The 2010 Census numbers are in and Southeast Alaska has a problem because of declining population compared to the growth in MatSu. Every ten years after the Census we re-draw the district lines to make sure each voting district has approximately the same number of people. The initiative to expand the number of legislators failed in our last election – which means that with the population shift, southeast is going to lose a legislative seat. The question is now how to redraw the lines (Senate districts consist of two House Districts). Juneau qualified for two House districts previously. Now each of our districts is short about 2,000 people. We probably will have one district that is Juneau only, and a second one that is Juneau and some collection of other communities in Southeast. There’s the rub.
There needs to be about 17,755 residents per district. THIS DOCUMENT shows how many people are in the various communities around southeast and how many each district is “short.” A big challenge to the redistricting effort is the federal requirement to not reduce a minority’s voting strength. Currently District 5 is the biggest district geographically, collecting lots of different native communities. One approach to redistricting is to distribute the communities of this meandering district – but that would almost certainly reduce native representational strength and might not pass federal review.
The Redistricting Board is going to hold a hearing in Juneau tomorrow – Friday March 25th from Noon to 7pm in the Capital room 106. The Redistricting Board Website
has a lot of background materials. Come on down and testify if you want to put in your two cents.
You may have heard that the Assembly is soliciting applications from citizens in the Valley district who would like to fill out the rest of my Assembly term from May to October. Anyone who is interested needs to file a letter of interest and a resume with the Clerk’s Office by 4:30pm Thursday April 7. See the official NOTICE
We also have our annual appointing of members to the Docks and Harbors Board, Airport Board and the Eaglecrest Board. Applications are due by April 27th. Anyone who is interested should give me a call and we can chat about it. Openings for all Boards and Commissions can be found HERE
Information on how to apply is found HERE
We Need YOU!
Thursday, March 24, 2011
Thursday, March 17, 2011
Transitions
Dear Friends,
It is with extremely mixed feelings that I announce I have accepted a position with California State University San Bernardino as Chair of their Public Administration Department beginning July 1. I have informed the Mayor that I will resign from the Assembly effective at the end of our May 23 Assembly meeting.
I have been so blessed by my time on the Juneau Borough Assembly. I have built relationships with people across the community that I treasure. I have put roots down in Juneau in a way I have not done anywhere else. I truly love this town and had not planned to leave.
However, as we all know, “life” happens. Without going into detail, there were significant issues in both my family life and professional life that took me in this direction.
I will continue to be active on the Assembly until I leave, particularly in the upcoming budget discussions. Juneau needs to be very careful about its financial commitments, given the uncertainty of the future, particularly state and federal contributions.
I feel incredibly honored to have been part of our government system over the past years. It feels like we have made some significant accomplishments. Now we are entering a time of transition. Over the next few years, most of the current Assembly members will reach their final terms. Our city manager will probably retire in another year. The Mayor completes his term a year from October. We need strong, dedicated Juneau citizens to step up and become involved with our government, be it on the Assembly or on our various Boards and Commissions. We need new leaders. Please give some thought to what you can do.
I will continue this blog over the next few months as we go through our annual budget cycle.
Thank you for your support and friendship.
It is with extremely mixed feelings that I announce I have accepted a position with California State University San Bernardino as Chair of their Public Administration Department beginning July 1. I have informed the Mayor that I will resign from the Assembly effective at the end of our May 23 Assembly meeting.
I have been so blessed by my time on the Juneau Borough Assembly. I have built relationships with people across the community that I treasure. I have put roots down in Juneau in a way I have not done anywhere else. I truly love this town and had not planned to leave.
However, as we all know, “life” happens. Without going into detail, there were significant issues in both my family life and professional life that took me in this direction.
I will continue to be active on the Assembly until I leave, particularly in the upcoming budget discussions. Juneau needs to be very careful about its financial commitments, given the uncertainty of the future, particularly state and federal contributions.
I feel incredibly honored to have been part of our government system over the past years. It feels like we have made some significant accomplishments. Now we are entering a time of transition. Over the next few years, most of the current Assembly members will reach their final terms. Our city manager will probably retire in another year. The Mayor completes his term a year from October. We need strong, dedicated Juneau citizens to step up and become involved with our government, be it on the Assembly or on our various Boards and Commissions. We need new leaders. Please give some thought to what you can do.
I will continue this blog over the next few months as we go through our annual budget cycle.
Thank you for your support and friendship.
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