Candidates finalized for Talkeetna Community Council election

There will be three candidates for the three seats up for election on the Talkeetna Community Council, Inc. board of directors.

Two of the candidates are running to retain seats on the board. Paul Button and Peg Vos were both placed on the board after last October’s election. Mary Farina, who has reached the council’s term limit, currently holds the third seat. Karl Swanson is also running for the board. Swanson is newly eligible to run for the board after the Talkeetna Community Council’s boundaries were expanded earlier this year.

Peg Vos is a former schoolteacher with thirty years of experience. She moved to the Talkeetna area in 2006. Paul Button initially lived in Talkeetna in the mid-90s, and regularly visited a cabin in the area after moving to Anchorage. He moved back to Talkeetna in 2014. Karl Swanson is a certified public accountant who has lived in the Talkeetna area for twenty years.

The Talkeetna Community Council board of directors election will be held on October 3^rd at the Talkeetna Public Library. This election is separate from the borough election, also on October 3^rd, which will be held at Talkeetna Elementary School. The only item on the borough ballot in the area is the proposed sales tax for the Talkeetna Sewer and Water District.

Candidate statements:

Peg Vos:

When I moved to Alaska in 2006, I hoped to find a good small town to call home. And I did. I have found Talkeetna to be a vibrant, dynamic community. Its citizens are passionate about their causes, and work diligently to make things happen from recycling to shuttle service to playgrounds to libraries. Talkeetna citizens are also compassionate with fundraisers and work parties for those in need. It is a labor of love and pride of many to make a community such as Talkeetna.

Serving the past year on the Council Board has only reemphasized my awareness of the passions and concerns of Talkeetna citizens. I have learned that listening skills are paramount to being a good Board member. Analysis and compromise are other skills that are vital on the board. These skills are the same ones that I used during my successful 30-year career as a teacher. I hope to continue to use them on the Talkeetna Community Council Board.

Karl Swanson:

Starting in 2015, I participated in the Talkeetna Community Council’s District Review Committee, which proposed to include all areas in the Talkeetna Comprehensive Plan into the TCCI boundaries. This proposal was ultimately approved by the TCCI and the Mat-Su Borough Assembly. As a result, after over 20 years of living in the Talkeetna area, I can vote and participate more fully in making Talkeetna a stronger, healthier community. I believe by professional experience, as a CPA, as well as my volunteer work in local park development, KTNA, and DNSC is an asset to the Talkeetna community as a whole.

Paul Button:

I have been associated with Talkeetna for over 20 years, living here in the mid-90s, then regularly visiting our cabin from Anchorage, and moving here again in 2014. I have been on the Community Council since 2015, where I am the board secretary. I am also one of the board of directors of the Talkeetna Sewer and Water Service area, and am an active volunteer at KTNA. The community of Talkeetna has given me so much over the years that I consider it a privilege to serve in any way I can to preserve the quality of life in this place we call home.