Name: Carole Triem
Date and place of birth: 1988; Petersburg, AK
Length of residency in Alaska and Juneau: Lifelong in Alaska, in Juneau since 2014
Education:BA Economics from Seattle University, Master of Public Policy from Georgetown University
Occupation: Program Manager
Family: Sean Maguire, husband
Community service: Assemblymember since 2014, previously on the board of Southeast Alaska Land Trust
How will you as an Assembly member move the second channel crossing to completion in a timely and cost-effective manner, and where do you anticipate funding will come from?
A second crossing can’t be completed without federal funding. To move this project forward, I view the Assembly’s job as creating a public process so that all the important community and neighborhood voices are heard when decisions are made about how, where, and when to build.
How can we keep our community hospital commercially viable with increasing competition and regulatory challenges?
Right now, staffing is one of the biggest challenges the hospital faces. In the long term, to get a good workforce, we need to support the schools in Juneau and the university, in whatever ways we can. In the shorter term, doing whatever we can to make Juneau an affordable and attractive place to live will help attract the people we need.
What are your thoughts on the petition repealing the ordinance requiring new property owners to disclose their purchase price to the Assessor’s Office?
Mandatory disclosure is a misunderstood and misrepresented law the Assembly passed last year. I was hesitant about it at first, but I changed my mind and voted yes after learning that this information makes property taxes more equitable and will ultimately lower the property tax burden and housing costs of the middle class. Having reliable, transparent information also helps buyers and sellers in this crazy real estate market. Realtors shouldn’t be the only ones who know what homes are selling for.
How would you address rising costs and limited availability of groceries and other goods with supply chain issues?
Covid showed us just how fragile the supply chain is and in Juneau we’re particularly vulnerable because we’re so remote. We have some local food producers already and I think we need to work on supporting them and other entrepreneurs who have good plans so that we can ensure food security. We have a manufacturing tax credit in place already, but I think we can come up with some creative new ideas to provide incentives, particularly with all of the federal funding available right now.
What ideas do you have to increase the livability of Juneau for current and prospective new residents?
Two big issues are really affecting our ability to attract and keep people in Juneau: Housing and childcare. In the past few years the Assembly has taken action to help Juneau’s childcare providers and we need to keep up that effort and adjust as needed to meet new demand. Housing is my top priority right now. There’s no one cause to that problem, so there’s not going to be any one solution. I’m urging the Assembly to move quickly and try every idea we have, big or small, to move the needle on the housing crisis, like tax abatement, grants and loans through the Affordable Housing Fund, regulating short-term rentals, and updating zoning codes.
What is the most important community need the Assembly must address?
Housing. Housing. Housing.
