Wolf wants to give voters a choice

  • By KAYLEE OSOWSKI
  • Thursday, August 14, 2014 9:34pm
  • News

Local elected official Kelly Wolf, R-Kenai, is running for Lt. Governor.

Wolf said he decided to run to give voters a choice and because too much of state representation comes from Anchorage and the Matanuska Valley.

“I believe in the electoral process and that the people should have a choice,” he said.

Wolf, 52, currently represents the Kalifornsky District for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2002, serving one term.

“The Lt. Governor is a representative of the people and I’ve always … tried to honor and respect that my voice is a representation of what the people want,” he said.

In the primary election on Tuesday, Wolf and Dan Sullivan, R-Anchorage, current Anchorage mayor, will appear on the Republican ballot. Hollis French and Bob Williams are running as Democrats, and Andrew Lee is running for the Libertarian party.

Wolf said he didn’t think he would be elected to House of Representatives in 2002 and isn’t fully confident of his chances in being elected as Lt. Governor.

But said he has counted only 11 campaign signs for Sullivan in Southcentral Alaska. Wolf said he has been meeting with different groups and participating in speaking engagements about his candidacy.

Wolf, a retired contractor, said he doesn’t claim to be a politician. As a teenager, he and his family moved to Alaska in 1975. He currently serves as a board member of Friends of Athletes with Disabilities and the Friendship Mission homeless shelter and board chair and project coordinator for Youth Restoration Corps, an organization he co-founded with his wife.

Wolf and his wife, Vera, have four grown children. Ryan, who has Down syndrome, works at Fred Meyer. Josh served with the U.S. Army and is going to school to become a diesel mechanic. Justin is serving with the U.S. Air Force. Salena will begin college working toward a career as a registered nurse.

His experience in working with youth through YRC, which mentors youth through community-based projects, is a benefit. Working with youth to get them job experience, teach habitat restoration and provide job experience is one of his focuses, he said.

“I’ve always believed in our youth and I feel very strongly that our youth can do just about anything,” he said.

He is also concerned about issues seniors and veterans are facing.

Wolf said he is in favor of Senate Bill 21, against the legalization of marijuana in Alaska and is not supportive of abortion.

Kaylee Osowski can be reached at kaylee.osowski@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in opposition to an executive order that would abolish the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives during a joint legislative session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Legislature kills most of Dunleavy’s executive orders in rare joint session

All the proposed orders would have shuffled or eliminated the responsibilities of various state boards

Nikiski Middle/High School student Maggie Grenier testifies in favor of a base student allocation increase before the Alaska Senate Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Students report mixed responses from lawmakers in education discussions

Delegates from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District lobbied the Alaska Legislature for more state funding and other education priorities

A child waves from the back of a truck as the 32nd annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds down Fireweed Street in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
St. Patrick’s Day parade set for Sunday

The annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, kicks off at 2 p.m.

Most Read