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Candidates in Juneau’s Oct. 2 municipal election answered questions at a collegial League of Women Voters forum in the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly Chambers Tuesday evening.
Moderator Barbara Belknap asked questions generated by the LWV and audience members of first the candidates for the Juneau School District Board of Education, more commonly known as the school board, and then candidates for Assembly Districts 1 and 2, and finally the two candidates for mayor.
The school board candidates largely agreed on issues like focusing on early education to improve Juneau’s high school graduation rate, reaching out to the community to help cover school nurse program cuts, and emphasizing efforts to counter bullying and discrimination in Juneau schools.
But candidates displayed some divergences over the pupil-to-teacher ratio, among other topics.
“There’s nobody that wants a larger PTR. However, PTR is a very fine balancing act,” said Destiny Sargeant, who served on the school board from 2007 to 2010 and is seeking a return to the body. “When the budgets get to be difficult, you have to choose what gets given up.”
Incumbent Phyllis Carlson agreed with Sargeant’s position.
“We are not in a circumstance right now where we can meet our ideal PTR,” said Carlson.
But first-time candidate Michelle Johnston said PTR is her top priority.
“I will not support increasing our current PTR under any circumstances,” Johnston said. “I think that it’s a crucial issue.”
Vice President Andrea “Andi” Story, running for reelection, said class size is not the most important element in education.
“We’re equating lower class size to having our kids learn the most, and while class size is important, effective instruction is the most important principal factor to improve student achievement,” Story said.
A running theme throughout the event was the school district’s budget shortage, prompting Belknap to remark of questions suggesting additional expenditures for the district, “I think what we’ve heard is a very sad response about budgets.”
Second-time school board candidate Will Muldoon, who previously ran in 2003, did not attend the forum.
Assembly candidates Loren Jones and Paul Nowlin, running for District 1, and Jerry Nankervis, the sole candidate for District 2, explained what they would bring to the Assembly.
“I’ve been a team player,” said Nankervis, who retired from the Juneau Police Department last year. “I will bring that to the table.”
Jones said his time as a state employee and serving on local boards had taught him “the value of listening, the value of asking really good questions.”
Nowlin described running for the Assembly as “a good challenge,” adding, “I just want to give back to the community.”
On the question of downtown revitalization, Nankervis said, “I’m not sure that downtown isn’t vitalized. … I don’t come downtown and see a non-vital community. I see a pretty darn busy place when I come down.”
Jones disagreed.
“I think that there’s a lot of concern about downtown,” said Jones. He said the Juneau Economic Development Council and other groups working on the issue should continue to be included in the discussion, adding, “The Assembly’s not going to come up with a solution that’s going to be acceptable unless the people that are most affected are part of the solution.”
Nowlin identified his top priority as affordable housing.
“The most important thing is to get some more affordable housing downtown,” said Nowlin. “In the buildings above the shops, there is a lot of empty space.”
Nowlin also suggested, “I think one thing that the Assembly could try to work toward is lowering property taxes.”
Nankervis said his main concern is also housing.
“My goal is to try and ensure the future of this town is as bright for my children as it was for me when I got here,” Nankervis said.
Jones said his top concern is the Lemon Creek Landfill.
“I think my second priority is to try to increase the amount of communication with the Assembly, getting more people to the Assembly meetings,” Jones added.
The mayoral exchange between former Assemblymember Merrill Sanford and LWV Treasurer Cheryl Jebe was perhaps the most staid of the event’s three segments. The candidates found little to disagree on.
“I’m running for mayor to bring new energy to all of Juneau,” Jebe said in her opening statement.
Sanford said a sense of family motivated him to run.
“The main reason I’m running is because I have five grandkids living here now,” said Sanford. “Those grandkids are what are important to me, and I want them to be able to grow up in our community of Juneau.”
The only question on which the candidates seriously differed was the question of additional funding for Capital Transit to provide Sunday and holiday service.
“Yes,” said Jebe. “I believe in public transportation. It’s very important for the life of our community.”
Sanford said the budget and transit plan should be considered, noting that much of Capital Transit’s funding comes from the CBJ.
“I wouldn’t say yes automatically,” Sanford said. “I think that we have to balance that with the routes that we have and the routes that we can provide.”
After Jebe and Sanford concluded, Belknap implored attendees to vote on Oct. 2 and on Nov. 6, the date of the nationwide general election.
“These candidates are working hard for us,” Belknap said. “I think we can return the favor.”
