Andi Story to run in Haines’ new district
Haines’ state senator, Jesse Kiehl, announced on Nov. 15 that he will seek reelection in 2022.
Juneau representative Andi Story also plans to run in 2022 in Haines’ new state house district, which was finalized earlier this month by the state redistricting board. The district includes the upper Lynn Canal, Gustavus, the Mendenhall Valley and Auke Bay, where Story lives.
Kiehl has represented state senate District Q, which encompasses Haines, Skagway, Gustavus and Juneau, since 2018. Story took office in her current Juneau house district in 2019.
The senator will host a town hall in Haines on the evening of Tuesday, Dec. 7, at a yet-to-be-determined time and venue. He will have office hours at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at Mountain Market.
Kiehl said he decided to file a letter of intent to run after speaking with a Boy Scout troop two weeks ago. “It was just inspiring enough that I decided to bite the bullet, pull the pin, put the paperwork in because we don’t have a stable state to hand off to them yet,” Kiehl said. “There’s so much work still to do.”
“There’s lots more to be done. I’ve served three sessions and will be going into our fourth session. The more I’ve learned the more I want to get Alaska on a good fiscal path forward,” Story said. “It’s going to take all of us to work together, and I like to think in many ways we have been working together just because a lot of Juneau issues are Haines issues.”
Story filed her letter of intent before the redistricting board settled on a map that put her in Haines’ district. She said she hasn’t spent significant time in Haines but looks forward to meeting new constituents.
The ferry system, K-12 education and Alaska’s fiscal picture are at the top of Kiehl’s list of issues to work on. “We’ve done good work together with the community of Haines on a number of things. Obviously the ferry system is a crucial issue,” Kiehl said.
In 2018, Kiehl won the general election with 62% of the vote, or 11,121 votes, defeating independent Don Etheridge, who received 6,803 votes. Both candidates ran unopposed in the primaries.
Next year’s race will be Kiehl’s first as an incumbent. Story won reelection in her current Juneau district in 2020.
Kiehl and Story so far are the only two people in Southeast who have filed letters of intent to run for the state legislature in 2022. Neither has officially filed for office. Letters of intent merely allow candidates to begin fundraising.
The legislative map finalized by the state redistricting board earlier this month could change with litigation, meaning there is a chance Story will end up running in a district that doesn’t include Haines.
The primary election is on Aug. 16, 2022.