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Deedie Sorensen did not plan on running for another term. But earlier this week, rumors circulated that she would run as a write-in candidate. Sorensen said on a call with KTOO Monday that she hadn’t heard the rumors. She also said she didn’t plan to run.
“Apparently, I was the only person that hadn’t heard the rumor that you called me about,” she said during a phone interview Wednesday.
Two days later, things had changed. Sorensen said people reached out to encourage her to run.
“The message I got on Monday was – from way too many people – was that they wanted another choice,” she said.
Sorensen filed with the city to run as a write-in candidate Wednesday. She’s now the fifth candidate vying to fill three seats on the board. This would be her third term if elected.
Sorensen’s tenure coincided with a tumultuous period for the Juneau School District. She spent her first term largely working through the COVID-19 pandemic. She also served as board president when the district decided to close and consolidate Juneau schools to fill a $9.7 million budget deficit. She survived a recall effort following the consolidation last year.
Sorensen said she thinks the district is making progress since the consolidation. If elected, she said she’s interested in following the academic performance of sixth graders, who were lumped in with elementary school instead of middle school after the closures.
She said the candidate forum hosted by KTOO and the League of Women Voters of Juneau last week influenced her decision.
“The overall message to me, for some of the candidates, was not an overwhelming desire to promote public education,” she said.
She said that commitment is necessary to serve on the school board.
“You need to be a real advocate for (the) best public education and for, you know, all the students,” Sorensen said.
Sorensen worked as a teacher for the district for more than 35 years.
This isn’t the first time someone has filed to be a write-in candidate for the school board in recent memory. Former school board member Will Muldoon ran a successful write-in campaign for his first term in 2021.
Sorensen is the only write-in candidate so far this year. As of Thursday morning, no one else has filed as a write-in candidate for the school board and Juneau Assembly races, according to the city clerk’s office. The city mailed ballots to registered voters on Sept. 19. Juneau voters have until Oct. 7 to return them.
