Place of birth: Lockport, NY (1951)
Education: Sweet Home Sr. HS; NCCC; Rogue CC; Southern Oregon University; UAS (30 hours short of my bachelor’s). Major in communications and minor in theater.
Occupation: 40 years as a licensed insurance agent; video production; Cutco sales
Family: One sister
Community service: U.S. Canoe and Kayak team representative, Pacific Division (1992-1994)
Other Experience: Sympathetic to athletics and music for high schools. I received an award for being outstanding in music and sports.
What steps can the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly take to ensure equal pay for equal work in the private sector in Juneau?
Ensure that the state of Alaska labor laws are followed.
Would you be in favor of developing a comprehensive public health plan for the CBJ? What components of the public’s health should be included? If you would not support such a plan, please explain why.
Just nurses in elementary and high schools to implement vaccinations.
What can be done to improve the bus and pedestrian traffic in the downtown area during the tourist season?
Light rail at the glacier, advocate Pedicab usage. Make it easy for obtaining permits for pedicabs. Pedicabs can get the people off the docks even before the taxis.
If you had to rank spending priorities for the CBJ, what would be your top two items requiring adequate funding other than public safety? Explain your choices.
After we sell water to southern California and erase the $4.9 million short fall, I will be submitting a business ethics ordinance, a blanket slashing of all licenses, permits, fees, and application fees to the maximum of $250. No more taking out a loan to pay a license, permit, whatever to be in business in CBJ. Lower property taxes. Lower rents and leases. Offer incentive to lower rents and leases.
What measures would you suggest to improve gun safety in the CBJ?
Advocate when people buy a gun they take a gun safety course with the NRA.
What do you consider to be a living minimum wage in the Juneau area? What measures could the CBJ take to raise the minimum wage?
Lower overhead for business owners. This means cutting taxes like inventory taxes, lowering license fees and permits, and promoting competition for health insurance. CBJ should promote entrepreneurship — more small businesses means higher wages. Make it more profitable to have a business in Juneau than to work for the city of Juneau.
What progress has been made on increasing the availability of affordable housing and what still needs to be done?
With transitional housing, have first six months paid for by federal grants. Sale of surplus utilities to other municipalities enables the city to be able to offer landlords incentives, if the landlord reduces the rent for a year 10 to 50 percent the city will lower the property tax by the same amount the next year. This is optional. If the landlord raises the rent or lease, the property tax will go up the same amount the rent was raised. The state Legislature should stop giving $2,300 a month to lawmakers and change it to $800.
