Nikiski resident John Quick is seeking a seat in District 3, in Nikiski, Alaska, in the 2019 Kenai Peninsula Borough municipal elections. (Photo courtesy John Quick)

Nikiski resident John Quick is seeking a seat in District 3, in Nikiski, Alaska, in the 2019 Kenai Peninsula Borough municipal elections. (Photo courtesy John Quick)

District 3 assembly candidate — John Quick

The Clarion interviews assembly candidates ahead of Election Day.

Nikiski resident John Quick is seeking a seat in District 3 — representing Nikiski — on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. The seat is currently held by Wayne Ogle. According to his candidate file, Quick is currently the managing director of Nikiski Hardware & Supply. He has been a resident of Alaska since 2015, his file says. Quick has a bachelor’s in business administration from Northwest University. He previously served as the chief of staff to borough Mayor Charlie Pierce and was Department of Administration Commissioner Designee for Gov. Mike Dunleavy.

What makes you qualified to serve on the assembly?

Well, there’s actually only a couple qualifications for the borough. You’ve got to be a certain age and if you have to be a resident of the borough. More importantly, I think, is I have a real passion to serve, and so I think that being part of the assembly, whether you’re on a service board or an assembly member or just somebody that’s volunteering service is a big part of that. It’s actually so important to me that I’m going to withdraw myself from taking a paycheck, health care benefits and a retirement plan from the borough, and just be an actual volunteer if elected as the assembly person.

What do you hope to accomplish while serving on the assembly?

I think some of the things that are important as I listen to folks in Nikiski — I hear their concerns and I hear their possible frustrations. One thing that comes to my mind is property rights. We had the anadromous stream ordinance pass a number of years back which basically took 50 feet of everybody’s property that was on an anadromous stream or an anadromous lake. And to folks in Nikiski that was very upsetting. Most of them found out about it after the fact and I think if we’re not careful in who we elect to the borough, we will see more than 50 feet taken from those folks in the future. Another important issue to me is being fiscally conservative, so I will make every effort humanly possible if elected to the assembly to not have any mill rate increase and to not have any sales tax increase because I think the borough has plenty of money. As the chief of staff for Mayor Pierce, I was able to see the ins and outs of how government works and functions, and there does not need to be any new taxes.

What would be your approach to balancing the budget?

We don’t have a revenue problem. I’ve seen the ins and outs of our budget as the chief of staff, and we do not have a revenue problem. What we do have is incremental growth in government — 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6% — over the last 30 years and that’s not sustainable. What I think Mayor Pierce has done a really good job at is cutting where he can. So I would make sure we do the exact same thing on the assembly. Often times on the assembly, every idea they have is revenue, which is a fancy word for tax. People around here don’t want more taxes. Every time it’s been on the ballot it’s been voted down since the history of the borough. I think that people here, specifically in Nikiski, would be for balancing the budget even if it means cuts. Just like you would do in your household budget. If every month you’re spending $5,000 a month but you only have $3,000 coming in there’s only a certain amount of months before you go bankrupt. So you have to cut to balance your budget. I think that often times when you say cut people take it personally, when it’s just a matter of matching your expenses to your revenues.

How can the borough encourage higher voter turnout?

I think voter turnout at the end of the day comes down to leadership. So who’s leading the charge in each one of these districts to get voters to turn out. It doesn’t have anything to do with machines. I think there are certain things we can do to increase ADA standards so that folks with wheelchairs or walking around with canes can have more accessible access to voter machines. I think that’s a true thing. I also think that the borough complaining about low turnout is not going to help the situation. You have to be proactive, you have to go to where the people are. And so, as we see in most every assembly meeting, we see the same 20 people that show up to the meetings. Why? Not because people don’t care about what’s going on, but people have jobs, people have families, and so not everybody can show up to Soldotna every other Tuesday. What the borough could do is take a more proactive stance on getting involved in other things outside of borough meetings as an assembly person.

