Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Juneau Election Results


--- by HarpboyAK


Progressives now have a majority on the Juneau City-Borough
Assembly. Even though absentee and questioned ballots have not
yet been counted, the relatively low 22.6% of Juneau voters that
turned out retained two incumbent school board members, Juneau
Mayor Bruce Botelho, and Assemblyman Dave Stone, and elected a
new progressive member to the Assembly.

Stone, a mining engineer and advocate and Deputy Labor
Commissioner, beat first-timer Karen Lawfer 3045 to 1775 for the
District 1 seat.

In the race for the District 1 seat vacated by Libertarian Sara
Chambers, progressive Ruth Danner beat conservative Stephanie
Madsen, lobbyist for Bering Sea catcher-processors, 2733 to 2342.

Mayor Bruce Botelho, Attorney General in both Democratic and
Republican administrations and a longtime Democrat, beat
challenger Mark Farmer 3804 to 1327.

Danner's election changes the Juneau Assembly's
progressive-conservative balance from a majority of 5
conservatives to a majority of 5 progressives, as she joins Mayor
Botelho and Assemblymen Bob Doll, Jonathan Anderson, and Jeff
Bush in the progressive majority.

For 3 seats on the Juneau School Board, progressive incumbent
personal injury attorney Mark Choate garnered the most votes,
3075, followed by incumbents Andrea Story with 3025 and Phyllis
Carlson with 2470. The losers were Bill Peters on his second
attempt, with 2108, and former Anchorage School Board member Mary
Marks, with 1541.

Proposition 1, school bonds for renovation of 40 year old
Gastineau Elementary School in Douglas, passed 3911-1591.

Proposition 2, which raised tobacco taxes to $1 per pack of
cigarettes, passed 3366-2156.

1 comment:

Unknown said...

Yes, tobacco is a health hazard, but IMO Proposition 2 is just another example of Juneau's hostility toward the working class. Juneau, a rich and supposedly liberal town, could do more to lower its high cost of living (like maybe NOT taxing groceries for starters), but instead builds a lavish, unneeded parking garage, and an even more lavish and unneeded extra high school.