Vacant downtown seat draws two hopefuls

Tue, March 11, 2008
Posted in MUNI2008, Metro News

KSKA now begins a series of candidate profiles for the upcoming April 1, 2008 municipal election.

While five of Anchorage’s six assembly districts have two representatives each, one district is the exception with only one Assembly seat. Seat B includes Government Hill, Fairview, Mountain View, South Addition and the downtown area, and the incumbent is not allowed to run again.

Len Anderson, KSKA - Anchorage

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Comments

3 Responses to “Vacant downtown seat draws two hopefuls”

Chris Blankenship on March 12, 2008 at 12:36 am

Mr Anderson,

Thank you for talking with me at the Assembly meeting and the Make It Monday meeting on march 10, at the Chamber of Commerce event.
I know the public looks at people with speech problems not as smart as other people, but I can tell you I know the issues, and have the hunger to work harder than anyone to see that Anchorage is the best coty in Alaska to live, play, work, and invest in for the future.
You do not need a fancy college degree to be a leader in this community. I’m young, smart, and have the fire in my stomach to do the best job on the Anchorage Assembly, for the residents of the Seat B area.

Thank you,

Chris Blankenship
Seat B Candidate
Jed Whittaker on March 12, 2008 at 6:47 am

Len Anderson—I just listened to your report on Patrick Flynn….You allowed Mr. Flynn the time to express his views on two issues. You did not allow equal time to his opponent…Shoddy reporting, clearly indicated a bias for Mr. Flynn….Are you like the rest of the media that supplicates themselves to the almighty dollar? This lazy money bias is in part why corruption became prevalent in Alaska. The public deserves better….
John on March 12, 2008 at 4:55 pm

Mr. Whittaker — I recommend you listen to the piece again. Both Blankenship and Flynn describe several of their interests as candidates for Seat B on the Assembly.

In the case of Blankenship, he talks about two issues most important to him: education and public safety. He says the assembly should do everything it can to assist the school district because successful students have positive, rather than negative, impacts on the community.

Further, Blankenship says if you give young people skills and opportunities, you reduce the likelihood that they’ll end up behind bars. Plus, his stance on public safety includes public inebriation issues and he views neighborhood public safety as demanding more than just increased police presence.

Blankenship is again included toward the end of the piece, where he openly describes his demographic status and how that could contribute positively to his candidacy.

I think the notion that this piece is slanted one way or another is just plain wrong.