Political Ideals vs. Political Realities

Name: Dorene M. Lorenz
Occupation: Creative Professional
Length of residency in Seward: Since 1965

1. Be specific about what motivates you to run for office (other than serving the general good of the public).

Never have had any political ambitions, I am more of a behind-the-scenes person. I was very honored that many locals whom I greatly respect asked me to fill Margaret Anderson's shoes. She is one of the most industrious individuals I have ever met, whomever fills her seat has their work cut out for them.

2. Do we have enough planning and zoning? Is there sufficient enforcement? Would you make any changes?

P&Z Commission puts great effort in determining what the best course is. Although I may not always agree with their choices, I give them credit for taking an honest look at what we need. We have to review our methodology to ensure we are enforcing codes in a fair, equitable, and reasonable way.

3. How do we pay for repair and improvement of Seward's aging infrastructure, i.e., water delivery system, sewers, streets, Lowell Canyon diversion tunnel, harbor facilities and sidewalks? How do we pay for capital improvements like a new library/museum and a replacement for Wesley?

We simply do not have the tax base to fund large capital improvements ourselves. Getting money for infrastructure development is just like getting money to go to college. If you do your homework diligently you can find grants and scholarships to pay most of your way. Those who don't end up paying for it themselves out-of-pocket or with loans.

We need positively market our needs in a way that would appeal to the scholarship committees.

4. Do you think Seward residents' quality of life is eroding, improving, or holding its own? Examples? What can be done to improve the quality of life here?

Ah, the golden memories of yesteryear. I grew up listening to the stories of what our forefathers went through, and let me tell you, in comparison we have it really cush.

More community pride and focused volunteerism could make our town more attractive. We could enhance our quality of life by opening up more recreational and family-oriented activities for residents, particularly in the winter months.

Fully funding education, with our priorities being students, teachers, and facilities - in that order - will make the largest long-term difference in the quality of life in our community. The spinoffs of an exceptional education system are exponential.

5. What is your vision for this community? What long-term goals would you pursue? How will our next generation be better off than we are?

According to a newspaper article he wrote, John Ballaine founded Seward expecting 500,000 people to live here. I don't want to see us grow larger than Anchorage.

What I do want to see is light industry and housing development across the bay, fueled by natural gas. Having natural gas as an energy source is the largest determining factor in what life is going to be like for future generations. Securing natural gas has to be a priority, we must actively lead the charge.

6. What can be done to make the local economy more stable, reducing problems that result from summers that are overly busy and winters that offer few options for work. Be specific.

We need to be significantly more sophisticated and savvy in marketing and developing ALL of our economic engines. Time and time again opportunity passes us by because we aren't open for business. It is going to take a lot of work to get us in a position where we can capitalize on our assets, we need to persistently prosecute that effort.

7. Will the multi-use facility help downtown? What do you think of losing private property to government ownership if the facility is built? Should city taxpayers help foot operational costs of conference/visitor center?

Properly built and marketed, the multi-use facility could be a godsend to downtown. It could foster visitors that keep our restaurants and hotels busy year-round. As a community we could use the space for events much like we have embraced the Alaska Sealife Center.

Very excited about the prospects and possibilities, and thankful that we have tenacious citizens who won't let go of a good idea even if they have to hang on to it for decades. We need to determine how we are going to spend the profits from the conference center, because if we are smart in our business plan we can funnel a lot of dollars into our economy from this new economic engine.

The property issue is a wash, since the buildings the Forest Service and Park Service are currently in will be available for private sector purchase.

I look forward to seeing a building erected that we can all be proud of, that will be a benchmark for historic period influenced architecture in the downtown business district.

8. How should lodging tax money be spent? Tourism enhancement, infrastructure repair/improvement, etc.?

Simplicity is sometimes the best course, perhaps splitting the pot between marketing to tourists and making Seward more attractive to tourists. Would want to consider the percentages based on a well thought out long-term plan rather than the whims-of-the-day.

9. Do you see any need to expand Seward's boundaries to accommodate housing development, for example, or to bring city services to the rural areas?

I firmly feel that when outlying areas come to us asking to be annexed we should welcome them with open arms. In the meantime, we should do all we can to make Seward the kind of place that people want to live in.

10. Where do you stand on harbor expansion issues? Recreational use, charter/tour boat use, commercial use? Which proposed east harbor expansion plan do you favor?

I am big on harbor expansion, much bigger than any of the plans currently being considered.

We need a beautiful first class marina that will attract private vessels from all over Alaska because of the exceptional restaurants and amenities that are associated with it. We need a convenient first class harbor area dedicated to the charter/tour boats, with gift shops close at hand. Both of these areas need adequate parking.

We need a practical first class harbor area dedicated to commercial fishing interests, with lots of uplands for fish processing and a close tie to the airport so eventually we can fly out our branded catch to markets all over the world like Copper River does. We need to be the destination location in Alaska for maintaining vessels, and for getting product to market. Our docks are our lifeblood and we need to be respectful of them.

Seward needs to embrace its heritage as the Gateway to Alaska. The City of Seward needs to actively assist private enterprise in developing these economic engines so that we can all benefit. There is room at the table for everyone, there is plenty of food to go around. We need to set the table and say grace.

11. Schools offer sports but no music, little art, no Quest classes, etc. Any way the city can help?

Yes, firstly as citizens we can get out and vote on school issues. Our voting record on borough school issues is shameful.

As a city we can encourage and facilitate volunteerism, school-business partnerships, school-artist partnerships, and similar programs to enhance the quality of our schools by drawing on our most underused resource - our amazingly skilled, talented and generous populace.

12. Where would you cut expenses to balance the budget or would you increase taxes to cover shortfall and, if so, which taxes?

Taxes are offensive, especially sales taxes, which any economist worth his salt will tell you are the most repressive to the poor. I think there are specific instances where the city could save money via better choices - locally renting a mini-excavator instead of buying and maintaining one, for example.

I think we have cut to far, and are paying for putting off hard decisions and maintenance of our assets. We have demoralized our city employees. We need to stop trying to suck the marrow out of our bones and invest our time in putting the fat back on them.

Am interested in seeing the numbers in letting out management contracts to private industry. How much is the private sector willing to pay to offer us a stipulated level of service, what enhancements are they willing to offer, and what percentage of the profits should we expect to receive? Lets talk to the city employees to discover their recommendations, and then actually follow through on those that pencil out.

More important to the long-term, because I am very much a "big picture" person, let's get more savvy in our state and federal politicking. Let's encourage reasonable economic development. Let's empower our people and wonder at the amazing things they are able to accomplish.


The Seward Phoenix Log asked me these questions when I was running for office, and in reviewing my answers half way through my term, I am happy to say that my opinion hasn't changed a whit.

Filed in: politics Seward Alaska preservation history