Mayor
Olerud-836
Hill-272
Assembly-Top 2 win seats
Anne Marie Palmieri-625
Beau Bradley-566
Lee Robinson-518
Diana Lapham-407
Planning Commission-Top 4 win seats
Zeke Frank-683
Nathanael Reams-608
Erika Merklin-598
Nick Szatkowski-529
George Campbell-506
Kim Rasado-489
School Board-Top 4 win seats
Carlos Jimenez-862
Jenn Walsh-713
Kevin Shove-660
Michael Wald-581
Cara Gilbert-438
Burl Sheldon-292
Initiative 1- Mayor Appointed Planning Commission
No-690
Yes-383
Initiative 2- Reduce Senior Tax Exemption
No-599
Yes-507
Initiative 3- Eliminate Seasonal Sales Tax
Yes-607
No-490
Prop. 1 – Establish a 2 percent booze tax
No-580
Yes-534
Prop. 2 – Establish severance tax
Yes-720
No-382
Outstanding Votes
36
In 40 years in Haines, I’ve never successfully predicted a local election, and this morning my streak remains intact.
Local elections can be confounding.
First, I’d like to apologize to constituents for not working harder in support of the tax measures on the ballot. The borough is running a $300,000 deficit and the approved severance tax won’t raise one quarter of that. All four tax measures would have, while leaving enough on the table to pay for some child-care support.
People don’t willingly tax themselves. (They will, however, vote to tax others, as evident in the passage of the severance tax.) Getting voters to tax themselves takes some convincing. Last year, I led the assembly-approved effort to educate voters about the seasonal sales tax and won its passage. A similar effort – either a door-to-door campaign or a phone tree – was needed this year. I regret not mounting one.
I subscribe to Voltaire’s quotation that every man is guilty of the good things he did not do.
As voters are okay with taxing others, other possible sources of funding for next year’s ballot might include increasing our bed tax or resurrecting a tour tax once on the books here. (Our bed tax is nearly the lowest in Alaska.)
But I remain convinced that the best tax policy is to tax many items and areas a small amount, rather than to lean on one sector or segment of the population too heavily.
Let’s look at individual returns:
In the mayor’s race, voters said loudly they don’t want a far-right mayor and they don’t want the mine. Also, Doug Olerud is an honorable man who can speak to all sides of the community. He’s also perhaps the best meeting chair in borough history. His lopsided margin of victory also suggests there are votes enough in Haines to elect progressive mayors.
In the assembly race, voters predictably chose moderates over perceived ideologues, creating the potential for split assembly votes that would put Mayor-elect Olerud in the position of tie-breaker. Overall, the borough government might be expected to become more right-leaning in the coming year, but not radically so.
And there will be another election next year.
For the planning commission seats, voters gave support to candidates who would protect their neighborhoods from heavy industry or excessive intrusion. Like it or not, we’re now a valley of neighborhoods and the neighbors – who pay dearly for property here – want a certain amount of peace and security for their investments. That’s not unreasonable.
On the school board, capable moderates also wound up on top, including former borough facilities director Carlos Jimenez, who won more votes than anyone or anything on the ballot. This is good news for our schools, which will need a jolt of support to retain the standards residents have become accustomed to and to stem teacher turnover.
Initiative #1: Returning to a mayor-appointed planning commission. Haines is a hyper-political place so it’s no big surprise that voters overwhelming want to decide who makes decisions on the development of our beautiful valley. Ballot propositions next year to elect our Tourism Advisory Board and Ports and Harbors Committee, two advisory groups that hold significant power, are in order. The success of the elected planning commission proves that residents who want to serve the public have no problem standing for election.
Initiative #2: Reducing the senior property tax exemption. For better or for worse, older residents dominate borough politics. The key to passage of this measure was getting out the youth vote and convincing some seniors that voting their pocketbooks isn’t always in their best interest. Again, my apologies for not doing the extra work, including emphasizing the existing hardship exemption as a reasonable alternative.
Initiative #3: Repealing the seasonal sales tax. This was a big win for local businesses and seasonal residents and a loss for year-round residents. Retailers didn’t like the extra paperwork and seasonal residents didn’t like paying more sales tax than folks who live here year-round. The voting power of seasonal residents holds ominous implications for those of us who enjoy living here year-round. Becoming like Gustavus – not Skagway – is the logical end for a town that votes against its year-round interests. Yuk.
Proposition #1: Establishing 2 percent alcohol tax. Haines retains its reputation as a charming drinking village with a fishing problem. With a flight of bars and restaurants and three alcohol manufacturers, people in Haines make money on booze, which is a luxury and not a necessity. This proposed tax was reasonable and arguably necessary. The 54-vote margin suggests it would have passed with a little bit of campaigning. We already have a local tax on marijuana, a much less dangerous drug.
Proposition #2: Establishing a severance tax. Passage was not a big surprise, as severance would at least require a large mine to put some cash in the kitty. Same goes for industrial logging. That income from this tax on the loss of permanent resources will go into the borough’s Permanent Fund was a stroke of genius.
Overall, Tuesday’s election was a mixed bag, just like our community.
For the record, I don’t know how my wife voted, and that’s a good thing. Fair, open elections and the secret ballot are what keep the peace in our valley and in our world.