Judith McQuerryCandidate for Ketchikan Borough Assembly
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I’ve lived in Ketchikan for over 40 years and have no desire to live anywhere else. I moved here to take a job at the Ketchikan Public Library and worked there for 32 years. I retired from the Library in November of 2011 and my husband and I chose to remain in Ketchikan. I have done quite a bit of volunteer work since retiring. My volunteer activities have included my church, Head Start, Tongass Federal Credit Union, Friends of the Library, The Salvation Army Soup Kitchen, The Ketchikan Yacht Club, PEO, and Love in Action.
I served on the Borough Assembly from October 2016 to October 2019.
I’m running for office because of my deep love of the Ketchikan Community. I raised two children here. They attended school at Pt. Higgins, Schoenbar and Kayhi. Ketchikan provided them extensive opportunities in music, sports, and education. Ketchikan is a great place to raise kids.
I have no special agenda or singular goal. My concerns are: This year we had a bust of a cruise ship season, next year is unknown, and we don’t know when or if that leg of our economy will again provide the same revenue and business opportunities.
We cannot support the Borough budget with a 40% drop in sales tax revenue. Currently, all Borough property tax is funding the school system which leaves only sales tax and a few fees to fund the rest of the Borough services. Cuts will need to be made and I want to help assure we make the absolutely necessary cuts and retain as much as possible so when things turn around we have the services and structures in place to make a full recovery and haven’t damaged our community.
As a community one of the vital services we need to attract business and people is our school district. If we don’t have successful schools, we will suffer and won’t encourage growth. We have a wonderful quality of life in Ketchikan. We have excellent recreational opportunities, a thriving arts environment and strong community spirit. We need to retain these elements as much as we possibly can.
Ketchikan is a great place to live, work and raise children, I want to be a part of keeping it this way.
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