Anchorage Daily News

WASILLA - Economic development, traffic congestion and cooperation were the buzzwords at a forum Tuesday at which four candidates running for two seats on the Wasilla City Council took the podium.Leone Harris and Gretchen O'Barr are vying for Seat C on the Council. Mary Kvalheim and Nancy Hall are running for Seat D. All four are Council newcomers, though Kvalheim has held elected office as a Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assemblywoman for the past six years.

Former pastor Ron Cox is running unopposed for Seat A. He wasn't present at the campaign forum, which was hosted by Wasilla Chamber of Commerce.

Harris said she wants to find ways to keep Wasilla's economy running strong.

"We need to take action now to continue the current growth we've seen," she said.

She added that she'd like Denali-bound trains, hundreds of which pass through Wasilla during the summer, to stop in Wasilla for a few hours to let travelers sample what the city has to offer.

Harris said she's a mother of two, a grandmother and a licensed real estate agent. She's married to Mark Ewing, the former Wasilla councilman who got noticed for his repeated battles with Wasilla Mayor Dianne Keller. Ewing is now running unopposed for the Wasilla-area seat on the Mat-Su Assembly.

O'Barr, a legal assistant, mother of eight and grandmother, said she wants to bring more high-paying jobs to Wasilla.

"The joke of the Valley is, you either commute to Anchorage or you're on welfare," she said, adding that she'd like to bring manufacturing plants or other industry to Wasilla to balance out service-industry jobs that pay less.

Hall, district manager of the Red Cross' Mat-Su office, said she wants to broaden the types of businesses in Wasilla and bulk up the city's cultural offerings. A new library is one way to start, she said.

"We have a good start bringing new retail businesses in our community, but we need to diversify," Hall said.

Kvalheim said traffic and congestion issues are her primary focus.

ROAD BOND BACKED

She touted a road bond that will appear on the Oct. 7 Mat-Su Borough election ballot, which would provide funding for two roads Kvalheim said would relieve congestion in Wasilla significantly.

One would connect Hermon Road with the Palmer-Wasilla Highway just east of Cottonwood Creek.

The second would link Seldon Road and Beverly Lakes Road, giving drivers a second route north that skips much of Wasilla's congestion.

Cox served two consecutive terms on the City Council, from October 2001 to 2007.

ONE-YEAR TERM

He's running for a one-year term on the Council, the time that former City Councilman Greg Koskela left behind when he resigned nine months into his term to spend more time with his family. Koskela is now running for city mayor.

Deputy city clerk Jamie Newman said city code allows Council members to serve two full, three-year terms and then return to office after a one-year break in service.

Find Rindi White online at adn.com/contact/rwhite or call 907-352-6709.

ADVERTISEMENT