Assembly member Ella Adkison is seeking re-election to the Juneau Assembly’s area-wide seat, hoping to continue her work on housing affordability, economic resilience, and education funding after finishing out the term of a previous member.
“This will be my first full term if I’m elected,” Adkison said in an interview. “I’ve really enjoyed the work, and I hope Juneau isn’t sick of me yet.”
Adkison, 25, first joined the assembly two years ago. A lifelong Juneau resident, she said her decision to run stemmed from seeing her peers and local businesses struggle during the pandemic.
A major focus of Adkison’s platform is housing. She supports efforts to increase density across Juneau, she discussed the city’s land constraints and high cost of living. “it’s just so important, in my opinion, to have density, because that’s one of the things that Juneau lacks right now.”
Adkison pointed to the city’s ongoing Title 49 rewrite, a comprehensive update to land use codes, as a long-term tool to ease development barriers and encourage growth.
“I want to make sure the Assembly keeps pushing for solutions that make it easier to build housing here,” she said.
She says projects like Telephone Hill are complicated but could potentially add 100-150 housing units, addressing housing needs for Juneauites across generations.
“Housing is one of those issues where it actually affects every demographic in Juneau, right? I mean for young people, I first think of all my friends and people I grew up with who have to leave Juneau because they can’t afford it.” She said, “but also with our seniors, if they’re in bigger houses and there are no smaller, friendly units for them to move into, then they have to stay in the larger houses that may not be comfortable for them, and then a young family maybe can’t have that big house because it’s not available.”
Education funding is also high on her list of priorities. Adkison emphasized the importance of maintaining support for local schools, especially while there is uncertainty over state-level contributions.
“Juneau is committed to supporting our schools, we’re doing our part, and the state has to do theirs.”
Adkison also noted the importance of collaboration within the assembly, “assembly members, they all want to work together to make a thing happen, even when people come to the assembly or send us an email and say we don’t like what you’re doing, it’s never just criticism. It’s always, we really appreciate your work, how can we help you get there? And I think that’s been the best part of the assembly is knowing that, even with all our disagreements, I know that everyone wants to get to the same end goal, which is a strong, healthy capital city.”
Adkison is gearing up this campaign season, she intends to go door-to-door, participate in candidate forums, and have direct conversations with voters, she says that’s her favorite part of the process.
“I really like knocking on doors, talking to people one on one, because when you’re on the assembly, you have a very high-level view of things, and just having the opportunity to go door to door and talk to individual Juneauites and have them tell you what matters to them is a really good public opinion reset in my brain.”
Election Day is October 7, with ballots expected to arrive by mail beforehand. Adkison encouraged voters to watch for candidate forums, attend events, and reach out directly with questions or concerns.
“I want to emphasize what a privilege it’s been to be on the assembly and represent such an amazing community.” she said, “Juneau is my home and has been, and it’s place I am so happy to work for.”