I offer a little different perspective in my support for re-electing Cathy Muñoz to the state House. As an active member of the Territorial Sportsmen, Juneau Shooting Sports Foundation and Juneau senior community, I have worked with Cathy and her staff on a variety of projects and programs. In addition, I grew up in Craig and appreciate the critical issues facing the small communities in Southeast Alaska. Although Cathy is elected to represent Juneau, she rarely gets accolades for her efforts to show support for all of the communities in the region. This is important to Juneau because we have been accused of being hypocritical when it comes to regional issues. When the capital move issues are front and center, we plead for support from everyone in Southeast. However, many community leaders accuse us of ignoring them when they ask for help. Cathy doesn’t do that, and I really respect her for making the extra effort to make Juneau an inclusive part of the region.
I have had the luxury of working with many legislators — both good and bad. Cathy is at the top of the good ones. She never refuses to take the time to meet and discuss issues critical to our state and offer her support if she agrees. This past year, the Territorial Sportsmen took the lead in advocating for hunting and fishing license increases for both residents and non-residents. Licenses had not been increased since 1993 and the state stood to lose millions of dollars in federal money because funds were not available to match on a 75 percent federal to 25 percent state matching basis. Despite the political risks, upon our request Cathy was one of two legislators that signed on as a co-sponsor to give the prime sponsor broader support. It passed, thanks to Cathy’s support.
For purely selfish political reasons, Juneau must re-elect Cathy Muñoz to the state House. At present, Juneau has two legislators in the minority of the House and Senate and Cathy in the House majority. Cathy serves on the House Finance Committee, which gives her significantly more influence on legislation and state spending than our two other legislators. With the budget crisis facing the state, I challenge Juneauites to picture the fiscal impact on Juneau with no one in the majority and no one on the finance committees.
Ron Somerville
Juneau