Image courtesy of Sean Gaffney
It’s election season, and in Haines five candidates filed to run for two seats on the Borough Assembly. KHNS is bringing those five candidates to you in a series of profiles that will air in the weeks leading up to our Candidate Forum. Today we’ll hear from Sean Gaffney.
Sean Gaffney has owned Alaska Mountain Guides for almost 30 years. He came to Haines in 1989 to work with Chilkat Guides and decided to stay.
“I moved a lot growing up. I never really had a community own my own until I got to Haines,” he said.
“I just fell in love and was captured. I knew right away that I wanted to make my home here.”
When he isn’t running his business Gaffney likes to be outdoors. You’re likely to find him skiing, hiking, climbing, biking, or kayaking.
That doesn’t stop him from volunteering locally.
“The Chamber of Commerce, the Development Corporation, the Tourism advisory board, the American Bald Eagle Foundation,” Gaffney listed.
“I’m also a board member for the great Alaska Council of the Boy Scouts of America and I work with the Juneau Economic Development Corporation some as well.”
He says he would step down from the Chamber, the HEDC Board, and the Tourism Advisory Board if elected. He plans to continue working with the Boy Scouts and the Bald Eagle Foundation unless a conflict comes up.
He says his first priority if elected would be to address the local impacts of the state budget.
“I’d like to see the assembly and our administration work together,” he said.
“And work together more effectively. And I believe that by working together as well as we can, that will will achieve the best results for the community. I think we’re much more effective when we’re working closely together.”
He says he would like to avoid raising taxes because he thinks that burden falls disproportionately on young families. His plan is to find savings by prioritizing critical infrastructure and restricting other spending.
When it comes to resource extraction, Gaffney says local support should be decided by the people in an advisory vote. He says people have already voted on the issue of policing outside the borough. If it should come to a vote again, he says both the town site and areas outside the townsite should vote.
Gaffney says he’s running because everyone should take their turn to serve in local government.
“It’s taken me some time to get to the place that I felt that I could really do the quality of job that needs to be done. But I believe that I’m in a good place to do that now,” he said.
He says his previous experience as a business owner and serving in numerous volunteer positions and local committees will inform his work in the assembly.
To learn more about the candidates, attend or listen in to our Candidate forum on Friday September 20th at 7 p.m. You can access this profile and more election coverage at khns.org.
