Letter: Crane and the AML’s repeal of senior citizen property tax discounts

Juneau mayoral candidate Karen Crane is the 2014 past president of the board of directors of the Alaska Municipal League. The AML has published its statewide legislative priorities for the 2016 session, and one of the top priorities is “Repealing AS 29.45.030(g),” which is a state mandated discount for all senior citizens and disabled veterans on the first $150,000 of property tax value for their primary residence.

Crane has touted her economic policies for Juneau in her campaign, yet she is a past president of the AML which is asking to repeal the state mandated property tax discount for senior citizens and disabled veterans, some of Juneau’s most vulnerable citizens. Senior citizens just lost their sales tax exemptions while Crane was sitting on our Juneau Assembly and disabled veterans are not deserving of another blow to their affordability of housing either.

Crane and her fellow AML board members clearly weren’t considering the welfare of Juneau’s senior citizens or disabled veterans when it included this misguided grab at their affordable housing needs in their legislative priorities. Juneau’s senior citizens and disabled veterans can’t much afford the double whammy of a downturn in the state economy and another attack on their housing budgets from those that seek to represent them as mayor of Juneau.

Juneau senior citizens and disabled veterans deserve to hear from the mayoral candidates on this issue as soon as possible. I live and work in Juneau, so when I vote for Juneau mayor on Tuesday, March 15, I’d like to know which candidates represent the needs of senior citizens and disabled veterans!

David Summers,

Juneau