Mayor disagrees with portrayal of record

Spectrum, by Tim Anderson

I was dismayed that my opponent Charlie Fannon decided to take his campaign negative in his spectrum last week. I do not believe in negative campaigning and always stick to the facts and my record in my campaign. I do not know where Charlie came up with the information for his accusations; however, they are not based in fact.

Charlie accuses me of flip-flopping on the current coal-bed methane gas issue in the Mat-Su Borough. I have always stated that I support responsible development. When Evergreen first approached the borough several years ago about their plans we were given the presentation that many of you have seen and from that prospective it looks like good economic development. It creates tax base, jobs and provides a future gas source for our residents. However they did not tell us about the other problems that have come to light in other areas where they and other CBM firms operate. I have to give credit to the Chickaloon Tribe for researching CBM and sharing that information with the community. Problems like water and air pollution, draining domestic water well aquifers, and excessive noise at the compressor plants. This was also before Evergreen went directly to our local legislators and helped pass state laws that took away the ability for the borough to regulate this industry at the local level. And before the state Department of Natural Resources begin issuing CBM leases over most of the Valley to Evergreen without giving the residents ample notice.

I support CBM development if it can be done right. However as your mayor I have a responsibility to the borough residents to ensure your surface rights are protected and that strong regulations are in place to protect your water supplies, air quality and the great quality of life we enjoy. Charlie, on the other hand, has come out in full support of CBM at the forums we have participated in and feels local control is not needed. That would be expected when his campaign chair is also the chair of the Alaska Oil and Gas Commission, and his campaign receives contributions from the same people that passed the laws taking away our local control.

He states I recommended another study of Port MacKenzie before putting the bonds for further development to a vote of the people. Not true. I asked for financial information on NPI, the company that we are contracting with for this expansion, because the assembly was being asked to approve Certificates of Participating for revenue bonds without a vote of the people. I had been asking for a vote of the people all along.

We have been building infrastructure at Hatcher Pass and doing testing on soils and water which is the role of local government. This was done for the purpose of enhancing the possibility of a private developer actually building a small ski lodge with lifts there. The borough by no means wants to build and own this development. That job is best left to the private sector.

Charlie accuses me of delaying development all over the borough. Look around and you will see we are in a major construction boom in both the business sector and in the private residential sector. He cites delaying zoning in Houston. I have to make it clear that the mayor has no power to delay any actions at the borough. This, like many issues, required public hearings and finding compromises that satisfied all parties. Government works slowly and for good reason.

He accuses me of appointing one-sided boards and commissions. I have the duty to bring appointments forward for assembly approval. I do not have the final say on who serves. I always seek well-qualified individuals to serve and ask the assembly to recommend names for appointments. The current boards and commissions are quite balanced. That is evident in their recommendations to the assembly and the time they take to find the best solutions to the issues they deal with.

Charlie takes exception to the fact that the borough has lowered the property tax mil rate for the past two years. He accuses me of offsetting this by raising your property's assessed value. Property values are determined by the local real estate market. I think it is a good thing that the market value of your property is increasing. We are all building our nest eggs for the future and our real estate values are the only bright spot in recent years. He also fails to mention that the majority of the increases in assessed values come from new construction and other economic development. He states the only way we lowered the mil rate was to use Borough Reserves. Our reserves are maintained at a level established by code and they are at or above those levels.

Charlie accuses me of being responsible for more than 40 borough employees leaving the borough. The borough employs about 200 people and the average turnover is about 10 percent per year. The borough is a great place to work and the employees tend to settle into their jobs and build longevity. We had about 20 longtime employees retire in the past two years, many of whom worked over 20 years. People do retire and choose to enjoy that retirement. I appreciate their service and welcome the opportunity for others to step up and continue the great work they have done.

Charlie also questions my support of education by saying the borough should provide funds to other nonprofit programs that work with children in the community. The assembly has supported funding for education to the maximum allowed by law all three years I have been mayor. The assembly, not the mayor, holds the power to give grants to other agencies and many ask. He states that we did not fund one particular program. What he failed to mention is that the borough has funded one of his favorite programs, Mat-Su Youth Court, for the past three years. We have also given grants to the Boys and Girls Club, Valley Solutions for Recycling, and have made donations to the local veterans organizations for their projects.

Negative campaigning is designed to take the focus off yourself and place it on your opponent. I am proud of what I have done as your mayor and will only campaign on my record. If you have questions about that record, or what my opponents say about my record, please contact me.

Tim Anderson is the current mayor of the Mat-Su Borough. He is running for re-election.