People in Haines talk about the local economy quite a bit. After 19 years of smokejumping, I make $25 an hour. A fire jump takes two minutes to get to the ground. In those two minutes, I make 83 pennies. I make my little money in Fairbanks and I spend it in Haines, because this is the place that I love. When it’s time to build, I don’t put my truck on the ferry and load it at Home Depot to save money. I buy from the local loggers and mills. I like those guys. They make me chuckle. I buy from the local hardware stores.
People talk about how divided this town is. I find it negligible. Here, it’s community before politics. The good-old-boys are the heart and soul of this town. That makes my Mud Bay friends the compassionate conscience. What some people say is town-division, I call balance.
I’m okay being broke as long as I get to be here in Haines. I realize that other people may not feel the same. That’s why we need to vote Tyler Huling into the assembly. Tyler understands the balance that makes this town great. Tyler will bolster our economy through our local businesses as well as bring new growth. She is Alaskan through-and-through, wicked-smart, capable, and every time you look into her eyes it’s like the first time you heard the Beatles. Which is just to say she is genuine. We’re lucky to have her.
Russel Kennedy