Menard to run for borough mayor

March 19, 2006

DARRELL L. BREESE/Frontiersman reporter

WASILLA - Former state senator Curt Menard Sr., from Wasilla, announced Friday that he is entering the race to replace Matanuska-Susitna Borough Mayor Tim Anderson in the October election.

&#8220It's just time for me to get back involved,” Menard said. &#8220I've been on a little breather from public office since leaving the state Senate back in 1994.”

Menard represented Wasilla in the Senate from 1986-94, and before that he served on the school board for two years.

A 33-year resident of Wasilla, Curt and his wife, Linda, raised their five children in the area.

Menard said the decision to re-enter the political arena was not an easy one for him.

&#8220I was reluctant at first. I wasn't going to enter without permission from my family, but people kept asking me to run,” Menard said. &#8220I wanted to make sure that people didn't feel I was exploiting the death of my son (Curtis C. Menard Jr., who died in 2001) by entering previous elections. But when my granddaughter said to me, ‘Grandpa, if that is what you want, it must be in your blood, so I'm OK with it,' I knew I could enter the race.”

Menard said he believes that his experience in Juneau and time on the school board make him the ideal candidate for the mayor's office.

&#8220I learned how to build a consensus and bring people together to achieve a common goal,” Menard explained. &#8220I think that is what the borough needs in the person serving as mayor.”

If elected, Menard said the first thing he would tackle is addressing the issue of property taxes and the skyrocketing increases in property value.

&#8220It's great to see the price of property go up here in the Valley, but something needs to be done to keep property-tax payers from bearing the entire burden of operating the borough,” Menard said. &#8220I believe that there is some kind of resolution out there and will work to find it. Otherwise, all the people who moved to the Valley will have to be packing up and leaving if their tax bill keeps going up.”

Menard said he declared early in order to give people a chance to reacquaint themselves with him following his absence from the political arena. He also wants to give the people a choice in October when they step into the voting booth.

While no other candidates have made official announcements, former borough assembly member Jody Simpson, former Wasilla police chief and candidate for borough mayor Charlie Fannon, and current assembly member Jim Colver are all rumored to be interested in the job.

This is Menard's first run for a borough office.

His wife currently serves on the Matanuska-Susitna School Board, and his son Steve is a city council member in Wasilla.

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