Juneau advocates have failed to gather enough signatures before the initial deadline for three ballot petitions that seek to lower the cost of living in Alaska’s capital. But there’s still a chance they could secure a spot on the local ballot this October.
The three petitions seek to cap the local property tax rate, remove sales tax on food and utilities, and make in-person voting the default again in Juneau’s local elections.
Advocates had until last Friday to meet the city’s initial 30-day deadline to gather just over 2,700 signatures for each petition. The city clerk’s office is currently reviewing the signatures collected during that time. Once that’s done, advocates will be given another 10 days to try to get the remaining signatures.
A Juneau advocacy group called the Affordable Juneau Coalition is leading the effort for all three petitions.
Angela Rodell is a member of the group and unsuccessfully ran for mayor last fall’s election. She estimates each petition needs at least a few hundred more signatures to meet the threshold. She said she’s confident there is community support for the petitions, but said signature gathering is difficult work.
A separate group of advocates withdrew a ballot petition two weeks ago. It sought to put harder limits on cruise ship tourism. That group says it wasn’t able to gather the minimum signatures required.
The clerk’s office has until Monday, June 9, to review signatures and issue supplemental books for the additional 10-day period. The final certification or denial of the petitions will be made at the end of June.
The Juneau Assembly is currently considering a separate proposal that would exempt food and utilities from sales tax by implementing a new seasonal sales tax system. The Assembly has until late July to take public testimony and decide whether to put the question on the ballot for voters.
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