Former Juneau Assembly member Loren Jones is headed back to city hall. The Juneau Assembly appointed him to temporarily fill the seat left vacant by Carole Triem’s resignation on Monday night. He’ll serve until the Oct. 3 municipal election.
Jones represented District 1 for three terms, from 2012 to 2021 — the maximum number of consecutive terms allowed. Before running for office, he worked for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services.
When Jones first ran for the Assembly in 2011, he cited shrinking landfill space, affordable housing and health care services as top priorities. At a workshop for prospective municipal candidates last month, he stressed the importance of making thoughtful decisions on behalf of all Juneau residents, whether or not they voted for him.
“Most city functions have a very direct impact on every citizen in this town,” he said. “You turn on your tap in the morning, it’s a city function. You flush the toilet, it’s a city function. You turn on electricity, some of the rates are a city function.”
Triem announced her resignation late last month. She’s leaving to care for a family member with medical needs in Australia.
“The last five years have been pretty incredible,” Triem told her fellow Assembly members on Monday. “It’s been an honor to work with you guys, and I’m going to miss you a lot.”
Triem chaired the finance committee and represented the Assembly on the Bartlett Regional Hospital board. Assembly members Christine Woll and Michelle Hale will take over those roles, respectively, until October.
There will be four Assembly seats up for grabs in the October municipal election, two of which will be areawide. The full, three-year term will go to the candidate with the most votes, and the candidate with the second most votes will serve the remaining two years of Triem’s term.
The candidate filing period opens at 8 a.m. on Friday, July 14, and closes at 4:30 p.m. on July 24.
