Candidates vying for the four open spots on the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly sat down to discuss their positions during a public candidates forum on Sept. 8. The candidates fielded questions related to the major issues the Borough is facing, including the landfill, housing, and education funding.
Six of the eight candidates running for Borough Assembly attended the forum: Scott Arndt, Shawn Brekke, Kaleb Callahan, Alex Sweeney, Mark Anthony Vizcocho, and Jeremy Williamson.
Originally, there were nine candidates, but Caroline Roberts announced she was dropping out of the race ahead of the forum. Incumbent Steven Ames and candidate Adam Powers did not attend Tuesday’s forum.
Of the six attendees, only two have experience serving on the Assembly: Arndt, who has previously been both an assembly member and mayor, and Vizcocho, who was appointed to temporarily fill a vacant seat in July.
All six candidates pushed for the sale of Borough land in order to open up more room for housing to be built in Kodiak. All candidates voiced support for the development of non-fisheries industries in Kodiak’s economy, like the spaceport and tourism. And they were all of the same mind about not raising property taxes.
"Property taxes I am not for," said Vizcocho. "I don't think we should put more taxes on the Kodiak community."
But a key difference was in their priorities. Candidates like Brekke, Williamson, and Sweeney all prioritized forms of housing and economic development. Vizcocho was more focused on strengthening community by opening up more gathering spaces, and Callahan wanted to increase financial and political opportunities for young people.
“My main purpose for running is to kind of be a role model, set an example for young adults, and showcasing that civic engagement is possible, but probably even encouraged," Callahan said.
The meeting room was about halfway packed with attendees. Pat Holmes, a retired Alaska Department of Fish and Game employee who went to the forum, said he wanted to get to know the candidates better.
“I'm just trying to see the nature and the quality of people, and how they think," Holmes said. "That's more important than the issues, is how they think and how they would potentially work towards solving the problems.”
Holmes said he was encouraged by the candidates’ responses during the forum. And so were the candidates themselves. Here’s Brekke:
"I mean, dude, we got some people who seem to really care, and I appreciate that so much," Brekke said. "So I'm pretty sure there's no such thing as a wasted vote in this go round.”
It wasn’t just Kodiak constituents at the meeting. House District 5 candidate Sheldon Prout and Senate District C candidate Heath Smith both attended the forum. Smith said he was in Kodiak as part of his campaign, and wanted to see what Kodiak's priorities were.
A full transcript and the recording of Tuesday’s candidate forum can be found on KMXT.org/elections. Early voting for the Borough Assembly election starts on Sept. 21 at Borough Assembly Chambers; election day is Oct. 6.