• Contact reporter Mark D. Miller at 523-2279 or at mark.d.miller@juneauempire.com.
Comments (31)
Add commentIs there...
...a link to all of the questions and responses? This article provided about...zero...useful information regarding the candidates' answers.
Pretty tame
How about some questions that flesh out the differences between the candidates? Like, in a budget deficit would you look first to raise taxes or cut city services? And what taxes would you increase and what services would you cut? I can't imagine everyone sees eye to eye on that one.
And Will, I wanna vote for ya bro, but you gotta make an effort and show up to these kind of things.
We have answers
Hi readers,
I'm working to add all the candidates' answers to the questions posed by the LWV.
They will be live on juneauempire.com/elections by the end of business on Friday — but, if I can get them loaded onto the site before then, I certainly will.
Stay tuned ... and thanks for reading.
For crying out loud, EMPIRE!!!!
Just YESTERDAY in the story about early voting I asked the Empire to notify the city ahead of time when the forums/debates would be taking place, instead of just noting it after the fact. Part of the local paper's responsibility is to help keep members of the community informed on issues or decisions that will affect them in the future, so that we may become more informed and actively participate. To this end, including many local events like the oyster fest, and the forum last night - the Empire failes miserably. Miserably! There was even a staff response yesterday - which did not mention the forum (I would have listened, had I known about it).
To be fair, I also looked at the League of Women Voters website yesterday, and the forum was not posted there either.
No wonder voter turnout is so poor!
I can't imagine anybody
I can't imagine anybody showed up to this forum expecting tough questions to be asked, particularly when one of the candidates is a leader of the organization hosting the forum. I thought softball season was over?
Will:
The dude is right. If you can't show up for a debate, how are you going to handle School Board meetings? Sorry, you just lost my vote.
Loren Jones.
one of Bruce Bothelos liberal,greenie,anti-development, sea party pals?
Nowlin Needs
Nowlin is in way over his head. " I just want to give back to the community"
Never heard that before.
Swimmer, this forum was
Swimmer, this forum was posted in yesterday's paper on the list of government meetings. The CBJ also has a pretty extensive calendar of meetings on their web site. The JAHC also has a pretty big calendar of events. Enjoy.
why I think Cheryl Jebe should be our Mayor
Mr. Sanford said a sense of family motivated him to run?
Mr. Sanford come on...... you have been at CBJ for years and years...... these positions are not supposed to be till death do us part, and with all due respect we need some new life and perspectives at CBJ. To hay with the good o'l boys clubs in our Government.
I like the idea of a wise female being Mayor of Juneau.
The Mayors job is not supposed to be about giving way to agendas and Mr. Sanford you are all about that.
Cheryl Jebe is of the League of Women Voters which is all about representative government and protecting the citizens right to know , which is just what we need more of at CBJ!!
Cheryl Jebe should be our Mayor
District 1: Loren Jones
District 1: Jones or Nowlin.
Nowlin identified his top priority as affordable housing
"The most important thing is to get some more affordable housing downtown,” said Nowlin. “In the buildings above the shops, there is a lot of empty space"
I wonder if Nowlin checked out our building and fire codes?
I think not.
I will be voting for Loren Jones to sit on the assembly.
I think it says something
I think it says something that Nowlins top priority is affordable houseng. Jones' is the dump. If you ignore the housing, everyone will move and the dump will no longer be added to. Apathy CAN work...Nowlin is looking more promising to me...
LofWV Forum from a candidate
@Latitude: The Sunday's paper will have our written answers that we submitted previously before last night's forum. These were more in depth than the verbal answers due to time restraints.
@ Downtowndude: My answer to your budget deficit question would be to stop looking for new projects and buildings to construct, pay the bills first, and I do not see a need to raise taxes at this time.
@ Roughcut: I appreciate you showing up for the forum, and your kind words.
@ Swimmergirl: I am not sure if all of these are open to the public, but here is the schedule I have for future forums. Thursday, 20th @ 7 am, Rotary, @ Prospector; Thursday the 27th @ 11:30 am, Juneau Chamber @ Moose Lodge; Friday the 28th @ noon, Juneau Bar Association @ Gold Room, Baranof; Friday the 28th @ 5:30 pm, Home Builder's Ass. @ Baranof; and on Tuesday the 25th I personally will be at the March of Dimes "Jail and Bail" at 11 am @ Moose Lodge, if anyone has face to face questions, and taking donations for the cause, come down, give a little it goes a long way.
