Anchorage Daily News

The two candidates to represent downtown's sole seat on the city Assembly are looking to replace one of the biggest personalities in Anchorage politics: Allan Tesche.

Click to enlarge

Story tools

Comments

E-mail a friend

Print

Share on Facebook

Digg this

Seed Newsvine

Send link via AIM

Follow on Twitter

Font size : A | A | A

Known for scorching Assembly conservatives on his fiery blog and regular appearances on talk radio, Tesche can't run again because of term limits.

That leaves an opening for candidates Patrick Flynn, an Alaska Railroad manager and son of former Assemblywoman Heather Flynn, and Chris Blankenship, an Alaska Airlines employee. Each is running for office for the first time.

Election Day is April 1. The 11-member Assembly writes local laws and approves the city's spending plan.

The varied downtown district includes the Fairview, Mountain View, South Addition and Government Hill neighborhoods -- and no shortage of high profile issues.

For example, Blankenship and Flynn both say now is not the time for the proposed Knik Arm bridge, which would route traffic through Government Hill.

"The only benefits I would see of it would be the folks who have land on that (Point MacKenzie) side," Blankenship said.

Flynn said the Matanuska-Susitna Borough is struggling to provide roads and infrastructure for the people who live there now, and a crush of new residential development sparked by the bridge could make things worse.

"It will seriously harm ... the rejuvenation of Anchorage neighborhoods, because that money will just fly across the bridge to the cheap land where they don't have to do any revitalization," he said.

Another hot topic in the district surfaced earlier this year.

In February, the Assembly voted to allow an under-21 strip club in the area -- Fantasies on 5th -- to start serving alcohol. Mayor Mark Begich vetoed the move, saying the Assembly cut off debate before hearing from the police department.

The issue was a tricky one for Assembly members, who quickly overrode the veto: Should they vote for more alcohol in hopes of keeping teens out of the club? Would the change mean more or less crime?

Tesche voted against allowing alcohol at the club, saying more liquor meant more problems.

Blankenship said he would have voted the same because of frequent police calls to the business.

Flynn sees it differently. He said he likely would have voted to let the club serve alcohol, with certain conditions.

"The Downtown Community Council and the Mountain View Community Council said, 'You know, we think this is OK,' " he said.

Blankenship will have little to spend on advertising. He filed paperwork saying he doesn't plan to raise more than $5,000 for his campaign.

Flynn had raised more than $23,700 as of late February, including contributions from several civic and business leaders. City manager Mike Abbott and former Mayor Rick Mystrom, Assembly members Matt Claman and Sheila Selkregg, the local police union and former Gov. Bill Sheffield have donated to his campaign.

Here's more on the candidates for Seat B.

CHRIS BLANKENSHIP

When you land at Ted Stevens International Airport, look for Blankenship marshalling jets to and from the gates or unloading cargo.

"I'm the guy with the bright yellow-green vest," said Blankenship, who has worked as a ramp service agent since 2006.

Blankenship, who is not registered as Republican or Democrat, turned 37 this month.

His family moved from Virginia to Seward in 1975. Since high school, he's worked an assortment of jobs -- deckhand, office clerk, camera operator, sales manager -- before landing at the airport.

A check of court files showed that he and his wife filed for bankruptcy in 2006.

Like many people, they were using credit cards to live outside their means, Blankenship said. "It has taught me to closely watch what I earn and what I buy, and it has shown me that even though you want this here, you don't actually need this here."

Blankenship -- who said he was a volunteer firefighter of the year in 1997 for the Seward Volunteer Fire Department and president of a state Porsche club -- said Alaska's political corruption scandals spurred him to run for office.

"I can connect to a lot of the working-class folks," he said.

PATRICK FLYNN

Flynn has run political campaigns before. He's just never been the candidate.

Born in Anchorage, Flynn is 36 years old. He went to West High School and earned a bachelor's in political science from Claremont McKenna College in California.

Flynn returned to Alaska, worked for former Gov. Tony Knowles and ran campaigns for two state legislative hopefuls.

Soon, Flynn began working for Anchorage state Rep. Ethan Berkowitz, and later ran Berkowitz's 1998 re-election campaign.

After working for Berkowitz, Flynn became spokesman for the Alaska Railroad and received a master's degree in business administration from Alaska Pacific University.

As an assistant vice president, he oversees the railroad's freight marketing group. He is the former president of the South Addition Community Council and a part-owner of Snow City Cafe.

Like Tesche, he is a registered Democrat.

Where the incumbent is a battler, Flynn said, his style is more collaborative.

"We both have progressive tendencies. I think I probably have a few more libertarian tendencies than he does," Flynn said of Tesche. "But that's probably a product of growing up in Alaska, where it just sort of comes naturally."

SCHEDULE

THURSDAY: School Board Seat D

FRIDAY: School Board Seat C

SUNDAY: Proposition 1 -- bonds for building roofs

MONDAY: Proposition 8 -- initiative on allowing more taxis; Proposition 2 -- bonds to upgrade schools.

TODAY: Assembly Seat B; Prop-osition 3 -- bonds for school repairs.

Candidate biographies

Patrick Flynn, 36

Occupation: Assistant vice president at the Alaska Railroad Corp.

Spouse: Tina

Political party: Democrat

Neighborhood: Downtown

Education: West High School; bachelor's from Claremont McKenna College; master's in business from Alaska Pacific University.

Public office: First time running

Campaign Web page: www.PatrickFlynn.org

Campaign phone: 278-8462

Chris Blankenship, 37

Occupation: Ramp agent, Alaska Airlines

Spouse: Melodie

Political party: Undeclared

Neighborhood: Mountain View

Education: Seward High School; aircraft dispatcher degree from Career Academy; assorted firefighter certifications and training

Public office: First time running

Campaign Web page: www.myspace.com/blankenshipforassembly

Campaign phone: 276-3397

ADVERTISEMENT