SITKA, ALASKA
The ordinance, sponsored by Terry Blake and Larry Crews, arose from the December 14th appointment of Jonathan Crouch to the Long Range Planning and Economic Development Commission. Crouch is living in Sitka while he serves a term with Americorps, but is registered to vote in Nebraska.
Crews said last night that the ordinance had nothing to do with Crouch personally.
“I believe certain commissions you should have some kind of a standing in your community – not a status standing, but just be here to have some longevity,” Crews said. “Sometimes it does pay to have a new perspective on it, but you still have to have a history here, because sometimes new perspectives just don’t jive with what’s going on in a community.”
Crouch spoke against the proposal, both at the meeting and the day before, in an interview with KCAW.
“If you have someone that comes forward and says, ‘Yes, I’m from somewhere else, I’m here for, at this moment, a short time,’ I would be, if I was on the Assembly, or a long-term citizen of this great city, I would open my arms and say ‘Welcome. Hopefully we can convince you to stay,'” he said.
Assembly member Mim McConnell said she didn’t like the requirement to be a registered voter, and cited an e-mail the Assembly received from a longtime Sitka resident who is a resident alien of the United States. Under the measure, McConnell said, that person would not be able to serve on any boards.
Assembly member Thor Christianson also disagreed with the measure, saying the final call should be up to the Assembly.
“We need to be willing to say no to somebody if they’re the only person,” Christianson said. “If we do this we’re kind of fudging and making it easier on ourselves. But if we had the only person and we don’t know enough about them or we don’t really think they’re good for it, we need to be able to say, ‘No, just because you applied doesn’t mean you get the job.’”
The Assembly voted 5 to 2 against the measure. Crews and Blake, the two sponsors of the ordinance change, voted yes.
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