Photo courtesy of Carol Tuynman.
Carol Tuynman has been living in Haines as a permanent resident since 2010. She said after moving to the Chilkat Valley she was struck by all the impressive people she met, but there were some challenges facing the community that she wanted to help out with. That’s why she got involved with the Alaska Arts Confluence, serving as the president and later as the creative director.
“We started a bunch of projects over the years like Art on Mainstreet, First Friday—we did this in collaboration with other entities—the sculpture garden and things like that. I realized how much fun it was to be in the public helping people have a good time and do interesting projects and how many resources there are in our community,” Tuynman said.
In addition to the Arts Confluence, Tuynman has served as an ex-officio member of the Tourism Advisory Board, a member of KHNS’ Citizens Advisory Board and a member of the Haines Arts Council Board.
She said she decided to run for assembly because there are a lot of important local issues that have not been discussed publicly, especially during the pandemic.
“I think that during a difficult time it’s very important for people to feel safe and feel accessible to their government and vice versa,” Tuynman said. “The other is just having a focus. It feels like we jump from one thing to another. We don’t really do long range planning. We don’t really have a strategy.”
Tuynman said she would make a good addition to the borough assembly because she knows how to form coalitions and partnerships. She points to the network of nonprofits operating in Haines as an example of effective collaboration that local government could learn from.
“I’m just another citizen equal to everybody else, and I feel like I can bring a kind of openness to building trust and strong relationships and the feeling of inclusivity in the community,” Tuynman said.
Tuynman sees opportunities for development of the Haines waterfront. Ideas for a new trail and community spaces such as a fish market are exciting to her.
She said right now the response to the pandemic is the community’s main priority. She thinks that the borough’s handling of federal CARES Act dollars could improve.
“I feel that that’s one issue that’s not really open in the way that it could be. If we look at other communities, they are not putting such a burden on staff. While it’s wonderful to give people money, to require all the paperwork—that really concerns me. I feel that it’s very bureaucratic,” Tuynman said.
Tuynman is one of six candidates running in the election for the four open seats on the Haines Borough Assembly. She will face Helen Alten, Brenda Josephson, Caitie Kirby, Jerry Lapp, and Cheryl Stickler in the election this October. You can learn more about the other candidates here.
