Alaska News

Fourth candidate emerges in South Anchorage Assembly race

A fourth candidate has emerged for the open South Anchorage Assembly seat.

Mark Schimscheimer, a 48-year-old civil engineer who chairs the five-member South Golden View Rural Road Service Area board, filed paperwork with the Alaska Public Offices Commission earlier this month allowing him to start accepting campaign donations.

Schimscheimer said he plans to file as a candidate with the city on Friday, when registration opens.

Schimscheimer spent more than a decade working for the state of Alaska on infrastructure and economic development projects, including with the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority. He said he's now self-employed as a rental property developer and manager.

Budget issues at the state and local level prompted him to consider seeking office, he said.

"I would like to see Anchorage become a place where people come and want to live, want to do business," said Schimscheimer, a California native who moved to Alaska in 1993. "I believe this is a great place to live, it's just putting that image out right now."

He called himself a "middle-of-the-road" conservative.

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So far, three other people have said they're running for the Assembly seat being vacated by Jennifer Johnston, who is term-limited. They are: Joe Riggs, the owner of a medical equipment and consulting business; John Weddleton, a business owner and longtime neighborhood activist; and David Jensen, the owner of a South Anchorage photography studio.

The Anchorage election is April 5.

Update: Since this story was prepared, Joe Riggs and David Jensen have decided to drop their campaigns.

Devin Kelly

Devin Kelly was an ADN staff reporter.

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