OPINION: Tuck deserves your support for Anchorage mayor

I cannot recall voting for a Democrat, but if I were registered to vote in Anchorage, I would vote for Chris Tuck without reservation — it’s a nonpartisan election, of course. The mayor of our largest city needs a fluency in economic common sense too often foreign to state government — and right now absent in Anchorage government, also absent in Juneau municipal government. As a legislator, Chris was always among the top few in his understanding of the budget and of public finance, but propose something stupid to him and he would tell you it was a stupid idea, even if you flew to Alaska on your own jet.

At some point, it seems to me, capabilities and competency must trump perceptions of political party affiliation — especially when it comes to electing top executives. The straits in which Anchorage taxpayers find themselves urgently recommend choosing Chris Tuck over anyone else in the race, including the incumbent.

Here in Juneau, because we have the good fortune to have two flourishing mines within the borough boundaries, a large and growing cruise ship tourism industry, a commercial salmon fleet and processing industry, and the tangled benefits from state and federal governments spending beyond their incomes, our profligate municipal spending decisions and poor city management are often obscured. In particular, the windfall of passenger head tax and sales tax receipts from shoppers and gawkers arriving by cruise ship allows immoderate municipal spending.

So I won’t be surprised if, during his first several weeks as mayor, Chris Tuck assembles the cruise ship companies and the governor to structure a revenue bond port financing secured by a portion of cruise passenger head tax income, satisfactory to the cruise line association, to aid in rebuilding your port. Because of Juneau city/borough misspending of head tax income, found by federal courts in summary judgment to have broken commerce laws going back well into the 19th century, the cruise line association can veto any spending of that head tax. But the income remains so large that each year Juneau solicits spending ideas for the money — there were almost 1.7 million passengers to Juneau last year.

Mayor Chris Tuck will bring intelligence to Anchorage city government that Juneau taxpayers will envy. I don’t know how much can be expected to come from state government to fix our economy this year or next, but I know Chris Tuck very well and anticipate his repairs to the municipal economy will be inspirational to and copied by the rest of the state.

I really haven’t seen much progress in Anchorage for some time. During the past several years I have speculated that the Anchorage Midtown has more Class A and Class B office and retail space that has been vacant for five years or longer than Juneau has Class A and B space, vacant and occupied; yet how often have you heard the current mayor and Assembly, or any economic development nonprofit in Anchorage, address that?

Over the decades I have sometimes worked in Anchorage for extended periods of time, and it seems to me that basic local deliverables once taken for granted, like Cook Inlet gas for heat and electricity, municipal police protection, basic reading and arithmetic achievement in public schools and even plowing snow, have become ambiguous and worse.

Chris Tuck comes along to lead our largest city at just the right time. His election will be the turning point in the Anchorage outlook. No one else in the race has anywhere near his record of successes, his demonstrated abilities and his strong statewide following. Your vote for Chris is required — thank you.

Tomas Boutin has lived and voted in Juneau for 40 years; he first moved to Alaska 50 years ago. Now retired, he formerly worked in the private sector, as well as for the State of Alaska for 19 years, in forestry, public finance and the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority.

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