Yesterday, on the last day of election filing, Karen Taug was certified as a candidate running against me in the October 7 election. KINY news says she is a senior accountant with Sealaska.
Through the wonders of google I can see that she is a strong Road advocate. http://www.juneau.org/assembly/agendas/2006/2006-07-29/Public_Comments/2006-07-26-Karen_&_Ole_Taug_re_Juneau_Access_Road.pdf
She formerly worked for Goldbelt and is a strong Kensington Mine advocate. I'm sure I'll hear more.
I welcome the competition and look forward to a chance to talk about the issues that are so important to Juneau. I do hope this will not be a campaign about "the Road." This has been such a divisive issue for Juneau. It is always presented as an either/or issue-- an "us versus them." It has been used to categorize, stereotype and pigeonhole people. It has been a tool to shut down dialog.
What we need to do is work on issues that unite Juneau-- that help us move forward together. Juneau faces great challenges. Southeast Alaska has been declining, with Juneau hanging stable because of state government. But state government, as we know, is "creeping" out of Juneau up to Anchorage. We need to fight that creep, and also work to diversify our economy so that we are less dependent on state government as the only game in town. This is going to require Juneau citizens to pull together. If we are distracted and divided by issues like "The Road" we will be less able to meet this challenge.
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“We must recognize the full human equality of all of our people – before God, before the law, and in the councils of government. We must do this, not because it is economically advantageous – although it is; not because the laws of God command it – although they do; not because people in other lands wish it so. We must do it for the single and fundamental reason that it is the right thing to do.” – Robert Kennedy, June 6, 1966
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