Fab 5

WASILLA — The race for the Wasilla’s mayoral seat promises to be one of the more lively races in the Mat-Su Borough this year.

With five men running for the office held by embattled Mayor Dianne M. Keller, the campaign season should prove to be busy.

Wasilla City Councilman Steve Menard, lawyer Verne Rupright, builder Greg Koskela, real estate broker Michael Carson and Marty Metiva, also a city councilman and executive director of the Matanuska-Susitna Resource Conservation and Development Council, have filed to run.

This year’s election comes amid rapid growth in Wasilla, with national big-box retailers taking an interest in the area. It also comes on the heels of an independent investigation of the Keller administration’s actions to allegedly favor a private developer. That report is in the hands of law enforcement to determine if there was any criminal wrongdoing by Keller and/or some city staff.

No matter who is elected in October, he will be the first male to be Wasilla’s top administrator in more than a decade following Keller’s two consecutive terms, which was preceded by Gov. Sarah Palin’s six years as Wasilla mayor.

Greg Koskela

Koskela’s name won’t be new to anyone who follows Wasilla politics. The former Wasilla City Council member, who was elected in 2006 but resigned to spend more time with his family, is back in the game. He also ran for a Mat-Su Borough Assembly seat three years ago.

Politics have been on the 12-year Wasilla resident’s radar for some time.

“I’ve had an interest in politics for quite a while,” Koskela said, adding that now is the right time for him to get back into the political scene.

A week after the filing period closed, Koskela said he is feeling “pretty good” about his chances to win the mayor’s seat.

“I know what kind of support I’ve got with the people I talk to,” Koskela said.

Koskela grew up on a dairy farm in Minnesota, joining the U.S. Air Force after high school. A builder by profession, he owns Elkhorn Log Home Builders.

During the course of the upcoming campaign, Koskela said one of the biggest issues he will hit on is what he calls Wasilla’s traffic problem.

“I’m a planner,” Koskela said. “I like to plan things.”

Plugging himself into the concerns of residents and business owners months before the election, Koskela said he has been meeting with an advisory group to gauge what is important to voters. In the ramp-up to election season, Koskela said he is planning typical campaigning activities ranging from going door-to-door to holding meet-and-greet events.

Even with the candidate-heavy ticket, Koskela said his goal is to avoid a run-off by winning with at least 40 percent of the popular vote.

Koskela is hoping voters will turn out, but feels many residents are “kind of clouded” because of the Keller administration’s recent controversy stemming from an investigation into its dealings with a private developer. But what Koskela is thinking about now, in terms of what could change for the better in Wasilla, is the city’s important infrastructure.

“I like to see things far out,” Koskela said. “If we don’t take care of things in the short term — six to seven years — we’ll have a major traffic problem 20 years down the road.”

Verne Rupright

Rupright said he doesn’t just think he’s the best person for the mayor’s job — he knows it.

The longtime Mat-Su Valley resident and lawyer said he has a vested interest in the city, something born from more than 32 years in the Valley.

“I’ve seen a lot of changes here,” Rupright said. “There’s a new dynamic.”

This week, Rupright said he is feeling fine about the election and is ready for the long haul.

Born in Massachusetts, Rupright is a Vietnam veteran and serves as a JAG officer for the VFW post in Wasilla along with owning his own law practice on Main Street.

As a lawyer, Rupright said he has what it takes to navigate the often confusing maze of regulations and other requirements cities must follow to avoid trouble. What Rupright really wants to see, he said, is a new way of thinking in city government.

“I think there’s probably a way of doing the city’s business on behalf of the citizens,” Rupright said.

As mayor, Rupright said he can take a look at Wasilla’s budget and reduce it. To do so, he’d like to work closer with incoming businesses exploring ways to lift some of the infrastructure burden off the city.

“Rather than the city building infrastructure, you can look to developers to do that,” he said.

Rupright said that, if elected, he will work to create a municipal attorney’s office in Wasilla. The office would benefit the city by prosecuting traffic violations and other misdemeanors, which would bring in revenue in the form of fees and fines.

For voters, Rupright wants them to know he’s committed to Wasilla. He said while meeting people in the run up to his campaign he’s heard two common gripes from residents: traffic congestion and the way city business has been conducted as of late.

He said the investigation into Keller’s administration has concerned residents greatly.

“A lot of people are concerned about the manner the city’s government has conducted itself in the past,” Rupright said.

With him, Rupright said an open-door policy will always exist so anyone can come talk to him virtually any time.

“I know I’m the best choice this year,” Rupright said.

Steve Menard

Back to basics is how the Wasilla city councilman will approach being the city’s top administrator if he’s elected.

The son of one of Wasilla’s best-known political families said politics is in his blood. Becoming mayor is something he’s wanted since he was a child.

