Local Elections Matter: Announcing Our Fairbanks Endorsements! Help Shape Alaska’s Future

Hi Friend,

If you turn on national news, it’s probably hard to avoid hearing about the Presidential election. Just the other day, I heard that this week marks “the start of the sprint to the Presidential election.” That might be true—but in Alaska, it’s also the sprint to the fall elections: state elections in November AND local elections!

Many municipalities across the state (including, but not at all limited to: Juneau, Palmer, and Fairbanks) have local elections in October, before the November elections. If you’ve followed The Alaska Center for any time, you know that we talk about local elections a lot. That’s because local elections are crucial: they govern our school districts, budget for everyday needs like snow-plowing, invest (or not) in local infrastructure like libraries, pools, trails, rec centers, and more. They’re also crucial to creating and implementing local climate action plans—like the one Fairbanks recently passed.

This year, our Political Committee made endorsements in the Fairbanks North Star Borough and Fairbanks City Council elections. Fairbanks is crucial to the political progress we can make in this state. Their October elections will be crucial to implementing the new climate plan, and deciding whether it collects dust or starts being used to make positive changes.

Thank you!

Best,
Jenny-Marie Stryker
Political Director
The Alaska Center