I am running for Ketchikan City Council. I am a US Navy Veteran with over a year’s experience in Iraq. I am a Mariner and my travels have taken me around the world many times. Of all the places I have visited and the many places I have lived, Ketchikan is the one city that has become my family’s home.

I first visited Ketchikan as a student of the United States Merchant Marine Academy, when I sailed on the tanker Sierra Madre delivering fuel oil in the dead of winter. I walked the streets of Ketchikan and only one store was open. I was able to purchase some post cards and a Ray Troll shirt before returning to my ship and departing. I knew then that Ketchikan was a special place and I wished I could visit longer.

In 1998, I had the opportunity to return to Ketchikan as a young officer in the U.S. Navy when Joint Exercise Northern Edge invaded Ketchikan. For two weeks, my team and I defended Ketchikan from an enemy force while gaining valuable experiences and training. When we left Ketchikan to return to our unit in San Diego, I was overwhelmed by the sense of community and how the hard-working people of Ketchikan made us all feel so welcome. Before departing the local VFW supported us with a massive barbeque where many veterans of Ketchikan came out to shake our hands and share stories.

Since moving to Ketchikan two years ago, I have followed with interest our local government’s decisions concerning expenditure of our money. I have witnessed an increase in our sales tax to a level which competes with the highest in all of Alaska.

I have also witnessed, with complete shock and humiliation, our entire City Council ignore and insult our citizens. Specifically, Bob Bowcock, an expert on clean water issues with over 30 years of experience who came to discuss our council’s effort to contaminate our water system with ammonia. Facts were presented showing the detrimental effects of chloramine on our home piping, our health, and our fragile salmon ecosystem. Each and every council member had other, more important things to do than to listen to how chloramine would affect our lives. One member had an open beer bottle in front of him during the entire meeting; others were passing notes and browsing their iPads. When United Citizens for Better Water followed every rule laid out before them, the members of the City Council laughed and decided not to allow a vote on the topic. Over 600 registered voters said they wanted the opportunity to vote on the addition of ammonia to our potable water supply, but we were blatantly laughed at and ignored.

If elected to the Ketchikan City Council, I promise to always have the best interests of our community as my number one objective. Finding and supporting year-round, long-term jobs that support our families and give back to our community is one of my top concerns. Ketchikan is a place we call home; it is where we want to raise our families. Ketchikan needs members of the City Council who will help support growth in our economy while also ensuring we can live a healthy and productive life.

I promise to treat every citizen of Ketchikan with the respect they deserve, while also working to ensure the fiscal cliff we are navigating does not crumble below us. Please elect Kevin Staples to Ketchikan City Council on October 7.

Email: staplesforkcc@gmail.com

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Ketchikan, Alaska

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