New direction needed in city of Wasilla

June 17, 2005

Spectrum/Stephen Stoll

This week, I announced my candidacy for the office of mayor of Wasilla.

I have lived in the same neighborhood for 28 years, and am proud to have raised my three children in this great town. I am a professional land surveyor and have worked in the Valley, Anchorage, Slope and Bush since 1976.

Many of my neighbors know me as a quiet guy who tends his lawn and has planted lots of flowers and trees. Those who have encountered me in the public forum, however, will unequivocally state that I am relentless in my pursuit of:

1. Safe streets

2. Efficient government

3. Property rights

4. Fair taxation

Safe streets include both public safety and infrastructure. First of all, I have to say our volunteer firefighters and EMTs are the backbone of our good life in the Valley. I am grateful for your dedication and service, and for the very significant sacrifices by your families

Secondly, both in the public safety venue and in development of our infrastructure, we must start to cooperate rather than compete with Palmer and the borough to meet the long-term common needs of Wasilla and the rest of the core area.

Government efficiency starts at the top. The current administration is not efficient. The City Council is generally unprepared or absent, and there are way too many personal "visions" of Wasilla.

First thing, I will eliminate the $100,000-a-year economic development department, stop making vanity videos and quit the ego trips to D.C. We will get rid of our $30,000-per-year part-time lobbyists in D.C., too. We will stop going for grants that we don't really need or want, and try to get funding for projects we really do need.

Safe streets, water, sewer. Efficiency is truly the result of the hard-working guys in the trenches. We must make sure our employees are respected, well-compensated and motivated, too.

Property owners' rights is one of my most passionate causes. Every time someone with a "vision" proposes a new regulation on your property, they are taking away your rights.

Property zoning in Wasilla has been arbitrary and illogical. I have fought and will continue to fight the battle against the irrational NIMBYs and those of you who feel your "vision" of your neighbor's land is more important than his own.

I am proud to say I'm no friend of the anti-development group "Friends of Mat-Su." Nor do I feel we need a uniformed and badged code-compliance officer or building inspection department driving around looking for infractions.

I am also an unwavering advocate of fair taxation. User fees should pay for services at every level.

Currently, Wasilla relies too heavily on taxing groceries. I have a plan to give parents building a family the same tax break as a contractor building a house by offering the public a chance to vote on an annual cap on the taxes paid for groceries. And I will work against any change to the annual cap on the tax for building supplies for the owner-builder.

Today, fully 20 percent of sales-tax revenue is dedicated to the debt and operation of the sports complex. I intend to make sure all of the dedicated tax increase is used to pay off the debt for the facility and not the operation. I also intend to look very carefully at returning this non-vital government enterprise to private management.

Of all the ideas being thrown about regarding traffic in Wasilla, the obvious one has, for me, always been to bypass Wasilla well to the north utilizing both the Trunk Road and Seward Meridian ties to Bogard/Seldon Road; then right to Arctic Avenue in Palmer, left to King Arthur Drive in Houston. (Then south to Port Mac, north to Fairbanks.)

No railroad tracks, no rivers, lots of gravel and relatively cheap right of way. We could name it after Sen. Ted Stevens, or Congressman Young. Or even Gov. Palin. Wasilla must accept and plan for a second east-west corridor and be poised to provide infrastructure needed to support it.

Wasilla has so many challenges ahead. I am the candidate who has the skills, the qualifications and the objectivity to plan and build the infrastructure necessary to meet those challenges.

I will be going door to door to talk with my neighbors. However, I will not be raising money for illegal signs or trash in your mailboxes.

I will owe no favors as your mayor. I will be fair and honest. I will not bow to special interests. I intend to say "no" without favoritism or prejudice, and "yes" only when carefully considered, regardless of the political consequence. I will insist the council be prepared to do the city's business, and will do so efficiently and succinctly.

I look forward to meeting each and every voter in Wasilla this summer at your doorstep. Please, study the issues and be prepared to vote for the best qualified candidate in October.

Stephen Stoll is a candidate for mayor of Wasilla.