Municipal election season is in full swing in Sitka, and around the region. Candidates hoping to serve as Sitka’s mayor and assembly members crowded in KCAW’s air room Tuesday night for two live forums.
Listen to the mayoral forum here
Listen to the assembly forum here
Scott Saline, Austin Cranford, Kevin Mosher and Robert Hattle are vying for two open assembly seats this year. The candidates shared their platforms, and their thoughts on issues like housing, childcare, and what is the “right-size” for cruise traffic for Sitka, and answered listener questions.
Kevin Mosher is an incumbent, seeking his third assembly term.
“I have tried to put my heart and soul in these past six years. I have made many mistakes, but I believe I’ve had some victories too. And as I said before, it’s always as a member of a team, not as one person,” Mosher said. “It has been my highest honor to serve the city, and I have grown professionally and emotionally and learned so much about myself and other people, and it has just been just a huge blessing.”
Austin Cranford unsuccessfully ran for a seat on the assembly last year. He said while he understands that the current assembly works well together, he doesn’t think enough change has happened under their tenure.
“What are you working on? People are still leaving at a rapid rate. We have a population decline. It’s in the numbers. The research doesn’t lie,” Cranford said. “Do we give them another 10 years and then we’ll go back in 10 years and be like, ‘Oh, the problem still isn’t fixed,’ or do we put people into the position to get the problem fixed?”
One problem incumbent Scott Saline hopes to fix is the closure of the Katlian Street sidewalk. After just one year on the assembly, the sidewalk is still closed, but Saline said he hopes with a new municipal attorney there will be momentum to solve this complicated problem.
“I guess I do have an ax to grind is why you should vote for me. That if you drive down Kaagwaantaan Street and you try to walk down Katlian Street, look at the transformer across from LFS. There’s just so much that’s wrong with the village that I I’d like to be able to show people that it affects, it’s connected to the rest of Sitka,” Saline said. “And there’s an issue of not paying attention and just clouding over with our prosperity that’s coming, supposedly, and then the village just keeps on being neglected.”
First time assembly candidate Robert Hattle, however, said he didn’t have a specific agenda, or a complaint against the current assembly. Nevertheless, he felt ready to tackle some of Sitka’s ongoing problems.
“I use a moniker because it rhymes with my last name. I say ‘Hattle for the battle.’ I don’t have a ax to grind. I’m not upset with somebody, or think somebody’s not been doing their job, but I do think there’s a lot of issues regarding the haul out, regarding housing, regarding the cruise ship industry impact,” Hattle said. “All of those are uphill battles that we need to come for. I have a loud voice. I would like to be your strong voice on the assembly.”
Challengers Robert Hattle and Austin Cranford, and incumbents Scott Saline and Kevin Mosher, are vying for two open seats on the Sitka Assembly.
Incumbent mayor Steven Eisenbeisz and challenger Leah Mason also met in an on-air forum prior to the assembly candidates. You can listen back to their conversation, as well as to the full assembly candidate forum, at the KCAW Election Center . You can also find biographical information and detailed questionnaires about Sitka’s most pressing issues for all the candidates at the same link.
Sitka’s municipal election is Tuesday October 1, and early voting is now open at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
