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mmoi lt;.ii(Continued from page 1) port what she’s accomplished in her first three years in office and want her to continue her efforts.The direction the community should take, and the level of taxa tion. was the central issue of the campaign, Helms said.“People are concerned about the future of the community.” she said Tuesday night.Helms outdistanced ITA Presi dent Donna Gilbert, who claimed 27.7 percent of the vote; Borough Assemblyman Ed Linkous. who took 20.8 percent; and former Tanana Chiefs Conference administrator Hay Kent, who won 8.5 percent.After the final count. Helms arrived at her election-day headquarters with snow in her hair and was greeted by a roomful of campaign supporters. She stood on a chair to deliver an acceptance speech.“I would say I’m speechless, but I’m not,” she said.Helms pledged to continue listening to complaints from citizens and to continue responding to their needs. She said she’ll listen to her mayoral opponents as well.“They’re still my constituents, and I’ll still listen,” she said.Elstun Lauesen, the mayor's brother, headed her transition team three years ago after she defeated Bill Allen. Lauesen said Tuesday’s victory was a case of the progressive forces defeating the regressive forces led by Gilbert. Lauesen said he figured it would take 40 percent of the vote for Helms to win.Lauesen said the victory shows that people “believe in the role of public institutions.”“Truth and justice prevails in Fairbanks, added Jim Barton, an unemployed union member.Helms said she wants to moveahead with economic development. So far, the borough’s economic de velopment office has secured grants for small businesses, helped with federal procurement contracts and worked to keep small businesses alive in the community, she said.She wants to improve on her administration’s record in dealing with financial matters, a subject brought up often by her opponents.Helms said she has no specific plan mapped out for her second term but that she hopes to continue working on various projects she’s started during the past three years.Despite the loss, runnerup Gilbert, who has fought against tax increases in the past two years, said she wasn’t disappointed.“I don’t feel bad; I think we did very well,” she said.Gilbert said articles printed in the News-Miner last week that touched on a past arrest and taxes she owes were a major reason she lost.“The hatchet job that the News-Miner did was pathetic,” she said.Gilbert said the ITA will continue to monitor local government to ensure that money is spent prudently and taxes aren’t raised. She doesn't know if she’ll run for public office again.She does predict that a sales tax referendum is a possibility in the next six months, but says it would never be supported by the voters. She predicted it could be started by the same labor unions that helped re-elect Helms.Helms said she didn’t believe that Ed Linkous split the conservative vote with Gilbert. Instead, Helms said, she believes she and Gilbert both would have received a portion of his votes.“I think he is a middle-of-the-road moderate,” she said.Ed Linkous also doesn't think he played the role of the spoiler by tak ing votes that would have otherwise gone to Gilbert.“I'm shocked by how many votes Gilbert received,” he said. “I don’t know if it was a sympathy vote or if (voters) believe those half-truths,’' he said, referring to Gilbert’s public statements.Linkous said only he and Helms stuck with the issues throughout the campaign.“A lot of that got lost in the rhetoric of the other candidates,” he said.Gilbert doesn’t see it that way. She said if Linkous hadn't run, she would have been the next borough mayor.The majority of the votes went to the conservatives,” she said.With the election over, Helms said, she hopes to get away for a few days with her husband, Sam.Gilbert said she plans to take a trip to Florida to help relocate her mother in a couple of weeks. She said she might spend 2-3 weeks there.Linkous said he doesn’t regret not running for a second term to the borough assembly because he didn’t believe he was effective in that position.Ray Kent, who remained confident of victory in the early evening hours, finished last. He said he was surprised by the number of votes that Gilbert received. Helms received her support from labor unions, not from people who think she’s done a good job, Kent said.Kent plans on starting his own grants-writing consulting firm in town. Having lost a third municipal election, Kent said, he won’t run for public office again.Helms will be sworn in next week.MANY HAPPY RETURNS—A happy Juanita Helms relaxes in her campaign headquarters just after hearing the early returns which gave her a commanding lead in the race for Borough mayor. Helm’s campaigncoordinator, Julian Rivers, adjusts a portable TV brought in to keep track of the returns. At left is supporter Gary Ackerman. Charles Mason News-Miner
Newspaper Details
Fairbanks Daily News Miner
Fairbanks, Alaska, US
Wed, Oct 05, 1988
Page 8
Full Page
Clipped by
Greenlipsticklesbian L.
NA, 11 Jun 2024
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