As a lifelong Alaskan and a Homer resident, I will be voting for Representative Paul Seaton in the August 16th primary election because he listens, is responsive, and doesn’t hesitate to work across the aisle for solutions.
His Republican opponent in the primary, Homer’s current Mayor Beth Wythe, has been described as a “fiscal conservative” yet when being told the city can’t count on receiving funding through the state’s capital budget due to Alaska’s current financial straits, she has relentlessly championed a combined public safety building which some of her constituents might compare to the overbuilt/overpriced Legislative Information Office in Anchorage. While I wholeheartedly support the replacement of the fire and police stations, I want a representative who understands first and foremost that we need to live within our means, and not someone who rushes in to build a building without first knowing if we can afford it or where the money will come from.
I’ve attended community briefings in which Paul Seaton delivered the hard news — that as much as we all have our special projects we want funded, we simply don’t have the money to do it all especially when there are children to educate and critical services to deliver. I’ve also heard the tough news that we, as Alaskans, can’t cut our way out our current fiscal condition, that it’s going to take some sacrifices by us all.
I want my representative in Juneau to be an active participant in whatever discussions and decisions take place. I want him or her to listen, to ask sound questions, and to make well-informed decisions.
In this election, Paul Seaton is the proven leader we need in Juneau.
