Emily Mesch

What makes you a good candidate for the Juneau Assembly?

I have a vision for a prosperous Juneau and I believe in a prosperous Juneau. I want to see that vision come to fruition. I want to make the difficult decisions, have the difficult conversations that ensure that everybody in Juneau has a say in how the city is run. That, in the end, everybody has a chance to prosper here.

The city is asking voters to approve adding nearly $23 million to the city’s debt for public health and safety improvements. What are your thoughts on the two ballot initiatives?

I think they’re important. I think there are certain things that we need for a functioning city, and I hope the voters approve it. I think both of the initiatives will go a long way toward making lives of people in Juneau better.

Do you think the Ship-Free Saturday ballot initiative will benefit Juneau residents? Why or why not? If so, how?

I’ve done a lot of thinking on this one, and I think I’ve come on the side of no, I don’t think it’s going to benefit the people of Juneau. It kind of feels like this is the slogan to get people motivated about this issue, and I think that’s important. We need to be engaging with this issue. But I don’t think a good slogan is enough reason to decide policy.

I think, again, it’s about difficult conversations. It’s about difficult discussions and making sure that all of Juneau is involved in figuring out what our solution for the cruise ships are. If this vote passes by 50% plus one, then that means that nearly 50% of the city doesn’t want it, but because it’s a ballot initiative, it would still pass. And I’m not sure that that’s the best way to go about this particular problem.

Juneau has now experienced record-breaking glacial outburst flooding events two years in a row. What role should the city play in mitigating damage to residential property in the future?

The primary role, I think, is figuring out restitution for the people damaged by this year’s flood. I think finding grant money, finding support, getting more construction workers into town to make sure that the homes are complete before the winter comes in as much as possible.

And I think that goes on into next year. Any mitigation we can do that’s on city land should be done. Any effort to push the federal government and state government where it’s relevant to. I don’t even care what the plan is, as long as there is a plan in place by – I was going to say this time next year – but earlier than that. June of next year, physically to stop a flood, whether that is drilling through the mountain, whether it’s putting a giant dam around Mendenhall Lake – whatever the people above my pay grade decide is the right thing to do. The city needs to be pushing them as hard as possible to make sure it happens.

The city is moving forward with a redevelopment plan for the Telephone Hill neighborhood in the coming years. How should the Assembly balance the need for more affordable housing downtown with the costs the city may have to shoulder to get those requirements in place?

I think affordable housing is paramount – that’s been one of my rallying cries. I think Telephone Hill is a great opportunity. I think, and this is a little bit radical, but we’re in a crisis, and all options should be on the table.

I think the city should start engaging in city-owned and city-managed housing that we can provide at cost without a profit motive. I think that’s like the new building by Fred Meyer, that’s what happened. The profit motive got involved in affordable housing and the developer’s interests were in conflict with the city’s. If the city is in charge, the city can set the prices so that we’re not losing money, but we’re not gaining money either, and we’re providing affordable housing for our residents. And Telephone Hill is a great place where we can do that. 

What do you think are the most important issues facing Juneau right now?

So, I have three plus an extra one. The bonus one is flooding. I think that’s immediately we need to be addressing that in every way possible, from every direction possible. Setting that aside, the three most important issues are figuring out education funding. Kids are just going back to school, and it’s been a bit of an adjustment. I think there are ways that we can fix it. I think there are things we can do there.

Number two is affordable housing. Like we just spoke about, if you can’t afford to live in Juneau, you’re not going to live in Juneau, or you’re going to end up in a crisis situation, and that’s not OK. And, the third issue is cruise ships. It affects everybody, whether you’re in the industry or not, and we need to have a solution that fits for everybody.