Former Palmer Mayor joins race for Senate F

PALMER — Voters in Senate District F will have a new choice on the ballot this November as former Palmer Mayor Jim Cooper will run on the Democratic ticket instead of Stephany Jeffers.

Senate District F encompasses House District’s 11 and 12 and represents much of Palmer and parts of Chugiak and is currently represented by Sen. Shelley Hughes.

Hughes received 4,759 votes in the August 18 Primary Election, accounting for 15.76 percent of all 32,544 registered voters in District F. Jeffers received 1,992 votes, accounting for just over seven percent of voters in District F.

“The ones that are nonpartisan, undeclared, independent, there are more of those than there are of the republicans. Those are the people that you have to go out and talk to and let them know where you’re coming from, where you’re going and how you’re going to get there,” said Cooper.

Cooper most recently ran for Mayor of Palmer in 2019 when he lost to Edna DeVries. DeVries beat Cooper to secure her second term as Palmer’s Mayor by just three votes. DeVries 267 votes accounted for just 50.19 percent of ballots cast in Palmer’s Mayoral Election where Cooper received 264 votes. Cooper said that he took a positive outlook on the 2019 election in his continuing name recognition.

“Look at the time I was Mayor and my thing has always been consensus and trying to get things passed for the benefit of all the people and not just for those folks who voted for you. So as I look at what’s going on I see that both the representative and the senator are really kind of stuck in a party and I wanted to get in and try to cross boundaries and start helping people out more than just the people who vote for you,” said Cooper. “When I was Alaska Municipal League President, my platform was Alaska’s people Alaska’s communities, not for one but for all and I still believe in that and my record as the Mayor shows this that any decision that is made needs to be made in the best interest for all of the people in the district and all of the people in the state of Alaska.”

Cooper said that he hopes to see growth in the medical field in the Valley and more doctors in the area and said it’s an issue he’s willing to work on. Cooper also hopes to advocate for local control over resources such as fisheries, forestry and minerals if elected. Cooper also predicted that more people will cast ballots during the 2020 election and hopes to address issues that face each community in District F. Cooper acknowledges that getting into the race for District F with only two months before the General Election will require a fast moving campaign. Cooper said that Jeffers supported his campaign that he described as a ‘bullet train.’

“It’s restoring Alaska’s historical fair share from the oil companies so that we can ensure that we have this sustainable budget and a sustainable PFD,” said Cooper. “I think people are going to realize that there’s more options than just having a person who wants to do nothing but cut the budget. There are other alternatives on how to get money for the state or get money for the district and like I say it is an uphill battle but it’s doable.”