Contributed by Loren Means for Mayor
Election season is upon us again, and the signs are popping up. Is it just me, or does there seem to be fewer this year than in past years? As for myself in my run in the Loren Means for Wasilla Mayoral race, there are fewer signs, as I am not putting up any. ZERO. ZILCH.
I evaluated my race in 2014 where I did use signs, and found that the expense factored into the votes that I received resulted in it costing over $27.00 per vote, because the signs are so expensive. And the effort! So much work to put them out, to pick them up after wind storms and to replace after vandalism. And not one of those signs cast a vote. Some of you do. And now the city has a new sign ordinance and they pick up signs that are in the wrong place, even yard sale signs and merchant's signs. I imagine Code Enforcement is kept much busier now that it has this new task to manage.
So this election, I have decided to run a smaller, simpler campaign, one that would mirror the smaller, simpler city government that I would like to see in Wasilla. In these recessionary times, with people losing jobs, businesses closing, rentals vacant and many homes empty and for sale, smaller seems right.
The main reason that I run to remove an incumbent mayor is that I do not think the time is right to increase out sales tax by 50% to spend millions of dollars on a building that the mayor admits that we “can make do” without. If we raise our sales tax, and the Borough and State pile on with taxes of their own, we could see a local tax of 7% or 8% in the next few years. Some people like to compare and say, the tax is 9.2% in Arizona, and ours won't be that high. The fact is, sales tax affects the lowest income people the hardest, especially when buying essentials like food and medicine. Times are tough enough without this additional burden.
So what do I think the solution might be? I think we need to hold steady with our current sales tax. Maintain the city during this recession and encourage business with less restriction, and allow Wasilla to emerge from this slow down to flourish again. A wait and see attitude will allow us, the voters, to make informed decisions after the Borough and State implement their taxes, since staying small does not seem to be the priority for those officials.
Election Day is Tuesday, October 3rd. Be sure to vote on both sides of your ballot, as the sales tax increase question is on the BACK of the ballot.
Election Day is Tuesday, October 3rd. Be sure to vote on both sides of your ballot, as the sales tax increase question is on the BACK of the ballot.
Did I really say that twice? Yes, it's that important. Get out and vote!
