Merrill Sanford vies for District 1 Assembly seat

As a veteran of the Juneau Planning Commission, Merrill Sanford sees the value of the city's boards and commissions. If elected to the Juneau Assembly, he would emphasize teamwork, he said.

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"I think the Assembly can get a feeling for what their different boards do and what they're responsible for. And then have faith in those decisions," he said. "They need to have more meetings together and understand why a different board made the decision they did before they change decisions."

The issue came to a head this spring when the Juneau Assembly voted to renovate Juneau-Douglas High School before pursuing a second high school in the Mendenhall Valley, over the wishes of Juneau School Board members.

Sanford said he doesn't know all the facts and is not sure if he agrees with the Assembly's decision to vote against the School Board.

For more Juneau Empire coverage of the October 1 municipal elections, please visit the Juneau Empire Elections Guide.

"I think in the long run it will all work out and it's a good thing the school is going ahead, but it still is pretty terrible for the crowded condition that is there already," he said. "They're tough Alaskan kids, but it is definitely overcrowded down there. It's terrible."

Sanford, a retired fire chief with Capital City Fire and Rescue, said one reason he's running is because he has four grandchildren and would "like to see our educational system stay up to snuff."

He supports building a second high school in the Valley. And he's in favor of taking the issue back to voters if the figures in the last bond measure are outdated, he said.

"We're probably right at the threshold now," he said. "They need to know what they're getting, when they're getting it and how much they're going to have to pay for it. "

Sanford would like to see a road north built in pieces over years. A road will help Juneau's case in the debate against a capital move, he said.

"If we do ever get a road here it would solve some of the problem, not all of the problem," he said. "It would solve for some of those people who say they can't get here."

As far as Juneau's battle against a capital or legislative session move, the community's most valuable tool is one-on-one conversations with the state's residents, he said. People need to know that Juneau and the Legislature are accessible by airplane, ferry, television, radio and the Internet, he said.

"Keep the people informed and up to date and do it down at the smallest denominator - one-on-one," he said. "I think the mayor and Assembly do a good job with (Alaska Municipal League) meetings and all that, but it does help the people who live and work in the different community to know what's going on, the facts about the capital move."

Statewide meetings of retirees, the Pioneers of Alaska, police officers and firefighters are good places to get Juneau's message across, he said.

A recent move from hour to half-hour bus service on Capital Transit turned out well, Sanford said. But he is concerned about the price of other upgrades, such as a switch to 15-minute service.

"If we want to take another step, it's going to cost money and we need to evaluate where that money is going to come from," he said. "Right now, we're almost at the 12 mill (property tax) cap. It's hard to take money for operation out that 12 mills. So we either need to increase businesses or increase sales tax revenues if we're going to increase that."

Merrill Sanford

Age: 55.

Lived in Juneau: 54 years.

Immediate family in town: Wife Patricia Sanford, sons Norman Hales and Robert Sanford, mother Evelyn Sanford, brother Ralph Sanford and sister Mary Ann Sanford.

Education: 1966 graduate of Juneau-Douglas High School.

Occupation: Retired fire chief with Capital City Fire and Rescue, retired volunteer fire chief with the Auke Bay and Douglas districts.

Offices held: Planning Commission member, four years.

Military: Aviation section, U.S. Marines, including a tour of duty in Vietnam. Army National Guard, 12 years.

Hobbies: Hunting, fishing, flying kites and being outdoors.

Juneau's transportation problem won't be solved with one transportation mode, Sanford added. The state Department of Transportation is looking at improvements to Egan Drive and the city's Community Development Department will evaluate downtown parking improvements this winter, he said.

Sanford said he supports a $15 million bond proposition for harbor, water and sewer improvements on October's ballot, but is concerned about the city's debt level. He said he probably would have voted for a city-wide smoking ban that went into effect Jan. 1, especially the restrictions on office buildings.

"I try to lean toward not having government involved in business decisions, especially when I have a choice whether I want to go into that business or not," he said.

Sanford has raised about $7,000 for his campaign and hopes to raise about $15,000, he said.