9 hopefuls for 3 Wasilla City Council seats set for forum

Frontiersman

WASILLA — Residents will get a close look at candidates for city council Thursday in one of the last of the summer’s session of forums and debates.

The forum, part of a series sponsored by the Greater Wasilla and Greater Palmer chambers of commerce, starts at 5: 30 p.m. at the Alaska Club. The council has three seats open with nine candidates in the running. Seat D is a one-year term to finish up what was left when Nancy Hall resigned. Seats E and F are both three-year terms.

SEAT D

GARY HALE

Hale is semi-retired and has lived in Wasilla for seven years. He has worked for Alyeska Pipeline and, most recently, ran the tool rental side of Home Depot’s operations in Wasilla.

He has lived in Alaska since 1980, in the Valley since 1988 and in Wasilla since 2003. He describes himself as a constitutional conservative. He said he hasn’t run for office before, but considered one a few years back. At that time he wasn’t ready to commit for three years. So the one-year term for Seat D is perfect, he said, since he can get a feel for the job and he knows he can do a one-year term.

“I won’t make a commitment unless I can keep it,” he said.

COLLEEN SULLIVAN-LEONARD

Sullivan-Leonard was born in Fairbanks, raised in Anchorage and moved to Wasilla in 1996. She has a her own business doing consulting work for policy makers.

A former city councilwoman and currently a member of the Wasilla Planning Commission, Sullivan-Leonard said that with most of her kids grown and out of the house, she feels she has time to serve on the council. As for a campaign platform, she said she wants to see more planning in the city.

“I guess I want to see a clear direction on exactly where we’re going and with that direction I want there to be accountability for the public funds that are to be used for particular projects,” she said.

SEAT E

MIKE CARSON

Carson served on the city council 16 years ago from 1988 until 1994. In that time, he said, the city paved most of its roads and created a police department.

“When I got off the council back in 1994 I was happy that everything was under control and the city was in good shape, and it’s been in good shape ever since,” he said.

He’s running again because he wants to keep it that way.

Carson was born in Palmer and is an Army veteran who went to college and started a law degree before his GI Bill ran out. He said that except for college he’s never lived anywhere but Alaska. He’s a real estate broker. Being in that business for a number of years, he’s seen booms and busts. He was personally worth $2 million at one point before he lost it all in the 1980s.

“Now we scrape to make our payments,” he said, but the refrain for him is that “next year’s going to be better, and that’s the old Alaska theme.”

DIANNE WOODRUFF

Woodruff is the incumbent in the race — the only incumbent running for a council seat this year. She holds a degree in accounting and, in her professional life, uses that degree to help small businesses be more successful. She grew up in Wyoming, moved to Alaska in 1991 and to Wasilla in 1999.

“I intend to live here about 40 years from now, based on my family’s longevity,” she said. “Part of why I’m running is that I intend to be here 40 years from now.”

Another part of why Woodruff is running is she’s started a number of things on the council she would like to see finished. Those include finding the library a new home, passing an ethics code and making sure the city has a quality wastewater treatment facility that can last for years to come.

SEAT F

PATRICK BROWN

Brown is a local advocate for the blind. He has partial vision himself, which he describes as just slightly better than legally blind. He said his work with the blind is what actually brought him to politics. People he has talked to in that community have said the Valley has some challenges when it comes to transportation.

“We need improved and enhanced transportation services,” he said. “I was encouraged to take these needs to our city.”

Brown originally came to Alaska in the 1990s and left to live in Seattle in 1999. He came back in 2007 and went blind a year later. In his professional life he’s been a broadcaster, an engineer and a bus driver.

“I’ve learned to pace myself and then enjoy the journey along the way,” he said.

GLENDA LEDFORD

Ledford is a hairdresser who owns Glenda’s Hair Styling in Wasilla, a business she has run for 15 years. She is active in local service organizations, Republican political organizations and serves on the city’s planning commission.

She said Wasilla’s booming growth requires a responsible council to manage it. She thinks she can help.

“With the prison coming in, with the rail extension they’re going to build, it will have a dramatic impact on Wasilla. So we need to continue to grow this city responsibly,” she said.

STEVE MENARD

Menard is a former one-term city councilman. His is son of Linda Menard, currently one of the Valley’s state senators, and of the late Curt Menard, who served in the Legislature and was borough mayor when he died.

Menard is also a former member of the Alaska Railroad Corp. board of directors and sits on the state’s Oil and Gas Advisory Board, a governor-appointed body that advises the state’s Oil and Gas Commission. He started the Lake Lucille Foundation to try and address the lake’s problem with pollution and weeds.

A waiter at Evangelo’s, Menard said he really wants to get back into elected city politics.

“I ran for city of Wasilla Mayor and borough Mayor, and both of those were a little bit overwhelming to me,” he said. “The council is what I feel natural and comfortable with.”

DAVID NYBERG

Nyberg is semi-retired and helps his wife run her two Wasilla stores — All-I-Saw Cookware and Mimi’s Closet.

A native of Rhode Island, he had a long career in the military, first with the Marines and then in the Army. After that he spent two decades working in Prudhoe Bay.

Although his wife is a tenant in the city-owned Meta Rose Square shopping center, Nyberg said he wouldn’t have any trouble avoiding a conflict of interest — he would simply excuse himself from any discussions about the building. He said he thinks the city council needs a change.

“It doesn’t seem like the city of Wasilla is moving forward. We’re growing all the time but I don’t think there’s (enough) emphasis put on the smaller businesses,” Nyberg said.

JEFF WARD

Ward, 24, was born and raised in Anchorage and moved to Wasilla to live in a small-town setting. He works as a medical assistant for the Southcentral Foundation, the Native-owned health care organization.

He said of his run for council that “it’s something I’ve always wanted to get into, but you can’t really run when you’re 18 and be taken seriously. … My goal as a politician is to make Wasilla the No. 1 city to raise a family. I want to bring business out to Wasilla, but keep it a small town setting and make it the spot to go for tourism.”

He said he thinks his youth is an asset from which the council could benefit.

“I don’t have my pockets lined with anybody’s money,” he said. “I’m more optimistic, open-minded.”

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.