Assembly candidates talk the road, senior sales tax and diversity

District 1 incumbent Mary Becker said the Juneau Assembly has no control of the road out of Juneau “because it is in the hands of the governor.”

“We might have opinions, we might even go so far as to tell him our opinions, but we have no decision-making rights,” she said Tuesday night during the Juneau Votes Municipal Candidates Debate, an event organized in collaboration with the Empire and KTOO. Her response was in reply to a question about what issues local government has no business in.

Becker got the opportunity later on in the forum to express her opinion on the road. When asked, “Do you support the Juneau Access road?” she said yes.

Other road supporters include unopposed District 2 candidate Beth Weldon and areawide candidate Norton Gregory. Gregory, who’s running against incumbent Kate Troll, said the road could be a revenue generator for the city. “When you compare a community that has a road to a community that does not have a road, you’ll see a very big difference,” he said.

Both of Becker’s opponents, Arnold Liebelt and William Quayle Jr., do not support the road; the same goes for Troll.

Senior issues

One issue that came up again and again during the hour-long formal debate and the half-hour audience Q&A session was the senior sales tax exemption.

A year ago, the city Assembly voted 7 to 2 in favor of limiting the tax exemption to essential purchases, like food, heating fuel, electricity and other utilities. Seniors making less than two and a half times the federal poverty level are also eligible for an annual rebate. The city predicted the change would net approximately $1 million per year in increased tax revenue.

[City restricts senior tax exemptions]

When KTOO reporter Lakeidra Chavis — a forum moderator with Empire reporter Sam DeGrave — asked candidates how they would address the concerns of Juneau’s growing senior population, Quayle immediately said, “Reinstate the exemption for sales tax.”

Weldon echoed Quayle’s sentiments. “I agree it needs to be looked at again. Unfortunately, right now I don’t think there’s votes on the Assembly to do so.”

On a different question related to the limited senior sales tax exemption, Norton said he would work to reverse the limitation.

“I strongly opposed the decision to eliminate the senior sales tax exemption. I’ve been meeting with a lot of seniors during my campaign and what I’m hearing is that we could possibly be facing a bigger hit. A lot of seniors have turned to Amazon for things that they used to be able to purchase locally; now they’re buying them on Amazon where it’s tax exempt and it gets delivered right to their door,” he said.

His opponent for the areawide seat, incumbent Troll stood by her original vote last year to limit the tax exemption. “Ten years from now when this senior sales tax exemption is still around and we have a sustainable budget before the city council, it’ll be due to seven Assembly members who had the wherewithal of making these changes and making the tough decisions,” she said.

District 1 incumbent Becker said she was totally opposed to the Assembly’s decision last year. “I’m the only one left on the Assembly who’s still absolutely against getting rid of the senior sales tax exemptions,” she said. Becker also said tax exempt essential purchases should include toilet paper, paper towels and laundry detergent.

When asked what else the city could cut to make up the $1 million in increased revenue, Becker replied, “I would propose the city put a deficit of whatever it is into the budget like they do for everything else we do. I don’t like the fact that seniors are treated as a special class of people who you can take things away from.”

Liebelt, one of Becker’s opponents, said he supports the limited tax exemption.

“This was a modest change. It changed it from a privileged program to a needs-based. Now that’s what it really should be — needs-based,” he said. “This will help our community by a million dollars and it will secure our financial future, in the end benefitting seniors.”

Liebelt had earlier in the forum said senior housing was an important issue, as did Troll, Weldon and Gregory.

Gregory serves on the Juneau Senior Assisted Living Task Force, the group responsible for building an assisted living home in Vintage Park near Safeway. He said he wants to make sure “Juneau is a senior citizen friendly community.”

Weldon said she wants to look at ways to train people in vocational programs, possibly starting in high school, to address the shortage of workers for assisted living. Liebelt said Juneau should “use the senior economy to help grow the working class to provide services for our aging population.” Quayle wants to make it easier for seniors to start their own business, and Troll said the city should make sure to keep senior property tax exemption in place.

Cultural diversity

Another topic that came up more than once was diversity. Candidates were asked how each would ensure Juneau’s diverse communities are represented in Assembly actions.

Noting that she’s met with the Filipino Community and Central Council of the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska, Weldon said reaching out was key to finding out concerns.

Gregory, who if elected would be the only Alaska Native Assembly member, said, “It is important that we have diversity on our Assembly and we make sure that there are people on there that our voters can relate to.”

Troll said she often asks herself during Assembly meetings, “How does this affect the Filipino community? How does it affect those in the Native community? That’s part of who I am naturally.”

District 1 candidate Liebelt said the Assembly is already doing a great job at factoring in the needs of Juneau’s different communities. Opponents Quayle and Becker both mentioned participation in ethnic events.

“One of things that I do and that I enjoy doing is I go to the Filipino dinners and also the Tlingit Celebration. I think if we are out in the public as an Assembly person, it’s just naturally a way that anybody can come and talk to us,” Becker said.

During audience Q&A, a member of the Filipino Community Board of Directors Edric Carillo asked the candidates how they would promote cultural diversity besides just attending cultural events.

Weldon brought up the idea of having Assembly liaisons to different cultural groups, which Troll said could work. Becker replied, “I would not want to have a liaison assigned to a particular culture unless they asked for it. I don’t think we should push ourselves into any of the communities.”

Gregory said Juneau should throw a party to celebrate and embrace Juneau’s cultures. While Liebelt said he liked Gregory’s idea, he said he wasn’t sure the city had a role in promoting cultural diversity. “I would look to ethnic groups to be promoting that diversity and celebrating that publicly amongst themselves where the city can come in and help promote it,” he said.

The candidates had different ideas for budget cuts, raising revenue and diversifying the economy.

Both Becker and Gregory talked about cutting the flower program under the Parks & Recreation department. Gregory said having a plentiful supply of housing will bring diversification. Liebelt said he wants to see more focus on independent tourism. Quayle brought up selling water to Southern California and getting cruise ships to come to Juneau in the winter to utilize the ski area. Troll and Weldon both mentioned bringing fisheries research jobs to Juneau and making Juneau an arts and cultural hub.

Absentee voting for the Oct. 4 municipal election is currently open. Registered voters can cast absentee in-person ballots now through Oct. 3 at City Hall or at the Mendenhall Mall Annex.

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Lightning Round

During Tuesday’s Juneau Assembly candidate forum, moderators asked the candidates a series of questions meant to be answered with a simple yes or no reply during the “lightning round.” The results are as follows:

Do you support the city’s involvement in Pederson Hill?

Norton Gregory: Yes
Kate Troll: Yes

Mary Becker: Yes
Arnold Liebelt: Yes
William Quayle Jr.: Yes

Beth Weldon: No

Do you support the construction of the multi-million dollar proposed mental health unit by Bartlett hospital?

Norton Gregory: Yes
Kate Troll: Yes 

Mary Becker: Yes
Arnold Liebelt: Yes
William Quayle Jr.: Yes 

Beth Weldon: Yes

Do you support heavy restrictions or a ban on fireworks in Juneau?

Norton Gregory: No
Kate Troll: Depends. I want to look at them. 

Mary Becker: No
Arnold Liebelt: Yes
William Quayle Jr.: I’m for fireworks. 

Beth Weldon: It depends on the restrictions.