Chamber forum features Wasilla candidates

Sept. 9, 2005

DARRELL L. BREESE\Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Citizens got a chance Tuesday to question candidates running in races for Wasilla City Council and mayor, during the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce's question-and-answer forum.

Mayoral candidates Dianne M. Keller, Steve Stoll and Diana Straub responded to a variety of questions, as did unopposed city council candidates Steve Menard and Marty Metiva.

The room was full as candidates gave their take on what they have done and plan to do to address the concerns facing the city.

Some of the questions were made up of two or three parts and each candidate had one minute to respond.

"So many questions, so much to say in answer to them and so little time," Stoll said in response to a three-part question on his vision for the future of Wasilla.

The quick question-and-answer period was designed to give a glimpse into the positions of the candidates.

"This forum gives us an opportunity to get to know the candidates," Chamber president John Klapperich said as he opened the meeting at the Best Western Lake Lucille Inn. "It's an opportunity for us to get to know where the candidates stand on the issues that are important, as all the questions asked will be yours."

The session lasted 90 minutes, but candidates fielded more than 30 questions from interested voters.

At one point, the forum's facilitator, Bert Hall, injected his own special blend of humor into the proceeding, fielding a fictitious call from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff regarding what the candidates felt the emergency response would be if a disaster occurred in the Wasilla area.

Candidates addressed issues they felt were key to their success in the election.

Menard, a candidate for City Council Seat C, said he wants to change Wasilla.

"My vision is to turn Wasilla into an actual city," Menard said, "not just a truck stop on the Parks Highway."

Metiva, who is running for Seat D on the council, said he envisions a city with no taxes and no crime.

"That would be nice," he said. "In reality, I would love to see Wasilla develop into a self-sufficient city, a place where people can both live and work."

Responses were a little more to the point from the candidates for mayor, as there are four people competing for the position.

Stoll said one thing he would change if elected would be the quality of communication between the city and the Mat-Su Borough.

"We need to stop competing with the borough and city of Palmer and start cooperating," Stoll said. "The issue of Shadowood subdivision would have been easily resolved if we were communicating with the borough, instead of trying to hide things from the people and not requiring a development permit as the current administration is doing."

When asked about the perceived competition between Palmer and Wasilla, Straub said she didn't see it as a problem.

"I believe competition is good," Straub said. "The better they (Palmer) make their city, the better we'll have to make ours. I'm a take-the-bull-by-the-horns kind of person and that is what I would do if elected, work hard from the start to make Wasilla a better city."

Keller, who is seeking her second term as mayor, emphasized the positive things she has accomplished.

"This is a great city," Keller said. "And I think I can help make it better. If we continue the successful marriage between economic development and residential services in place now, things can only get better."

Mayor candidate Cliff Silvers did not attend the meeting. Neither did city council candidate Verdie Bowen, whose name is on the ballot even though he announced last month that he is withdrawing from the race.

Contact Darrell L. Breese at 352-2267 or darrell.breese@frontiersman.com.