Candidate views: Betty Glick, Assembly District 2, Kenai

I appreciate the opportunity to convey to you, the reader, my thoughts and philosophy on what it means to be an Assembly Member.

For me, it is an honor and a privilege to serve as an elected official. It is a position not to be taken lightly. It requires personal responsibility and an honest commitment to do the best job possible for the community. The success of a municipal government depends primarily upon the quality and effectiveness of its officials. It is essential that individuals in these positions not only work hard and diligently for the benefit of the community and its citizens; but, also that they understand their responsibilities, how their positions relate to other municipal officials, and what is generally expected of them as public officials.

It is not a one issue proposition. It requires that decisions be made on many different issues in a manner that is responsible to and in the best interest of the citizens of the community as a whole and not from a political point. You should study the issues, get input from your constituents, from other municipal officials and listen to all sides of the issue as you many never know when you may hear something that you had not considered and may very well change your position. Always answer questions honestly based on the information you have at that point in time even if the constituent doesn't like the answer.

Morally and ethically public officials must not act outside the law or beyond their authority. Never vote on an issue from an emotional point of view, act impartially and without favoritism. I know from personal experience that this does not always set well with all of your constituents; but, sometimes you have to disagree, hopefully, without being disagreeable.

We all know that education is important and certainly a life long process. To this end I try to educate people on the differences between Borough Government, which is a second class borough with limited powers and authorities as opposed to a First Class City (Soldotna, Homer and Seldovia) and a Home Rule City (Kenai and Seward).

The preceding comments and observations have been my approach to being an elected official. My personal philosophy is to act morally and ethically with respect for my colleagues and constituents knowing that we will not always agree 100 percent of the time.

To quote Abraham Lincoln: "I do the best I can; if the end brings me out all right, what is said against me won't amount to anything; if the end brings me out wrong, ten people swearing I was right would make no difference."

Thank you for letting me come into your home or business through this forum.