@ aryand: I hope you are not bitter, as I believe that I had disagreed with you on a topic in another comment page. Either way, I do not see the problem with wanting to give back to the community, Juneau has always been my home and that is the way I was raised. Please read the upcoming Sunday paper for all of our (the candidates) written answers to the League. If you still do not believe in me, vote against me, but please be active in the voting; I am happy I have an opponent, as it gives people a choice.
@ Juneau: Vote October 2nd, even if you do not want to vote for me personally, get out their and make your opinion count.
@ Conners
I agree that the fire and building codes need to be adjusted to make it possible, and the Assembly needs to work with the building's owners to see what they think about remodeling, restoring, and moving in tenants. There are many factors, and when given 30 seconds to answer complex questions, you receive partial answers that are only meant to highlight the main points. I am not trying to win your vote, if you are sure you are voting for Loren, then your mind is made up; just thought your comment lacked merit. But I respect your opinion of Loren, that is the wonderful thing about voting, get out there and vote. For me or against me, vote for somebody on October 2nd.
Paul you seem like a great
Paul you seem like a great guy but you can't just go in and adjust fire and building codes to allow for things.
This is because our fire and building codes are there to protect the general public by identifying things or activities that are hazardous to safety and life in buildings, neighborhoods etc....
Each and every single one of us has the right to be safe in our comunity and to feel safe in our community.
Our codes are the way we keep our communities safe, safe enough for people to live and raise their families in.
@catandmouse
I must correct myself, it is actually the process that people must go through to navigate the building codes, that must be adjusted. I did not mean to suggest that we, say, ignore fire codes and not require fire escapes, or the likes. I apologize, you are absolutely correct.
kudos
Kudos to Paul for responding to questions on this forum
@catandmouse and conner
Also on the code issue, some of those buildings would likely need to be torn down and rebuilt from the ground up. I worked for many years as a carpenter, and I in no way think we should be doing this in a shoddy manner.
Thank you Paul - Sorry to
Thank you Paul - Sorry to have put you on the spot. To me public safety tops everything.
@downtowndude
I want to see this sort of communication on all our City's issues. I wonder if we can create an online community forum like this on the CBJ website. The communication is poor between the people and the Assembly, and the latter has to be there to listen, but the people are not talking to City enough. Maybe this sort of communicating would increase the inflow of information from our community. I am big on science and technology; and I would like to look into other ways to update the CBJ government, such as, phone app voting to increase the numbers at the polls.
@catandmouse
No need to apologize. This is exactly what I want to see, if I make a mistake call me out on it; I am not too proud to admit when I am wrong (although, my wife may disagree). In all seriousness though, thank you.
Thank you akbrdguru and Paul
For the information - guru - is the list of government meetings on the ONLINE version of the paper somewhere? I don't get the printed paper. I just figured it would be front page, or in their "ELECTIONS" section, and that the group putting it on would have it on their website....... silly me.
@swimmergirl
I don't think it is on the Empire website; I looked up where guru was talking about on the CBJ website; after getting to their home page:
The calendar link is on the left-hand side column [CITY CALENDARS]. After finding that, the following links are pretty straight forward. Hope this helps.
@ Mr. Nowlin
Tear down the buildings and rebuild them from the ground up? Maybe you don't realize those buildings have no ground under them. They are also all attached to each other. Who would pay to tear my building down and rebuild it? This seems like a ridiculous uninformed statement by you. Just sayin?
@thespout
Uniformed indeed, I only suggest to look into it at this point; so I agree, I have not done the full research; only trying to create options to look at.
The building owners would pay for it, some of those structures downtown are nearing being condemned by the looks of them; so if they become totally unusable it will not be good for anyone. I don't think the City should pay for it, only be encouraging to landowners to use their buildings to the fullest, so that the community benefits, as would the owner from increased revenues.
I am not sure what you mean by the buildings have no ground under them; can you elaborate?
I was a carpenter for many years, and the fact that they are connected does not really matter (although, maybe I am overlooking something in this specific situation, again, I have not done the research, nor have I seen any blueprints for the downtown buildings); for example, people remove garages from their homes and rebuild them. It does create a need to be careful not to damage the surrounding buildings while separating, but it is very doable, physically speaking. Does this help to clarify what I mean? I appreciate your taking the time to present your concerns.
The ground under downtown...
