{"id":10416,"date":"2018-06-13T22:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-14T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/spijue.wpengine.com\/news\/michelle-hale-running-for-city-assembly-seat\/"},"modified":"2018-06-13T22:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T05:00:00","slug":"michelle-hale-running-for-city-assembly-seat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/news\/michelle-hale-running-for-city-assembly-seat\/","title":{"rendered":"Michelle Hale running for city Assembly seat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michelle<\/span> Bonnet<\/span> Hale<\/span> loves<\/span> Juneau<\/span> —<\/span> even<\/span> the<\/span> weather.<\/span><\/p>\n

Combining<\/span> that<\/span> fondness<\/span> with <\/span>what<\/span> she<\/span> has<\/span> learned<\/span> in<\/span> various<\/span> jobs,<\/span> Hale<\/span> has<\/span> decided<\/span> to<\/span> run<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> City<\/span> and<\/span> Borough<\/span> of<\/span> Juneau<\/span> Assembly<\/span> District<\/span> 2<\/span> Valley<\/span> seat.<\/span> Hale<\/span> made<\/span> the<\/span> announcement<\/span> in<\/span> an<\/span> email<\/span> sent<\/span> to<\/span> the<\/span> Empire<\/span> Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I<\/span> have<\/span> worked<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> state<\/span> and<\/span> private<\/span> enterprises,”<\/span> Hale<\/span> told the Empire<\/span> Wednesday by phone.<\/span> “I<\/span> have<\/span> always<\/span> really<\/span> wanted<\/span> to<\/span> serve<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> local<\/span> level<\/span> and<\/span> never<\/span> had<\/span> the<\/span> chance<\/span> to<\/span> do<\/span> that.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The District 2 seat<\/span> will<\/span> be<\/span> vacated<\/span> by<\/span> Jerry<\/span> Nankervis,<\/span> who<\/span> is<\/span> running<\/span> for<\/span> a<\/span> seat<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> Alaska<\/span><\/span> Legislature<\/span><\/span> this<\/span><\/span> year<\/span><\/span><\/a>. While the official filing period doesn’t open until August, Hale filed a letter of intent<\/a> with the Alaska Public Offices Commission on Wednesday.<\/span><\/p>\n

District 1 incumbent Loren Jones filed a letter of intent for his seat<\/a> in November.<\/span> Those are the only two open seats up for election this year on the Assembly. Mayor Ken Koelsch’s term also expires this year; no one has filed for mayor yet.<\/p>\n

Filing a letter of intent allows a candidate to begin fundraising.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hale,<\/span> 56,<\/span> was<\/span> born<\/span> and<\/span> raised<\/span> in<\/span> Juneau<\/span> and<\/span> said<\/span> she<\/span> had<\/span> spent<\/span> all<\/span> but<\/span> 17<\/span> years<\/span> of<\/span> her<\/span> life<\/span> in<\/span> the<\/span> capital<\/span> city.<\/span> She<\/span> is<\/span> the<\/span> great-granddaughter<\/span><\/span> of<\/span> Petersburg<\/span> homesteaders<\/span> and<\/span> fishermen,<\/span> and<\/span> the<\/span> granddaughter<\/span> of<\/span> the<\/span> chief<\/span> electrical<\/span> engineer<\/span> of<\/span> Juneau’s<\/span> Alaska-Juneau<\/span> <\/span>Mine.<\/span> Hale<\/span> said<\/span> she<\/span> believes<\/span> her<\/span> skills<\/span> as<\/span> a<\/span> facilitator<\/span> will<\/span> make<\/span> her<\/span> an<\/span> asset<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Assembly.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I<\/span> have<\/span> done<\/span> a<\/span> lot<\/span> of<\/span> work<\/span> facilitating<\/span> meetings<\/span> and<\/span> getting<\/span> people<\/span> to<\/span> sit<\/span> down<\/span> and<\/span> talk<\/span> together<\/span> and<\/span> see<\/span> each<\/span> other’s<\/span> side,”<\/span> Hale<\/span> said.<\/span> “We<\/span> have<\/span> a<\/span> lot<\/span> of<\/span> issues<\/span> in<\/span> Juneau<\/span> that<\/span> are<\/span> very<\/span> polarizing,<\/span> but<\/span> they<\/span> don’t<\/span> need<\/span> to<\/span> be.”<\/span><\/p>\n

