A major theme of the candidates for mayor in our recent special election was about the need to bring us together as a community and work toward unity — both in vision and action. This was the goal for which Mayor Greg Fisk, in his too-short tenure, was aiming. This message was also the centerpiece of Ken Koelsch’s campaign and an important reason Koelsch’s victory by a strong majority.
As reported in the Juneau Empire prior to the election as part of the newspaper’s candidate profile, Koelsch stated his top priority was to unify the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly and move toward consensus decisions. We believe Koelsch contemplated supporting Jesse Kiehl for deputy mayor as a symbolic action toward a more unified government, and as way to help bridge disparate views on the issues facing our community. Koelsch’s initial thoughts on naming Kiehl as deputy mayor were sound. Such a move would have been in the best tradition of our local government. For instance, former Mayor Fisk supported Mary Becker for deputy mayor upon his election based on her experience, and as a way to achieve harmony among contrasting perspectives on the Assembly.
Regrettably, we observed Mayor Koelsch take exactly the opposite course when it came to electing a deputy mayor. Rather than support Kiehl, he nominated and voted for an alternative candidate, and one who was an ardent supporter of his during his campaign. As a result, our community wound up with yet another divisive 5-4 vote on the Assembly. Instead of delivering the unity and consensus he promised, the mayor moved right into polarized politics and missed his first opportunity to lead in a unifying way.
We do not seek to make this piece a sour grapes attack on Koelsch. Of the four authors of this editorial, two supported Koelsch and two supported his opponent, Karen Crane. All of us, however, welcomed the idea of a unifying force on the Assembly instead of the 5-4 split between two opposite political camps, a theme that too often characterizes Juneau’s Assembly decision making.
Juneau doesn’t have a strong mayor form of government. The mayor has but a single vote like the other Assembly members, and the mayor has no veto power. But as Koelsch correctly noted during the campaign, much of the job of Juneau’s mayor is about consensus building. The mayor has the bully pulpit, and is in the position to set an agenda that strives for agreement rather than conflict.
We think of Bill Overstreet and Fran Ulmer, past mayors from different ends of the political spectrum, both of whom were successful in large measure because of their ability to bring people together for the good of the Juneau community. We urge Koelsch to serve as a unifying mayor. We hope this recent action by him was an anomaly, and that he will remember and act on his promise to work toward unity and consensus on the Assembly and in the community.
• Empire Readers’ Council editorials are written by members Joe Geldhof, Abby Lowell, Tom Rutecki and Alex Wertheimer. The council is currently seeking members; interested parties should contact Publisher Rustan Burton at rustan.burton@juneauempire.com.
