2019 Juneau Municipal Elections
Why are you running?
School Board
Deedie Sorensen
Candidate for School Board
I’m running for the Juneau School Board because I have taught in Juneau for over 35 years, and I’ve lived downstream from quite a number of board decisions — some good, some bad. I’m aware of the unintended consequences and the collateral damage of a lot of those decisions, and I’d like to take my education, my experience, and help shape future decisions by the board.
Martin Stepetin Sr.
Candidate for School Board
I’m running for school board because I believe in a strong, stable, balanced education for our kids here in Juneau. I’m running because I have a vested interest in the school board’s success and the schools’ success. I have four kids in school, ranging from Head Start all the way to high school. So I am running to ensure that our schools are guided properly, especially through these turbulent times. And I want to be in place to help make the tough decisions, if there (are) any to be made.
Bonnie Jensen
Candidate for School Board
I’m running because I have two young children that are currently attending Gastineau Elementary and I feel like my budget and governmental state statutes and regulations experience can be useful on the board and would ultimately benefit my children.
Emil Robert Mackey III
Candidate for School Board
I have a Ph.D. in public policy with an emphasis in higher education policy. I also have a master’s in education from the University of Alaska Fairbanks in curriculum design and instruction and a Bachelor of Science in teaching. So education has been my life academically, as well as professionally. I worked in higher education for almost 15 years and previously served on the school board from 2015 to 2018, and loved it. I have a two-year-old child, and that changes perspective a little bit. I just want to run and make sure that we’re making the correct and balanced choices that the school district needs for priorities, so that we have the best education available to my child and everybody else’s child in the school district when they need it.
District 2 Assembly
Wade Bryson
Candidate for District 2 Assembly
I just completed my first year and first term on the Assembly, and I absolutely love it. I really enjoy the work, I enjoy the Assembly group that I’m with right now. I’m very proud of the work that we do, and I’m very pleased with the results that we’ve produced for the city over the last year. I like being involved in things. My experience on “Problem Corner,” where I was getting involved in community topics, was a great segue into being an Assembly member. I get to talk to more people now that I’m on the Assembly, and I get to hear more and newer and different perspectives, and it’s allowed me to get a great bit of information and really be able to help solve some of Juneau’s problems. I’ve been involved in the childcare initiative, helping with the police force. And I look forward to all the opportunities that next year can offer, and I’m honored to serve the people of Juneau; I thank them.
District 1 Assembly
Greg Smith
Candidate for District 1 Assembly
I’m running because I was born and raised in Juneau. I love this place. It has provided me a lot of quality things — a strong public education, a safe neighborhood to grow up in, good job opportunities — and I’m running to keep it a safe, healthy, great place to live.
Alicia Hughes-Skandijs
Candidate for District 1 Assembly
I’m running because my experience serving on the Assembly has been overwhelmingly positive. It was an honor to be chosen, and it sort of convinced me that this is the best way I can give back to the community. I’ve just had a ton of opportunities since moving to Juneau 15 years ago, and I feel like it’s my responsibility to make sure it remains a place of opportunity. It’s given me a home, it’s given me a community, and I want to protect that home and make sure it’s a positive community.
Areawide Assembly
Carole Triem
Candidate for Areawide Assembly
Well, I had a really fantastic time the last year on Assembly, learning and meeting new people. And I said last year that I could bring kind of an analytical economics approach to Assembly decision-making. And I think I found that I do bring that. We have a wide variety of voices on the Assembly. I think I have a positive impact by bringing that kind of analytical, forward thinking approach to our decision making.