TRUCK FIRE – Firefighters knock down a fire in a Ford Explorer truck in Arrowhead Trailer Park in the 1200 block of Sawmill Creek Road Saturday evening. One person received fire-related injuries and was taken to the hospital, Sitka Fire Department Chief Craig Warren said, and the truck was considered a total loss. The cause of the fire is under investigation, Warren said. The fire hall received the call about the fire at 5:33 p.m., and one fire engine with eight firefighters and an ambulance were dispatched, he said. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Wein Seeking Office in GOP House Bid
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Dr. Richard Wein filed Monday as a Republican candidate for the state House of Representatives representing Sitka, Petersburg and a number of smaller Southeast communities.
The House District 35 seat is currently held by Democratic Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins of Sitka.
So far, Wein has one opponent in the Aug. 21 primary for the Republican nomination, former Hoonah Mayor Kenny Skaflestad. The filing period closes June 1.
Wein, 68, was elected to a three-year term on the City and Borough Assembly last October.
He said he is running for state office because he believes it’s important for Kreiss-Tomkins to face a strong challenger in the Nov. 6 general election.
“Debate and discussion are needed in an effort to sharpen your issues and improve them,” Wein said. “I felt I shouldn’t allow an incumbent, who’s been there six years, to run without debate and without discussion. We need discussion in the political process because it improves it.”
He called running for office a “win-win,” whether he wins or loses.
Richard Wein. (Sentinel Photo)
“As an Assemblyman, I can see a nexus between the Assembly and the Legislature. We need a powerful voice in the Legislature; I believe I can supply that powerful voice,” Wein said. “So if I win, I get to represent Sitka and the district in the Legislature. Should I remain on the Assembly, I will have received an education in how the business of the state is done, and I’ll be an even better Assemblyman. It’s going to be an adventure, it’s going to be a learning experience. I’ll do my best for the district, for Sitka and for Alaska, at the end of the day.”
Wein said he has been encouraged to run by Sitkans and others around the district, and from as far away as Anchorage.
“It’s been overwhelming support,” he said. “It’s been very gratifying to hear people support me and how concerned they are about the state of the state, and the state of the district. It’s been very positive.”
Wein moved to Sitka from New Jersey in September 2001 when he was hired as a surgeon at SEARHC Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital. He left SEARHC in 2010 and signed on as a surgeon at Sitka Community Hospital, a position he held until March 2017, when his contract was not renewed. He filed for the Assembly and was elected in last fall’s city election.
Wein said he registered with the Republican Party when he registered to vote in Alaska, but does not believe there is a clear party delineation on issues, and he does not vote down the line for Republicans.
“I’m a Second Amendment guy; I like the Constitution, I like a little less government and a balanced checkbook,” he said. “But I’ve always chosen who was better qualified.”
Wein said he believes he can contribute at the state level, with his experience in the health care system, particularly Medicaid. He said he’s also concerned about funding for education next year, when a greater burden will be placed on local school districts. He said Sitka has seen an uptick in crime as a result of Senate Bill 91 in which the Legislature downgraded certain drug-related offenses from felonies to misdemeanors.
“Why all of a sudden are we seeing MS-13 in places like Sitka?” he said. “... We’re dealing with a lot of local crime issues that aren’t going to be fixed with a stroke of a pen.”
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Businesses using the Centennial Hall parking lot testified Tuesday against a proposal to charge them rent in addition to the $200 annual permit fee. City Administrator Hugh Bevan made the proposal in response to the Assembly’s direction to Centennial Hall manager Don Kluting to try to close the $340,000 gap between building revenues and operational costs.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Alaska Native Brotherhood Grand President William S. Paul Sr. will be special guest and speaker at the local ANB, Alaska Native Sisterhood Founders Day program Monday at the ANB Hall.