Hale<\/span> has<\/span> worked<\/span> on<\/span> the<\/span> Exxon<\/span> Valdez<\/span> Oil<\/span> Spill,<\/span> managed<\/span> a<\/span> private<\/span> water<\/span> lab<\/span> in<\/span> Juneau<\/span> and<\/span> served<\/span> as<\/span> environmental<\/span> coordinator<\/span> for<\/span> the<\/span> Kensington<\/span> Mine<\/span> north<\/span> of<\/span> Juneau. Hale is now a local entrepreneur, running a business selling her late father Herb Bonnet’s artwork and art cards.<\/span><\/p>\n

Tackling<\/span> tough<\/span> issues,<\/span> Hale<\/span> said,<\/span> also<\/span> has encouraged<\/span> her<\/span> to<\/span> run.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I<\/span> like<\/span> people<\/span> and<\/span> I<\/span> like<\/span> solving<\/span> problems,<\/span> even<\/span> if<\/span> they<\/span> are<\/span> tough,”<\/span> Hale<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hale<\/span> said<\/span> with<\/span> ever-changing<\/span> issues<\/span> to<\/span> deal<\/span> with,<\/span> she<\/span> is focused on how she can face them.<\/span><\/p>\n

“I<\/span> am<\/span> driven<\/span> by<\/span> seeing<\/span> what<\/span> I<\/span> can<\/span> do<\/span> to<\/span> help,”<\/span> Hale<\/span> said.<\/span><\/p>\n

She<\/span> also<\/span> wants<\/span> to<\/span> ensure<\/span> that<\/span> Juneau<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> place<\/span> made<\/span> for<\/span> all<\/span> ages.<\/span><\/p>\n

“It<\/span> can<\/span> be<\/span> a<\/span> hard<\/span> place<\/span> to<\/span> be<\/span> old,”<\/span> Hale<\/span> said.<\/span> “I<\/span> hate<\/span> seeing<\/span> my<\/span> friends<\/span> leave.<\/span> Juneau<\/span> is<\/span> a<\/span> great<\/span> place,<\/span> but<\/span> there<\/span> is<\/span> always<\/span> room<\/span> to<\/span> make<\/span> it<\/span> better.<\/span> I<\/span> hope<\/span> we<\/span> can<\/span> make<\/span> it<\/span> hard<\/span> to<\/span> leave<\/span> Juneau<\/span> because<\/span> it<\/span> is<\/span> so<\/span> good<\/span> here.”<\/span><\/p>\n

The<\/span> official filing<\/span> period<\/span> to<\/span> run<\/span> for<\/span> CBJ<\/span> Assembly<\/span> opens<\/span> at<\/span> 8<\/span> a.m.<\/span> Friday,<\/span> Aug.<\/span> 3<\/span> and<\/span> closes<\/span> at<\/span> 4:30<\/span> p.m.<\/span> Monday,<\/span> Aug.<\/span> 13,<\/span> at<\/span> 4:30<\/span> p.m.<\/span> All<\/span> paperwork<\/span> must<\/span> be<\/span> completed<\/span> and<\/span> signed\/notarized<\/span> in<\/span> hand<\/span> at<\/span> the<\/span> Municipal<\/span> Clerk’s<\/span> Office<\/span> at<\/span> City<\/span> Hall.<\/span><\/p>\n

The city municipal election is Oct. 2.<\/p>\n

\n

• Contact reporter Gregory Philson at gphilson@juneauempire.com or call at 523-2265. Follow him on Twitter at @GTPhilson.<\/b><\/p>\n

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Michelle Bonnet Hale loves Juneau — even the weather. Combining that fondness with what she has learned in various jobs, Hale has decided to run for the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly District 2 Valley seat. Hale made the announcement in an email sent to the Empire Wednesday. “I have worked for the state […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":431,"featured_media":10417,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_stopmodifiedupdate":false,"_modified_date":"","wds_primary_category":4,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-10416","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10416","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/431"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10416"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10416\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/10417"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10416"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10416"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10416"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.juneauempire.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=10416"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}