Kim Hodne

Candidate for Ketchikan Borough Assembly
3 Year Term, 2 Seats Open

Ketchikan Regular Election
October 06, 2015

Published: October 01, 2015
Received: October 01, 2015

All things begin with a conversation, an exchange of ideas. It is this simple principle that was instilled in me by my Iowa dirt farmer grandpa. So, allow me to introduce myself and write about my candidacy for Borough Assembly.

I am Kim Hodne, Ketchikan resident since 2005. Married for 20 years to my lovely wife, Laurie. Together we blended our families in 1995, and have since had ours together and adopted to grow to 10 children. There are only 3 girls at home now, Jade is a junior and 16, Sage is 8 years old in third grade and Julia is my strong willed/free spirt 5 year old kindergartener.

I was born and raised in the farmlands of Iowa reaching escape velocity at age 19 by way of the US Navy. My first and only duty station was Naval Air Station Whidbey Is. Washington. After leaving the Navy in 1980 I pursued my education obtaining an Associate of Arts degree in communications and an Associate of Technical Arts degree for natural resource technologies. In 1984 I began a 30 year career in shipbuilding which took me from Washington to Alaska and finally ending in the Bahamas. There was a 3 year break when I worked as a Marine & Dock Specialist Compliance Officer for the Department of Labor & Industries, Washington State (the OSHA inspector). Currently I am helping develop a startup company dealing with petroleum waste products, cleaning up all the old “Drum Gardens” forgotten in the weeds as well as doing oil recovery and processing from sunk or grounded vessels. It’s the right thing to do for our environment in a private enterprise way, no government grants or other so called free money, we will stand and grow on our own determination and hard work.

My campaign is built on 3 concerns, Family, Jobs and Future. This is not just poly-speak, but core to or Boroughs strength and fiscal stability. Our families must be healthy, in all aspects of health both physical and mental. Somehow we have to overcome the major obstacle to young families and single parents, available and affordable daycare. Fulltime daycare for 2 kids is $1,000 or more each month, if there’s an opening. Laurie and I were Foster parents here in Ketchikan for 6 years, we have seen firsthand the tough situations some of our families with children are in. We need to have parents working at good jobs with good wages and not having to sit at home because there is no child care available. The more stable the family the stronger the community. One of the Boroughs most important responsibilities is funding the school district, our children’s future. The Assembly does a good job at this but there is possibly room for more funds without raising taxes. An increase in taxes is not an option at this point in time.

A thriving private sector job market is the strength indicator for a healthy economy. If small business is allowed to grow unhindered by government overreach will always lead to a successful stable community. We need to be training our young workforce for the jobs that are growing in Ketchikan today. We need to slow the brain drain of our young who leave for the simple reason there’s no future here for them in long term good employment. I strongly believe in hire local first, and if the needed talent isn’t local, then develop it.

The future, as always is a crap shoot, we can only plan and forecast to the best of our ability, and never overreact, a little patience and calm deliberation leads to good solutions. I see the future as bright and full of opportunity. It is going to take tough displane but nothing we can’t handle.

In closing, I believe I have a unique skillset of problem solving with sound solutions and building consensus between those of a different point of view. We have to work together to ensure we pass on a strong community to our kids, not a load of debt they will never overcome.

I respectfully ask your support October 6th by casting your vote for Kim Hodne for Borough Assembly.

Publish A Letter in SitNews