From the practical to the philosophical, current and former elected officials weighed in on how assembly members can survive and thrive in their roles, and how the public can help, too.
The following story is the continuation of a series exploring the reasons why six assembly members have resigned in the last six years, and what can be done to reduce turnover. Former elected officials who resigned cited burnout and exhaustion brought on by various factors. The two most common included a sense of pressure from residents who fall on various sides of political issues that assembly members said, at best, felt like an inability to respect their private lives and, at worst, felt like bullying. The other factor most cited was a sense of futility that comes from the seemingly never-ending debate from a populace split about Haines’ economic future.
Two-year assembly terms, learning to accept political outcomes, not taking things personally and being assertive is some advice offered by current and former elected officials on how to survive Haines Borough politics, which is often fraught with conflict.
“Aside from having a very short memory, I really try hard not to take anything personally,” said assembly member Debra Schnabel.
No stranger to controversy, Schnabel’s been in the game for years, serving several stints as an elected official. In 2020, she joined the ranks of fired borough managers. Borough managers also see a high rate of turnover in Haines. The borough averaged a new borough manager every 1.8 years while other towns average new managers every three to six years, according to a 2020 CVN report. Schnabel’s controversial termination didn’t keep her from running for assembly a little more than a year after being fired. She joined an assembly that included two of the members who voted to fire her.
“I do not lose sleep at night. For me it’s a team effort,” Schnabel said. “I do my best. I say what I believe. I try to convince others when I feel strongly about something. But when the vote comes down, I’m just one of six and have to say, ‘Okay. That’s the way it is.’ I’m usually voting on the side that’s not the majority.”
Chip Lende also served on the former city council and borough assembly. His advice to incoming assembly members is to “know who elected you.”
“If you got in there, then you got the majority of votes. You have support. If you feel you’re being bullied then realize it’s just a bully and treat them as a bully,” Lende said. “You learn that out on the playground.”
He said assembly members should be assertive and communicate directly to those they feel are monopolizing their time.
“They shouldn’t get more than their fair share of attention,” Lende said of residents who can’t let things go. “You’re representing the whole population in the town. You can’t spend all your free time dealing with a few individuals demanding all your time.”
Current assembly member Cheryl Stickler, a retired Haines School principal, advocates direct communication both within and outside of the public process. Stickler said she made votes that were in conflict with her personal opinions, and those of some of her constituents, which angered them.
“There have been times that constituents have called and said, ‘I can’t believe you voted that way.’ I just listen and give my rationale. Some people speak strongly so you just listen. If you don’t understand, say ‘Please tell me more.’ They key part is being sure to respond,” Stickler said. “There is a way for grownups to come together and have a conversation. We don’t always agree and I don’t think we should always agree.”
In Tyler Huling’s resignation letter, the former assembly member said she sees an “ideological war” playing out in the valley, between residents with values that are at odds in respect to what the local economy should look like, which “underlies every aspect of the Haines Borough’s governance.”
Stickler agrees that such a dynamic exists. She acknowledged the difficulty of voting in a way that is counter to one’s values and political perspectives. She cited the need for direct communication between the public and elected officials, especially those who disagree with one another, with a spirit of humility and the desire to understand where they’re coming from.
“I can say that but how do you do that?” Stickler said. “That’s a big question.”
She said there have been several times that she has changed her mind after taking the effort to really understand the concerns of those with different beliefs and values. She believes strongly in free enterprise, but twice voted in recent months siding with residents who wanted to restrict business in their neighborhood. She voted in favor of petitioners who wanted to prohibit commercial events in Mud Bay, and voted to appeal a conditional use permit granted by the planning commission for a heliport that many neighbors were opposed to.
“The more I investigated, the more I listened, the more I heard other people’s viewpoints, I’m like, ‘Yeah I get it. I don’t totally agree with it, but I understand where you’re coming from, I think. I see why you believe the way you do,” Stickler said. “In those cases, yeah, I had to take that step to the middle.”
In her resignation letter, Huling suggested two ideas to fix her perceived problems: reducing assembly terms from three years to two years and shifting to an elected, instead of an appointed, planning commission.
Caitie Rothbart resigned her assembly seat in July. In an interview last week, she cited a sense of exhaustion brought on by residents who pushed the boundaries of her personal life. While Rothbart was spreading her mother’s ashes and taking care of her affairs, residents were emailing and texting, upset that she wasn’t being responsive despite her clear communication that she needed time off.
When asked what the public could do to help make it easier for assembly members to do their job well and not experience burnout, Rothbart said the public should attend more committee meetings. She said many people approached her in frustration because they felt a decision had appeared out of nowhere, when in fact assembly members had been discussing the issue in committee for weeks. The committee meeting, she said, is also a great place to interact with assembly members outside of regular meetings.
“They can engage with assembly members when they have their assembly member hat on and not necessarily (at a regular meeting) when fifty people send the exact same letter and then read said same letter one after the other in a meeting. There’s something to be said for large numbers saying the same thing, but go to a committee meeting. Have an opinion there. I think that’s an excellent forum for that. Olerud’s, probably not so much.”
Margaret Friedenauer, who resigned from the assembly in 2017, said she doesn’t lay blame on any individual or group, but she thinks everyone who engages in politics, elected officials and residents alike, needs to hold themselves accountable to each other. That means acting in good faith, not assuming the worst about your political opponent and criticizing ideas, not people.
She said she regrets resigning and that she couldn’t have predicted the challenges that come with being a politician that exist beyond public policy. She said young, incoming assembly members can learn from those who have survived Haines politics for the long haul.
“I wish I hadn’t quit now, but I don’t think at the time I could have predicted the attitude it took and that it’s a whole lot more than just delving into policy and community development. Maybe that’s why people like Jerry Lapp and Debra can outlast anyone, because they’ve really developed the skills it takes to balance it all. That shouldn’t deter anyone without government experience to run for office, but maybe there’s more mentoring that could happen for those folks because new ideas and a cross-generational assembly really are more representative of the community and I think necessary for good governing.”
Another common piece of advice for residents and the elected officials alike that sources offered: get comfortable with conflict and accept that you’re going to make people angry.
“When the vote is cast, somebody’s going to be upset, and that’s politics,” Stickler said. “That’s life.”
And finally, if someone wants to get involved in the community but isn’t ready for Haines political arena, there are opportunities to volunteer that, as Lende says, “won’t get you yelled at.”
“When I got off the assembly, I said, ‘I’m only going to get on boards where people don’t yell at me. So I’m on the (Haines) Arts Council. No one’s yelled at me yet. I’m on the (Kluane Chilkat International Relay) board. No one’s yelled at me yet. I’m on the Chilkat Community Foundation board. Nobody has yelled at me there,” Lende said. “There are other ways to serve.”
*This story originally reported that Cheryl Stickler told the CVN she has made votes that conflict with her “core values and beliefs.” Stickler later clarified that she voted in ways that were in conflict with her personal opinions, rather than her core values. The story has been updated to reflect that change.