I voted

Ruth Danner beat out her more conservative challenger Stephanie Madsen for District 2 Juneau Assembly by a margin of 400 votes. 1,500 absentees and questioned ballots won’t be counted until Friday.

David Stone won re-election to a third term on the Juneau Assembly, turning back a challenge by Karen Lawfer 64 percent to 36 percent. Stone is more conservative than Lawfer who only won the more liberal downtown precinct, also my voting precinct, but she brought very important issues during the campaign and gave Stone a run for his money.

After polls closed Tuesday, it appeared each incumbent on the Juneau School Board would be re-elected for another term. Until the rest of the ballots are counted on Friday it looks like school board member Andrea “Andi” Story was the leading vote-getter for the three seats up for grabs with 3,216 votes, followed by School Board President Mark Choate and Phyllis Carlson with 3,076 and 2,470 votes, respectively. Bill Peters ended Tuesday evening with 2,109 votes, while Mary Marks finished with 1,541 votes.

Voters’ overwhelmingly approved of Proposition 1 authorizing the city to borrow $11.8 million for the renovations at the 52-year-old Gastineau Elementary School bringing it up to code and completely renovated by the end of summer 2012, when my son is ready for gindergarten. Up to 70 percent of that cost is eligible for reimbursement from the state, leaving local property owners a tax burden of about $12 per $100,000 of assessed value for 10 years.

Voters also approved Proposition 2 increasing the tax on tobacco products, raising packs of cigarettes to $1 from 30 cents and to 45% from 12% on other tobacco products. The increase is estimated to increase city revenue up to $1.7 million a year from just over $500k last year.

Elsewhere in the state, Mat-Su voters rejected their school bond package for school district building renovations. The bond package would have been worth $31.7 million and would have covered roof repairs, new fire alarm systems and new floors and parking lot improvements.

Voters in the Mat-Su valley also rejected a sales tax proposal that would have instituted a 3% sales tax in exchange for a 7.3 mill rate on property tax. Voters in Fairbanks also rejected a sales tax proposal to reduce property taxes. The Fairbanks plan would have increased spending on roads, police and fire protection by $8 million.

Isn’t it interesting that heavily conservative areas like the Mat-Su valley and Fairbanks would turn down additional taxes to repair their schools, reduce property taxes, improve roads and increase Fire & Police protection? For one, the money from property taxes are mainly used for schools. So, let’s keep those high, but not approve additional repairs on our schools? Meanwhile Juneau is getting a fully renovated modern Elementary school. Sweet!

And it also looks like Kodiak is getting a $76 million expansion and renovation for the Kodiak High School thanks to Kodiak voters on Tuesday.

So, we’ve all heard the news: the economy is in the tank.  Or maybe it is coming back to a theatre near you!  Either way, I’ve heard many people suggest that, while it was OK a couple years ago to vote for a new high school, maybe in today’s economy, it’s just too much to put out for the elementary kids.  Whatever may be going through your mind regarding the economy, the only reason any thinking individual should consider the question of funding education is if you yourself are asking, “Brother, can you spare a dime?”  Got milk?  Yes, then I think you are ready to spend on schools.

Seriously.  as a gen-X-er I will always vote for education.  Period.  Did you get the period there?  I mean, the libertarian in me is very on the fence about this whole upcoming drug testing program being promoted in Juneau schools; I’m not so sure my son needs to start experimenting with invasions of privacy at such a tender age of minordom.  However, I think it’s safe to assume that the money for Prop 1 is just going to pay for the facilities bills.

So, yes, the economy is in the tank, but go VOTE FOR SCHOOLS.  Your children will thank you.  And if you don’t have children, your 15-years-older self will thank you, when your own livelihood has not gone the way of Detroit due to constantly undercutting your own interests.

- Drool