District 2 Assembly: Don Etheridge pushes jobs in the community
Don Etheridge said his decision to run for re-election to the District 2 Juneau Assembly seat is rooted in a desire to provide more jobs.
Don Etheridge
• Age: 50
• Lived in Juneau: 43 years
• Immediate family in town: Wife Terry, children Carl and Jennifer, brother John, nephews, nieces and cousins.
• Occupation: Business agent and lobbyist for the Alaska State District Council of Laborers.
• Education: Juneau-Douglas High School graduate, university classes in labor relations and personnel management.
• Offices and organizations: One term on the Juneau Assembly, chairman of the Assembly's Human Resources Committee, former chairman of the city's Personnel
• Board and International Classic Yacht Association.
• Hobbies: Rebuilding wooden boats and woodworking.
"One of my biggest goals to make sure we put people to work," said Etheridge, a business agent and lobbyist with the Alaska State District Council of Laborers. "This time for the first time in eight years, my union hall for the laborers was empty. ... I just want to look at other ways of creating more jobs and more income for our community."
Putting people to work is one of the reasons Etheridge pushed his Assembly colleagues to renovate Juneau-Douglas High School before building a second high school in the Mendenhall Valley, he said. About 50 people were working on the construction project at its peak this summer, he said. Even though the Assembly's relationship with the Juneau School Board became rocky because of the vote, Etheridge said it was the right decision.
"There's a safety issue with the asbestos that was in the facility, the plumbing is outdated, the electrical is outdated. You can watch the curtains blow out when the wind is blowing so you're wasting money on that facility with heating," he said. "And I just think the kids deserve to have a decent school. The one driving factor that made me push so far for it was the fact that we already had the bid in hand."
Etheridge supports building a second high school, but said residents should have another opportunity to vote on the matter. Whether the building is constructed will depend on a state bond package that will go before voters in November, he said.
The School Board and the Assembly need to sit down and start talking to resolve the differences, he said. The Assembly has been "very generous" in funding school operations to the maximum state cap.
"My first year on the Assembly, I refused to get in with a group that wanted to fund to the minimum," he said. "I've always insisted on funding the school formula to the maximum we could by law every year."
Etheridge voted for a motion before the Assembly earlier this month that supported completing a study on access to Juneau and a road. A road will help reduce pro-capital move fervor and add to Juneau's economy, he said.
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"I believe by doing the road north and using the funds that the (Alaska) Marine Highway spends on that run to the rest of Southeast, it will create better access to Juneau from the south and the north," he said. "We're classified as the hub of the Southeast region and if we can get that increased ferry service south of town it will help improve access."
Etheridge planned to bring up a resolution in support of keeping legislative sessions in Juneau at an AFL-CIO state conference in Fairbanks this month.
"I think after this vote, the city needs to keep better communications open with other communities in Alaska, all of them," he said.
Etheridge voices strong support for the harbor, water and sewer improvements a $15 million bond proposition on the city ballot this fall would bring. And he supports a federal fisheries research center at Lena Point and the jobs connected with it. Bids for the project came in over budget this summer.
"One idea kicked around now is the city bonding the additional money needed," he said. "To that, that facility would need to be turned over to the city with the city go-ahead and build it and lease it back until it's paid for. I think that would be perfectly acceptable."
Etheridge, who was undergoing chemotherapy during his campaign for Assembly three years ago, is a cancer survivor. It's part of the reason he voted for a city-wide smoking ban, he said.
"I'd have to see what was brought forward before I make a decision one way or another (on exemptions)," he said. "But I'm strong in support of the nonsmoking areas."
Etheridge expressed dismay when bids for city projects have come in higher than estimates, and worked with staff members to address the problem. Local hire is another priority, he said.
"We hear a lot of comments about how our kids just grow up and leave because there aren't enough jobs here. That's because we don't do enough local hire," he said.
Etheridge said he's nearly finished raising the $20,000 he plans to spend on his campaign.
Joanna Markell can be reached at joannam@juneauempire.com.