A Douglas resident is looking to unseat a two-term Juneau Assembly incumbent this fall.
Arnold Liebelt, a 23-year Juneau resident, has announced that he will run for the open District 1 Assembly seat in October’s municipal election.
“I’ve thought about running for Assembly for a long time now,” Liebelt wrote in a release, announcing his candidacy. “With the current state budget crisis, and the resulting impacts on Juneau’s budget, I feel like now is such a critical time for Juneau’s future.”
Liebelt has worked as a planner and project manager for the state and as a senior policy analyst for the governor’s Office of Management and Budget under the Sean Parnell and Bill Walker administrations.
Liebelt’s résumé touts his ability to work with state government, handle large budgets and make “data-driven” decisions. But the self-described “analytical guy” will still face a tough challenge this fall.
Assembly member Mary Becker currently holds the seat Liebelt is after, and she announced last week that she plans to win it again come Oct. 4.
[Becker to seek third Assembly term]
The candidate-filing period for the fall election doesn’t close until 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 15. Liebelt is out of town and plans to submit his candidacy paperwork on the last day of the filing period, he told the Empire Tuesday.
Official filing status withstanding, the Liebelt v. Becker race is the first — and so far the only — contested race of the fall’s city election.
As of Tuesday evening, Assembly member Kate Troll is running unopposed to win her second Assembly term and hold her areawide seat. Former firefighter and Glacier Auto Parts owner Beth Wheldon is running unopposed for the District 2 seat, held by Jamie Bursell. That seat was formerly held by Karen Crane, who resigned from the Assembly in January to run in March’s special mayoral election.
[Assemblywoman throws hat in mayoral race]
Liebelt told the Empire Tuesday that he has long considered seeking a seat on the Assembly. In January, he applied to temporarily fill Mary Becker’s Assembly seat — the same one he now hopes to win — when she became mayor for a short while after Greg Fisk died of natural causes in November. Liebelt was one of five applicants, and the Assembly ultimately decided to fill Becker’s seat with Barbara Sheinberg.
[Filling a vacancy: Meet the five applicants vying for an open Assembly seat]
Although it may be more beefed up than it was in January, Liebelt’s platform has remained consistent. He told the Empire his primary goal is to create a “sustainable capital budget.” And his life-within-our-means approach to the economy was made even more important after the Legislature failed to draft a sustainable budget during its most recent special session, Liebelt said.
“I think we have some really precarious times ahead, and I think we’re going to have to make some really tough and fiscal choices,” he said in a phone interview. “With city finances, we’ve got to keep our revenues equaling expenditures.”
• Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.
Read more about Liebelt’s past Assembly attempt:
Assembly vets candidates for vacant seat
Applicants file before D1-seat deadline
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