Ben Miyasato left Sitka two weeks after high school “to see how far my wings would carry me.” He’s since lived in Anchorage and Nome, and spent 20 years in the Army National Guard. He’s home now — and “I walk everywhere.” (KCAW photo/Robert Woolsey)
Ben Miyasato is the closest thing to a career politician in local government in Sitka. He’s wrapping up three years on the assembly — while also serving on the Sitka Tribal Council.
But if he’s elected mayor, this military veteran and former banker will step down from the Tribe to focus on broader issues in the community.
KCAW’s Robert Woolsey has this candidate profile.
Sitka is in financial trouble, and no one understands it better, probably, than current assembly members. Ben Miyasato has been watching the situation unfold for all of his three years on the assembly, and he’s not deterred from wanting to run again.
“Been there and done that.”
He’s talking about a financial crisis in the Tribal government three years ago. The Tribe came back from the brink; he thinks Sitka will, too.
“This is something that we’ll get through. And I think having experience will help.”
The problem for the Tribe in 2013 was the sequestration of federal funding, which put unprecedented financial pressure on government agencies. Miyasato says the Tribe had to cut back, and shrink its bureaucracy. He’s witnessed the turnaround.
“I have served on the council for the last two years as treasurer, and been very aware of our financial situation. It does make you pay attention to detail, makes sure you’re not overspending. For the last two years we’ve had a budget surplus, and a projected small one this year. So it is possible to get through the financial hard times, get leaner, and if government is done right, you’ll not be in the red. And I think that’s something the City of Sitka will get through. We need to do some belt tightening.”
A solution for Sitka could be more challenging. The financial problem is structural: State support that’s been almost a sure thing since the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline is all but gone. Sitkans are living in a community that costs more than they realized. Miyasato was born and raised here, and understands that it’s tough. Nevertheless he thinks it’s time to raise the property tax cap.
“A millage rate will definitely be of help next year.”
The outcome of the ballot proposition is anybody’s guess. Regardless of whether it passes, Sitka will still have a deficit next year, and the assembly will still have to make cuts.
Miyasato is not panicking.
“All I can say is, We’ll see what we can do with what we have. Because that’s part of having a leaner government, is making do with what you have.”
Some are laying blame for the city’s financial woes on the Blue Lake Dam expansion, a project which was designed to pay for itself under much higher electric loads than Sitkans are using during this unforeseen period of inexpensive oil.
Still, the dam didn’t pencil out when the project bids were opened, and costs were far over projections. Even with $20 million already spent on design, Miyasato would not have approved construction.
“I wouldn’t have moved forward with it. That’s just myself, personally. I wouldn’t have gone forward. Because the amount projected and the actual amount was, in my estimation, too great.”
Miyasato spent two decades in the Alaska Army National Guard. He was sent to Baghdad in 2005. He was also in banking, having worked at the Alaska USA Federal Credit Union, and at the National Bank of Alaska.
It’s the banker in him that resists the idea of becoming over-leveraged in a major public works project.
“You will have to pay it back.”
When he was first elected to the Tribal Council five years ago, Miyasato says he wanted everyone to like his decisions. A friend on the assembly at the time told him that was simply not possible or practical. At best, it’s 50-50 whether people support you or not.
Miyasato is okay with those odds.
“I listen to everyone whether they agree or disagree. There’s nothing wrong with disagreement. In fact, I welcome it.”
Miyasato is running for mayor, rather than trying to retain his assembly seat. Of the 8 candidates hoping to sit on the assembly, only two are women. He considers that a challenge: To make running for and serving in municipal office more welcoming for everyone.
He’s not blind to the angry rhetoric surrounding the property tax vote, and to the accusations leveled at the Citizen’s Task Force and the assembly.
He understands why there might be hesitancy. “It does make you think
twice about running,” he says.
