Wasilla council member resigns

WASILLA -- Colleen Sullivan-Leonard, a distinguished public servant and two-year member of the Wasilla City Council, recently resigned her position on the council in order to work as a committee aide to Valley Representative Carl Gatto. Sullivan-Leonard was elected to the Wasilla City Council Seat F in October 2001, having formerly served as a Planning Commissioner for the Wasilla Planning Commission.

Sullivan-Leonard stated in an interview Thursday that this move had been necessary for her to continue working for residents of the Valley.

"I came to the understanding that I would not be able to meet the needs of my constituents in my current position," she said.

Working for the Legislature has always been in the back of Sullivan-Leonard's mind during her long history of community service. She has earned distinction as a board member for the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce, chairman for the Mat-Su Local Advisory Council Work Investment, member of the Wasilla Sunrise Rotary Club and the Society of Human Resource Management, and community activist for the Boys and Girls Club, YMCA, Valley Hospital Volunteer Services and Job Corps Center. In addition, she has worked as a volunteer and fund-raiser for the American Heart Association, March of Dimes, American Cancer Society, Alzheimer's Association and the Lupus Foundation.

Although she is excited at the prospect of being able to help enact legislation and change on a larger scale, she remains somewhat reluctant about departing from the Valley.

"Juneau doesn't give me the access to the citizens of Wasilla that I would like," she said. "Certainly the city of Wasilla and its residents are first and foremost in my mind. I do love the city of Wasilla and the Mat-Su Valley, so they will always be first in my thoughts and actions."

Sullivan-Leonard takes comfort, however, in the fact that her efforts while in Juneau will be directed toward the Valley. Following up on her period of employment at Gatto's Wasilla office, Sullivan-Leonard will continue to address issues of education and health care in the Valley, specifically the planned Valley Hospital and Mat-Su College expansions.

"Everything that I'm going to be working on will be related to District 13, [which] is really the heart of the Valley, so it's exciting to see the growth of local businesses," she said.

Sullivan-Leonard also expects to continue her existing efforts to aid seniors and youth in the Valley.

Her departure leaves a very large pair of shoes for a new council member to fill. The Wasilla City Clerk's Office has sent out a call for applicants to City Council Seat F for the remainder of Sullivan-Leonard's three-year term ending in October 2004. To qualify for the Wasilla City Council, applicants must be at least a one-year resident of the city of Wasilla or of territory annexed to the city of Wasilla, a qualified voter of the city, and complete an Alaska Public Offices Commission Public Official Financial Disclosure Statement within 30 days of appointment. Interested applicants should contact the Wasilla City Clerk's Office at 373-9090 and submit a letter of interest and application no later than Jan. 6 at noon. Candidates will be interviewed during the council's regular meeting on Jan. 12.

Sullivan-Leonard said she would like to see new people come on board with the council, but Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller regretted her loss. "She has been a very active member of the Wasilla City Council," Keller said during a Dec. 8 meeting at which Sullivan-Leonard was given a plaque of commendation. "We really appreciate her efforts and her dedication to the city of Wasilla."

Keller noted, however, that this was not the close of a chapter in the council's book, but rather a new beginning. "She will not be giving up her community service; she will just be doing it long-distance now."

Sullivan-Leonard had fond words for her co-workers upon her departure. "I commend our former mayor, Sarah Palin, and our current mayor, Diane Keller, because they are both very proactive members; they stick to what we have for our mission and values of the city," she said. Sullivan-Leonard also strongly supports the work of Gatto, stating that his views on education and health care are largely concurrent with her own.

Sullivan-Leonard's fellow council members had praise of their own for their departing comrade, and she spoke warmly of the many generous comments she had received upon her departure.

"What they saw in me was the fact that I did my homework, did lots of research, and that the legislation that I've brought forward has had a lot of teeth to it. I had other comments that said I was a mentor to them. And to me that's the highest form of compliment that a legislative officer could ever receive."