KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Kayla Desroches/KMXT
Last week, a new assemblyman joined the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly. Dan Rohrer left the seat vacant when he became borough assembly mayor, and seven candidates stepped up to vie for the position. They were Terry Haines, David Harmes, Monique Lewis, Andy Schroeder, Jonathan Strong, Dave Townsend, and James Turner.
At a special meeting last Thursday, the assembly interviewed, voted on, and swore in the new assemblyman all in one night. Dave Townsend, a shop manager with Brechan Construction, came out ahead.
During his candidate interview, Townsend said he was excited about the possibility of becoming an assemblyman.
“I absolutely thrive on challenges. I am constantly looking for the next challenge and do all kinds of things to grow as a person, learn something new every day, and when I commit to doing something, I do it to the absolute best of my ability.”
He answered a set number of questions. One was about which issues he thinks the assembly needs to tackle next.
“Certainly one of them is affordable housing and how to address that, and another is dealing with a slow economic time. If we don’t get funding from the state, how are we going to fund the schools?”
The assembly asked Townsend how he would balance the borough budget, considering the governor’s cut of $1.3 million in bond debt reimbursement to the Kodiak Island Borough.
“One of the resources that we could tap into is marijuana. We’re looking at setting up how that is going to be handled in the community, and I certainly see it as a potential tax base. I don’t think that that is the answer. I think that is one possible point. Another may be a borough tax.”
Which he said could be temporary.
Townsend accepted the appointment to the assembly and the borough clerk swore him in. His term will be for one year, and it’ll expire in October 2017.