The offering of invocations during assembly meetings has become a divisive issue over the last few years, costing taxpayers thousands of dollars. Ordinances have been introduced to rid the practice altogether. Where do you stand on that issue?

I am for having prayer at the borough, and I think there’s a respectful way to do it where other folks feel included, and I think the non-respectful thing is to just take it away altogether. I think for whatever reason, in today’s day and age in politics, you are either super for something or super against something. And we’ve lacked the ability to say ‘hey, let’s meet in the middle and figure this thing out together so that we can be equally excited about this’. I think somebody could be as equally excited about the invocation if, given the opportunity, somebody from a different religious perspective could just do a moment of silence or whatever they wanted to do, and then when it came time for someone with a Christian perspective they can do their prayer how they want to do it. I think taking it away takes away the fabric and the framework from which this county was founded by. In the United States Senate, there’s been a chaplain for forever, a paid chaplain, and I think that people oftentimes overlook that. That happens in the United States, today, they have a paid chaplain and there’s prayer at every Senate and every House meeting. And its been that way ever since our foundation, and I think there are certain organizations trying to take away that liberty and I would stand in the middle and fight for that.

Earlier this year you resigned from your position in the Dunleavy administration after accusations were made against you in regards to your resume. Would you like to speak to that, and why should voters trust you to serve on the assembly?

What I would say is that it’s been addressed. I had an interview and a story put out by KSRM that addressed those issues. They’ve been debunked, and we’ve moved on. What I’m really concerned about is serving the folks of Nikiski. Anybody can Google and find the KSRM article if they’d like, and that spells out what happened. At the end of the day, it just was not true. To get into the weeds and to have a battle with folks is not what I’m looking to do on a daily basis. It’s moving forward and being in a position where I can best serve my community. It’s already been addressed as far as I’m concerned.

More in News

A towering Lutz spruce, center, in the Chugach National Forest is about to be hoisted by a crane Tuesday, Oct. 27, 2015, for transport to the West Lawn of Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., to be the 2015 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Forest Service)
Tongass National Forest selected to provide 2024 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree

Eight to 10 candidate trees will be evaluated, with winner taking “whistlestop tour” to D.C.

A slash pile containing non-organic construction debris is seen at the Snug Harbor Slash Disposal site on Sept. 22, 2020, in Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Photo courtesy Kenai Peninsula Borough Land Management)
Assembly OKs concrete lease in Cooper Landing

The vote came amid widespread community opposition to the agreement

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
Children hunt for Easter eggs during the Easter Eggstravaganza at Nikiski Community Recreation Center on Saturday.
Easter eggs, bunnies arrive on the Kenai Peninsula

There are plenty of opportunities to grab a photo with the Easter bunny or seek out some eggs

Flier for Bear Awareness and Electric Fencing Workshops. (Provided by Defenders of Wildlife)
Local workshops to focus on managing bear attractants, electric fencing

The series will run Monday through Friday, April 1-5, in Hope, Seward, Kenai, Soldotna and Homer

A person walks up the steps of the Alaska Capitol, Jan. 16, 2023, in Juneau, Alaska. (AP Photo/Becky Bohrer, File)
Some KPBSD schools could benefit from internet bill passed by House

If House Bill 193 becomes law, an additional six KPBSD schools would be eligible for the state’s grant program

Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion
A veterinarian with Greater Good Charities escorts dog Maggie into a free spay/neuter clinic at the Moose Pass Fire Station on Thursday.
Moose Pass rallies behind free spay and neuter clinic

The clinic was put on by Greater Good Charities Good Fix program

Signage marks the entrance to Nikiski Middle/High School on Monday, May 16, 2022, in Nikiski, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Nikiski student arrested after school shooting threats

The juvenile student faces charges of terroristic threatening

Armageddon waits to be shown at the Kenai Peninsula District 4-H Agriculture Expo on Friday, Aug. 4, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Bjorkman farm tax relief bill clears Senate

The bill is now up for consideration in the House

Most Read