Assembly Candidate Profile: Andy Schroeder

(Photo courtesy of Andy Schroeder)

Mitch Borden/KMXT

There are eight people running for the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly this year. To help our listeners get to know the candidates, KMXT will be airing profiles of them every Tuesday and Thursday leading up to the election. KMXT sat down with Andy Schroeder to discuss why he wants to be an Assemblyman.

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There isn’t a particular reason Andy Schroeder is running to be on the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly. He says he’s not a one-issue candidate. This year just seemed like a good time to try for a seat, especially since, he says there’s a lot to be done.

“I think there are so many things we’re going to be taking on in the next few years, which are gonna shape certainty the rest of my life in Kodiak. The way we fund government. The tax rates and the cost of living here. Our schools and education. All of this at risk by the absence of oil revenues funding how we live here.”

Originally, Schroeder came to Kodiak with the Coast Guard. After serving a couple of years in the region, he decided to leave the service and settle down. He says what drew him to stay here was the landscape and the people.

He’s lived here for almost 17 years and doesn’t plan on leaving anytime soon. Schroeder says he’s very invested in the community and wants to see it move forward, but without sacrificing what makes Kodiak special.

“Yes, we have to keep it an affordable place to live. Cost of living is a huge challenge to my family and to families living here, but we can’t do that at the expense of what makes Kodiak great.”

Schroeder’s currently the executive director of the Island Trails Network, a local nonprofit, and is a co-owner of the research vessel Island Sea. He also says he sat on the borough’s parks and recreation committee for about six years.

Schroeder believes he could help the assembly find solutions to problems that will not only help Kodiak now but in the future.

“We need to be fiscally responsible. If we want something we need to fund it. We can’t be borrowing against future generations. We need to take the long view. I think that’s another thing people would associate me with is not looking for the quick score, but thinking long term.  ”

Schroeder says if elected to the assembly, he’ll do his best to serve the place he calls home.

“I think I bring an energy and an intensity about the things I care about. I want to bring that energy and intensity to something where I can benefit more people.”

The election for the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will be held on October 3rd. You can vote at your local polling place.

 

 

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