Robert Harris Edwardson has lived in Juneau on and off for about 20 years, and has considered running for an City and Borough of Juneau Assembly seat for quite some time. It wasn’t until mid-June of this year that he finally decided to do it.
Edwardson, 52, who currently works as a legislative aide for Rep. Justin Parish, attended a “How to Run for Public Office” workshop put on by the Juneau League of Women Voters on June 17.
“Listening to the previous candidates, both successful and unsuccessful candidates were presenting there,” Edwardson said, “I think that’s when I decided to run.”
He filed his letter of intent with the Alaska Public Offices Commission just five days after the workshop, and will be running for the District 2 spot on the Assembly. Debbie White currently holds that position after winning the seat in 2014.
White said she’s actually looking forward to facing a challenger and hopes for a “spirited and honorable campaign” leading up to the Oct. 3 election.
“It may be easier, and more comfortable, to run a campaign with no opponents, but it is healthy for a democracy to debate the issues so the voters can make informed choices,” White said via email Wednesday. “Campaigns provide an opportunity to discuss what we’ve done to keep taxes down, neighborhoods safer and our economy stronger.”
Assembly members Jesse Kiehl (District 1) and Maria Gladziszewski (Areawide) will also be defending their posts. Gladziszewski has not yet filed her letter of intent with APOC, but told the Empire on Wednesday that she will be running this fall.
Edwardson is originally from Ketchikan and began his time in Juneau with the Coast Guard, spending about 10 of his 20 years with the service in Juneau. He worked in various capacities, dealing with search and rescue, law enforcement, military operations and pollution response.
He has also worked in various environmental roles, working for the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation as a statewide Cruise Ship Program Manager, and then as a Southeast Regional Manager for the Department of Natural Resources Division of Mining, Land and Water.
With his experience in environmental fields, two recent discussions among Assembly members have caught his attention. The discussion of whether Mayor Ken Koelsch should sign a document supporting the Paris Climate Agreement intrigued Edwardson — who said he would have voted to have Koelsch sign the document — and the proposal to look into the city’s mining ordinance also stood out.
A subcommittee including three Assembly members is holding its first meeting at 1 p.m. Friday at City Hall to look into making changes to the city’s mining ordinance. The ordinance was most recently adapted in 1989, and involved numerous months of public meetings and involvement.
Edwardson believes that this time around, the city should do the same kind of process.
“As I understand it, because I wasn’t following the process when they put the ordinance in place, it followed a rigorous public process, and I think that’s good that those types of issues go through a rigorous public process,” Edwardson said. “I think it’s good to revisit statutes or regulations or ordinances, but it should go through an equally rigorous and equally public process.”
Before he gets too deep into the issues, Edwardson needs to take care of what he called “housekeeping.” The first day that candidates can officially register with the city is Aug. 4, and he’s working to put his team together now.
Edwardson knows for sure that his daughter Susie Edwardson will play a major role in his campaign. She is currently in a graduate certificate program for linguistics at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, and has some political experience. Most recently, she worked for Rep. Paul Seaton through a First Alaskans Institute Public Policy Fellowship. She’ll be back in Juneau soon, and will immediately start helping with the campaign.
The campaign will be a major time commitment, but Edwardson knows that it’s nothing compared to the time he’d have to commit if he ends up winning the election Oct. 3. He’s followed the Assembly closely through the years, both listening in on meetings and reading through the minutes that are posted online, and he can see how much effort the Assembly members put into understanding the issues.
“If I prevail, I’ll just make sure that I’ll make the time for this,” Edwardson said. “This would be a priority obviously.”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com.
