Rachel Lord is a small business owner who is running for Homer City Council. The business minded candidate wants to focus on a new police station and other marine-based capital projects.
When it comes to community involvement, Rachel Lord’s resume is lengthy.
“I sat on the board of directors for the land trust, and I currently sit on the board for the farmers market. I currently sit on the city’s Economic Development Advisory Commission, and then I’ve worked over the last nine years developing the Alaska Clean Harbors Program. I sit on the Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee,” Lord listed.
Among Lord‘s priorities are capital projects, but she notes that abysmal state funding is making municipalities choose which projects should take priority. Lord says Homer’s priority should be a new police station. However, she did not stop there.
“In addition to the police station, I think that improvements and expansions we can make at the harbor are huge,” argues Lord. “It would be in everybody’s best interest to make sure that infrastructure grows to encompass more potential business, more economic development, more things that can happen in Homer.”
Lord is also a mother to young children, which she says provides her with a new perspective on listening and working through issues.
“Parenting and working with other people in any capacity requires an ability to listen and take deep breaths when you need to and figure out what are the priorities and what is just extra,” she explained. “That is a challenge for us all to be effective and efficient in the work that we do.”
Issues that come before the council almost always come with several facets, often requiring significant effort from Homer’s volunteer council members. That’s something that Lord says she understands and is ready to take on.
“It’s a lot of time. It’s a lot of work to read the packets, to understand the issues, to be understanding the background,” Lord noted. “Because none of the issues that come before us come in a vacuum. They all have context in a larger reality that they are couched in.”
In her candidate statement, Lord says she “sincerely appreciates the nitty-gritty details and diverse viewpoints behind every city council decision.”
The election for city council will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 3 Polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.
