2-man race for District 1

PALMER — Both men running for Mat-Su Borough Assembly said they were reluctant to step into the race.

But, probably more so than in most other races this year, the candidates have very stark differences. One says he’s likely to be in the minority on a lot of assembly votes, the other says that he’s pretty happy with what the assembly members have been up to and wants to help them do it.

There’s no incumbent in the race. Assemblyman Warren Keogh has decided not to run again. The district — District 1 — represents the Valley’s eastern edge, encompassing Sutton, Chickaloon and Lake Louise, but also Lazy Mountain, the Butte and coming so far into the core area as to encompass the neighborhoods around the Colony schools.

Doug Glenn

Glenn is a pilot. He runs a business that holds contracts to air-drop fish and resupply various projects with fuel. This summer, he said, he’s been kept busy bringing in fuel to support people working on surveys for the proposed Susitna-Watana hydroelectric dam.

“There’s 19 helicopters working in there,” Glenn said.

Politics-wise, he describes himself as conservative. He said he isn’t happy with Keogh’s representation. Keogh has often been the lone voice of dissent on the assembly, a body that tends to view itself as deeply conservative and deeply pro-business.

“I’ve been watching and watching who was going to pop up so we can take this thing back,” Glenn said.

He said he and his family believed someone needed to step up, and when push came to shove, that someone ended up being him.

“I want to see tourism increase dramatically, I want to see jobs — family wage jobs — out here,” he said. “There are no decent wage family wage jobs out here. It’s slim. What there are are government jobs. We need a bunch of private-sector stuff and we have the ability to do that if we can get government out of the way and get people going in the right direction.”

He said he’s in favor of mining in his district, which includes the land Usibelli Coal Mine is studying near Sutton.

“I’m a businessman. I’ve created jobs, I’ve brought millions of dollars back to this community over the years and I think I’m the man for the job out here,” he said.

Jim Sykes

Sykes is a familiar face in local politics. He’s been active in Matanuska Electric Association elections and testifies often before the Mat-Su Borough Assembly.

Sykes also has worked on the borough’s ethics committee and served as president of the Lazy Mountain Community Council.

He said that in that time he has found in himself an ability to work with just about anybody and to get people involved in processes they might not otherwise have been a part of.

“People may say, ‘I’m not an expert, I don’t know anything, let the decision-makers make the decisions,’ but once you start asking people about what kind of information they have they may only have a small piece of information, but it’s usually a useful piece of information,” Sykes said.

He said he believes government plays a crucial role in society. To illustrate, he brought up the Wasilla library. Sykes said libraries are an investment in a community and in education.

“It will pay you back many times over for whatever you put into it,” he said.

He sees society as divided into a few sectors.

“It’s the community and their needs, it’s the government responding to those needs and it’s the private enterprise that services those needs,” Sykes said.

Sykes said he has been asked by people why he would want to serve on a body where his views will likely often be in the minority.

“You always have to work with who’s there no matter who they are and you do have a district to represent,” he said.

Sykes said he also believes he can be a good representative. He’s watched the borough for 25 years, knows how it works. He believes he would be a voice of deliberation, asking the assembly to carefully consider the decisions it makes.

“There is open discussion and that’s a place where I’m comfortable,” he said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at 352-2270

or andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com.

Though the election isn’t until Oct. 1, some Mat-Su residents have already cast their votes.

According to Mat-Su Borough spokeswoman Patty Sullivan, early voting began Sept. 16 and will continue until the election. Locations and times can be found under the clerk’s section of the Mat-Su Borough’s web page, matsugov.us.

Absentee by-mail voting applications must be in by Tuesday and ballots postmarked no later than Oct. 1 and received by Oct. 4.

This election contains two borough assembly seats and three school board seats. There are also two ballot propositions — a 5 percent tax on alcohol and a package of road bonds.

The cities of Houston, Palmer and Wasilla are also voting Oct. 1.