Contributed by Emily Forstner
Lee Henrikson throws her hat into ring
The election race for Palmer City Council includes several newcomers to local government. Lee Henrikson threw her hat into the ring as a first-time councilperson for the two-year Council seat.
Lee considers herself to be a deliberate and detailed-oriented person. Her high school's valedictorian, Lee entered Dartmouth College the second year women were accepted. It was then she learned a most valuable lesson.
"My first math class's instructor was horrible. I learned the importance of leadership and role models," she said. Leadership is just one reason why Lee is running for Palmer City Council on October 1. She wants the Council to bring all ideas to the table, decipher the pros and cons into workable goals, and to work as a team, growing Palmer forward.
Lee moved to Palmer in 2000.
"I was in love."
Originally from Massachusetts, Lee eventually worked as a systems administrator for the SETI Institute (Search for Extraterrestrial Intelligence) in Silicon Valley. It was there in June of 2000 that she met long-time Palmeranian Mike Chmielewski at Aikido camp (Aikido is a Japanese martial art).
"He fell for me – literally over and over again," Lee laughed, retelling the memory. Six months later, Lee was married to Mike and moved to the sleepy town of Palmer. Lee reflected on the 19 years as a Palmer-area transplant. She has seen many changes, particularly with what she described as a now vibrant downtown Palmer.
Lee has been an active community member of Palmer. In particular, she has been a board member of Palmer Saroma Kai, a member of the 2010 Sister City delegation to Saroma, Japan, and a former board member of the Valley Community for Recycling Solutions. She is perhaps best known for her work as a board member and president of the local community radio station Big Cabbage Radio. Lee joined the station board in 2009, six years into the creation of the FM station.
"They needed my sense of organization," she said. And, within two years of Lee's influence, Radio Free Palmer saw its long-term goal realized – live and on the air.
Being active in Big Cabbage Radio, Lee gets a real-time perspective on what affects the city. "A lot is going on in Palmer," she emphasized. Not only are there more events happening in Palmer than what she first experienced during that sleepy December of 2000, but the city itself has also changed. The changing city is a critical motivation prompting Lee to run for City Council.
"No, I have never run for office before – but, I see so much potential for Palmer. It seems the right time to
try."
Palmer's quality of life is part of that potential.
"We need to consider looking at creative ways to add housing," Lee said. She thinks having fresh eyes on old problems can help move Palmer forward. She is interested in building upon Palmer's good things, "I'd like to build awareness of our successes."
"Appreciative inquiry," she said, is a way to approach an issue instead of presuming a result. "What's working well and how do we build on that success," she said, is a more collaborative and sure way to run any organization. Working together is always the better way."
Lee's campaign website, LeeForCityCouncil.com, promotes using taxpayers’ money wisely and strategically.
"Palmer is changing," Lee said, "only by paying attention to those changes can the city council be responsive and be ready for the future." She thinks that Palmer needs to consider the future impacts of the Glenn Highway improvements, the industrial park, development at the airport, and pedestrian safety. But, for Lee, a visible change in city demographics points to another direction as well.
"We're an increasingly younger city," she observed. She described a regular potluck gathering in her neighborhood where "for the 10 or 15 adults there are easily 20 to 30 children under the age of six. That's a lot of young people, and we need to be aware of them when we plan." The younger generation, she said, expects a vibrant downtown, safe pedestrian roads, and quality customer service.
When she begins to knock on doors around the City, Lee believes her natural mathematical attention to detail and order will help her collect the ideas and comments. She is looking forward to hearing and representing what residents have to say.
Palmer City Council Voting Information Sidebar -
Absentee voting Applications due September 24
Early voting:
Matanuska-Susitna Borough Clerk's Office
350 E. Dahlia, Palmer, Alaska
September 16 - September 30
Monday-Friday: 8 am to 5 pm
Election Day
Tuesday, October 1
Polls open 7 am – 8 pm