...is waste rock (non ore bearing shot rock) from the AJ. Perfectly good fill. Everything on the flat, including the Federal Building, is built on it. Although much of the South Franklin and Front St. area was built on pilings and subsequently filled in. Miner's Mercantile put in a foundation a few years ago. It's doable, but, probably too expensive for the trinket trade curio shops to consider.
How about CBJ cutting loose some of their land for development for affordable housing? And give property taxes a serious break! What I would like to see in an assembly seat candidate that is someone who wants to combat the old JUNEAU GOUGE! Affordable housing is one thing. Reasonable taxes and affordable cost of living will make Juneau thrive. Right now, the middle class and poor are nickel and dimed to death!
"...the people are not talking to City enough."
True statement. However, the city doesn't listen to the people enough. Assembly members (not all of them) seem to forget that they were elected to REPRESENT those that put them in that seat. I can't remember any of them sending me a bulk mail letter ASKING me what my thoughts were on an important issue. What I see right now is a candidate responding on a newspaper forum. That's a plus. But, once elected, will the correspondence with constituents continue?
@ Skirkz
You could be right about the costs outweighing the benefits of total building reconstruction. I still want to look into it, and get the figures together, talk to the building owners, and go from there. The more options the better, we don't have to jump into anything blindly, and I am not thinking about spending CBJ money to make it happen; only my own time.
I have already heard Merrill Sanford [sorry to his opponent Cheryl if she also mentioned it] talking about opening up land from the CBJ for development; so it is not my own original idea, but I am supportive of what he has to say about it. Don't quote me about what he said, but he had some really good points about it; but I will let you contact him for the details. I am open to look at any options that help Juneau, and not just help a handful of individuals to make a buck off of the system. I am a third generation Juneau Boy, and I have a retired grandmother, working aunts, uncles, cousins, in-laws and little nieces, nephews, and second cousins growing up and starting school here in Juneau; so I care about every generation of Juneau, not just my own.
Lowering property tax is (a small) part of how I see making housing more affordable; in that, high property taxes are not only a burden on home owners, but it is passed on to renters as well; so we all suffer. I am constantly told that the assessed values of our homes are above fair market value; this is terrible. I am a working man, and I feel what you are saying about us being nickel and dime'd to death. Believe that this will be in my mind when I make any decisions. This is the most expensive City in the State, and either Alaska or Hawaii is the most expensive state in the U.S. to live in; and that is a number 1, that we should not be proud of.
I will communicate with the public as often as they would like. I have been thinking that it would be good to have a CBJ forum, like these Empire comment sections. People can get their word in; even the shy people, or those who are stuck at home can give input. If the City does not want this, I will look into making my own blog, or whatever it is officially called; I personally want to stay in contact. I did not realize that some Assembly members forget that they are representatives; I started on this path to give back, to represent the youth and working class of Juneau; and that will not change. I have no special interests or pet projects. Only to make Juneau an affordable option for our youth to stay in Juneau if they choose; and so that the rest of us can pay the bills as well.
I believe I know your true identity, and if I am right, you can ask your sons: Z or C, if I am a man of my word. That wont help anyone else in here, but you will know personally that I am not here to BS you. If I am wrong about whom you are, forgive me.
@skirkz about mail outs
Oh about a mail out, that might be too expensive to do on a regular basis. Perhaps the more important big budget issues could include that. However, it would cost $13,500 in postage alone to send out a letter to 30,000 residents, and another $13,500 for the public to mail them back in. Plus, paper, time, etc., so that seems a bit expensive to do for every topic; and that would result in decisions of what issues are worth the money, and what issues would once again go untouched by the public.
I think that going digital would be a better option, and those who choose could be put on a paper mail out list. Maybe a newspaper, or radio, ad could alert the public to put their 2 cents in. With mass media, we can find a way to make the communication more accessible.
Another idea that I have been tossing around in my head is a way to highlight Assembly meeting topics. I listen to them online and although I find it interesting, I can see how it would bore some people to the point that they just don't have the patience to know what is going on. Maybe we could have someone video record the meetings and create a YouTube channel to show highlights. I have not come up with a precise plan, but I cannot stop thinking about the fact that it needs to be updated.
Skirkz, you are aware that
Skirkz, you are aware that the Assembly has a meeting (mostly) every other Monday, right? And that the agenda is posted online, right? (Heck, even re-Pete at KINY news posts the agenda.) And that there is ample opportunity to testify on any particular topic, so that Assembly members can ask you questions too about your testimony, right? Kinda like a dialog?
But you want them to come to you?
Huh.