“I was born here, I was raised here, I live here, I’m going to die here,” Menard said. “And why not make it the best city ever?”

This week, Menard said he’s feeling optimistic about his chances. He said the full slate of candidates — from current city councilmen to council observers — should make for an interesting campaign season in Wasilla.

Menard said what the city needs is a mayor who will go back to basics and give residents the best services possible while being realistic about goals.

“They want good roads, good water and they want waste taken away from their homes,” Menard said.

He added that if he’s mayor, a good working relationship will be established between Wasilla and the Mat-Su Borough. The current administration has not done that, Menard said. Menard, whose father, Curt, is the Borough mayor, will have that connection, something he said could benefit Wasilla exponentially.

Growing up in Wasilla, Menard graduated from Wasilla High School and attended his first year of college in Switzerland. From there, he attended the University of Alabama, earning a bachelor’s degree in political science before spending eight years in the U.S. Marine Corp. Since then, Menard said he has dedicated his life to politics.

“It’s been instilled in my family since the get-go,” he said.

He added some would-be constituents have praised his aggressive attitude toward the investigation of Keller and her dealings with developer Meritage Development LLC. Asked whether he could work with some of the city staff involved with the Meritage controversy as mayor, Menard said city employees work at will, and it’s time for a shake-up in the administration.

Marty Metiva

Metiva admits that his reason for running for Wasilla mayor might sound corny, but that it’s the truth.

“I want to give back to this community,” Metiva said during a recent interview. “I’ve got the vision and the drive and the passion to help make Wasilla the best it can be.”

Originally from Michigan, Metiva spent a number of years working in the southern United States before a trip to Alaska to watch the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Falling in love with the state, Metiva and his wife, Cheryl, moved here permanently after Cheryl was hired at the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce director.

A week after the candidate filing period closed, Metiva said he’s feeling confident in his stance on where the city needs to go.

“I know that I believe we’ve got to focus on diversifying the economy and bringing in new jobs,” Metiva said.

Metiva said a back-to-basics approach to government is what he would employ to run the city.

“We’ve got to get back on track providing the services we’re supposed to,” Metiva said.

To do that, Metiva said local government can’t balloon into something so big it becomes counterproductive. A reining in of government and clear goals are just two items Metiva said he could bring to Wasilla as mayor.

“We don’t have a plan to follow,” he said. “Who do we want to be five years from now?”

Metiva said the last comprehensive plan written in the city was in 1996 and putting another one in place is long overdue.

“We’ve got to start putting plans in action to create jobs to allow future generations to live here,” Metiva said.

Taking into account the daily exodus of workers to Anchorage, Metiva said he’d like to explore ways to attract more industry to Wasilla, creating opportunities for locals to stay near their home and still have jobs.

“Wasilla now needs to be open for businesses on an open playing field,” Metiva said.

Metiva said listening to residents and creating focus groups to gauge what sort of business people are looking for in Wasilla is key to running a government for the people. Now and over the next few weeks, Metiva said he’ll be talking to as many people as possible, asking them what the city is doing right and what it’s doing wrong.

That’s the point of city leadership, Metiva said, working for the people to better their situation in the city.

Michael Carson

Carson, 71, is the son of Palmer Colonists and filed last week to run for mayor in Wasilla because he said he wants to keep Wasilla going in the right direction.

Carson, a real estate broker for more than 30 years, said his run for mayor is born from a desire to give back.

“I want to give back to the community all it’s given to me,” he said.

Carson is no stranger to politics. He sat on Wasilla’s city council from 1988 to 1994, “Back when we did all the good stuff,” he said. He also ran for mayor and the state Legislature in the 1990s.

While on city council, Carson participated in bringing Wal-Mart to town, forming the Wasilla Police Department and bringing in the sales tax, among other notables. Now, he wants to take his experience and apply it to the mayor’s office to help Wasilla continue to grow.

“I think I can handle the job as well as anybody,” Carson said.

Born in Palmer in 1936, Carson joined the military in 1954 and, after 21 months and three days, left the service and went to college on the GI Bill. He majored in general studies at Southern Oregon College, attended law school briefly, then put in nearly 13 years with the Alaska Department of Labor and the Alaska Department of Revenue. He’s been in real estate since then.

With the campaign season ramping up, Carson said he’s prepared to face his opponents, some of whom he knows. He’s played golf with Menard and called him a “nice guy.”

As for issues, Carson said he’ll promote a natural gas local improvement district and a paving district in the city. A local improvement district is a method of development where property owners share the cost of infrastructure.

Carson’s campaign, though not necessarily in the public eye right now, will include some yard signs to “let enough people know I’m running,” Carson said.

Carson’s underlying message is simply giving back. What he really wants to do is take his experience on the city council more than a decade ago, couple it with his life experiences and lead the city as best he can, he said.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@frontiersman.com or 352-2252.