difficulties for everyone — that everyone is facing right now. I want to help safeguard our survival and plan for a prosperous future. I feel that the small business owner and the common citizen is largely unrepresented in our city government. We are short-changing ourselves. We need someone who cannot afford not to balance the budget, a person who must go to work every day, a person who must succeed and produce results. As a Navy veteran, I took an oath to defend this country. The most dangerous enemy we currently face is division and hate. We need to come together as Alaskans and find solutions to our future. In the end, the only people we will be able to count on is each other. We need to get started, because time waits for no one. 

Christine Woll

Candidate for District 2 Assembly

So I have been serving the city for the last few years and through that experience I’ve seen the threads of a common vision for Juneau. Obviously, we’re in a really important moment in history. In the short term, we need Assembly members who are going to make smart, informed decisions about our health and safety. But this moment is also an opportunity for us to think long term about how to meet that vision and make Juneau a healthier, more resilient and more just place to live and I want to be part of that conversation.

Alicia Hughes-Skandijs

Candidate for District 1 Assembly

I’m running because I feel a sense of responsibility to see this through. As somebody who was part of the initial response to the pandemic, I feel a real sense of responsibility to make sure Juneau comes out in good shape on the other side. And not only that, I’d like to see us continue making progress on some of the goals that are most important to me. I think that the working dynamic that we have in the Assembly right now is really good and I pride myself on working to help build consensus. So I think I’m part of that, but I think this is a time when we would benefit from someone who has experience.

Kenny Solomon-Gross

Candidate for District 1 Assembly

The events that have happened in the past few months demanded more from our Assembly members than at any time in the past. There is no playbook for governing during this pandemic. And even with that said, the next six months to a year the Assembly is going to have some tough choices to make. They’re gonna see things that they’ve never seen before. My experience in crisis management, operating a business and raising a family as a single parent and serving on many of our community boards and enterprise boards will give me a deep understanding of our community and how the operations of CBJ is. Myself, I’m a solution-driven person that knows how to build a consensus and I have a proven record of bringing people together to solve problems. I want to bring my perspective and skills to serve district one in the CBJ assembly.

Maria Gladziszewski

Candidate for Areawide Assembly

I’m running because I’m concerned about the future of Juneau and I have experience that I think will be useful as we navigate these next few years. I know that I’ve made a difference in the last few months regarding how the city responded to this, you know, once in a century event, global health crisis, economic crisis. I’d also say that the entire Assembly really stepped up to lead through this event, and I’d like to continue with those colleagues as we continue to work our way through these really challenging times. None of us imagined we’d be navigating a global pandemic, and I’m not gonna lie, it has been incredibly difficult. 

But I think, fellow Assembly members stepped up, city staff stepped up and community members really rallied to help get through this and I’m proud of how we have done. You know, I’ve always said that I worked for all of Juneau, not just for those who agree with me or who voted for me, and I’d like to continue to do that in the next few years.