With two weeks remaining before Juneau’s municipal election and a little over a month and a half before the statewide general election, the pace of election forums and events is picking up.
Get Out the Native Vote Southeast, a collaboration of various Native tribal and corporate groups, held a pair of municipal forums Tuesday night. Those will be followed by local forums for statewide office and Ballot Measure 1 in coming weeks.
Next Tuesday, Sept. 25, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., candidates to represent House districts 33 and 34 will answer questions at Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall on Willoughby Street. From 5-6:30 p.m. that day, candidates for House District 35 and Senate District Q will answer questions. Both forums will be streamed online by the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska.
In House District 33, independent Chris Dimond faces Democratic candidate Sara Hannan. In House District 34, Democratic candidate Andi Story faces Republican Jerry Nankervis. In House District 35, which covers Sitka and portions of southern Southeast, Democratic incumbent Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins faces Republican Richard Wein. In Senate District Q, which covers northern Southeast districts 33 and 34, Democratic candidate Jesse Kiehl faces independent Don Etheridge.
On Tuesday, Oct. 2, candidates for Alaska governor Mike Dunleavy, Mark Begich and Bill Walker will answer questions at a lunchtime event, again in Elizabeth Peratrovich Hall.
The following Tuesday, Oct. 9, proponents and opponents of Ballot Measure 1 will discuss the vices and virtues of that proposal.
Empire/KTOO debate Thursday
Candidates for municipal office will meet again face to face Thursday night at the KTOO studio for a forum hosted by the League of Women Voters of Juneau, KTOO and the Empire. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. and the program begins at 7 p.m. The schedule calls for 30 minutes of discussion with the three school board candidates, then 90 minutes of discussion with the Assembly and mayoral candidates.
The event will be streamed online and broadcast by KTOO-FM on public radio.
Also Thursday, the Juneau Chamber of Commerce will host a lunchtime Assembly candidate forum at the Moose Lodge. Doors open at 11:30 a.m. and the program runs from noon to 1 p.m. Admission with lunch is $25 per person. Admission without lunch is $12, payable at the door. RSVP at the Chamber’s website to reserve a seat. Next Thursday, the Chamber will host a forum for mayoral candidates.
Stand for Salmon hires DC firm
The organization leading the effort to approve Ballot Measure 1 has hired a Washington, D.C.-based firm to boost its cause. According to records filed Sept. 14 with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, Stand for Salmon spent just under $202,000 earlier this month with GMMB, a K Street lobbying, advertising and advocacy firm.
The state-filed records indicate the expense — the largest single item since Stand for Salmon started its campaign — is to pay for “ad development and placement.”
Stand for Salmon has raised approximately $1.3 million to support the passage of Ballot Measure 1.
Stand for Alaska, the group opposed to its passage, has raised more than $10 million. Several other organizations are also raising money independently to oppose the measure.
Gubernatorial events scheduled
The three leading candidates for governor are scheduled to appear on stage together at a handful of events this week. On Wednesday, Dunleavy, Walker and Begich will appear at the Alaska Mortgage Bankers Association and Anchorage Board of Realtors luncheon, which begins at 11 a.m. in Anchorage. On Thursday, the Anchorage chapter of the NAACP and the multicultural department of the University of Alaska Anchorage will host an educational forum starting at 7:30 p.m. in Anchorage’s Wendy Williamson Auditorium.
Kiehl, Etheridge head to Skagway
Jesse Kiehl, Democratic candidate for Senate District Q, which covers all of northern Southeast, will be visiting Skagway this weekend on a campaign trip. Kiehl will appear at a meet-the-candidate night in the Red Onion Saloon at 6 p.m. Friday and at a Sunday afternoon event beginning at noon at Bites on Broadway.
Don Etheridge, Kiehl’s independent competitor for the seat, will also be in Skagway this weekend. Etheridge intends to appear at the Skagway Assembly meeting scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday and the Dyea Community Advisory Board meeting at 6 p.m. Friday.
Nachos for Nankervis
Jerry Nankervis, Republican candidate for House District 34, is returning to the campaign trail after a series of outdoor projects at home, he said on social media. A “Nachos for Nankervis” fundraiser will take place from 5-6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Parkshore Clubhouse, 800 F Street in downtown Juneau. Former Armadillo Tex-Mex Cafe chef T. Terry Harvey will serve his recipe from the defunct restaurant. There is no cost to attend.
• Know of an upcoming political event? Contact reporter James Brooks at jbrooks@juneauempire.com or 523-2258.
