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James Turner’s tenure on the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly began in 2018, and it seems that it will continue into the next three years following this recent re-election.
Turner spoke about his priorities coming into a second term. He said that for him, tackling the borough budget is the foremost issue.
“Fixing some of the budget issues that we have, trying to figure out some better ways to fill the gaps in personnel,” Turner said.
Turner will be returning to a substantially different borough assembly- Joseph Delgado and Jared Griffin will be filling vacant seats, and Scott Smiley is set to return in the wake of the recent election. According to Turner, he looks forward to this roster.
“I worked with Scott when I first got on the assembly, and I liked working with Scott, and that was a good fit. He and I got along on a lot of items, and some items we didn’t necessarily agree on. So, I’ve worked with Scott in the past, so that that should be similar to what we had in the past, Jared, and I and Joseph have worked on the consolidation committee together. And I appreciate both their efforts in that. And I think that they both have a great work ethic when it comes to things like that, and I can’t wait to see what they have to show us,” Turner said.
With Delgado and Griffin having recently been sworn in, and Turner and Smiley to swear on October 25, four of seven serving borough assembly members will have joined the body within the past two months.
And for full disclosure, Kodiak assembly member Jared Griffin is also employed by KMXT.