Politics is becoming a major part of the lives of many people, and it is important to many people that those around them share the same political beliefs. Do the people of your town have the same beliefs as you do? Here, we have all the information on if Juneau is a liberal city or not!
Juneau, AK is a slightly liberal city. In contrast, Alaska is moderately conservative, having voted for the Republican candidate in all presidential elections since 1968. The Juneau Borough leans liberal; the borough voted for the Democratic candidate in four of the last six presidential elections.
The political climate of a city has many factors, including the election results, local leaders, policies, and demographics. To see why Juneau is a liberal city, we need to consider all these factors.
Presidential Elections
The candidate that someone votes for in the presidential election is a big indicator of whether they have a liberal or conservative perspective, as people are going to vote for someone with a similar perspective. If most of the residents of a city vote for a particular candidate, we can make some assumptions about the political climate of the city.
The two major political parties in the United States represent the liberal and conservative points of view. The Democratic party has mostly liberal members and supports liberal policies. The Republican party has mostly conservative members and supports conservative policies.
Alaska is a moderately conservative state. It became a state in 1959, and in the 16 presidential elections
that have taken place since, Alaska voted for the Republican candidate in 15 of them. From 2000 to 2020, the percentages of people who voted Republican have been between 50% and 62%. The lowest percentage was 51.3% in 2016, and the highest percentage was 61.1% in 2004.
The percentage of those who voted Democratically was less than 45% at that time. The lowest percentage was 27.7% in 2000, and the highest was 42.8% in 2020.
In the 2020 election, the Republican candidate won in Alaska with 52.8% of the vote, while the Democratic candidate had 42.8% of the vote. Alaska also has an interestingly high number of independent voters, especially in 1980, 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2016.
The Borough of Juneau (Alaska has boroughs instead of counties) leans liberal, though the election history is complicated. Between 2000 and 2020, the Democratic party has won in the borough four times out of six.
All six times, the difference between the percentages of people who voted for the Democrats and Republicans was very high. It only dipped below 15% twice, once in 2000 and again in 2020. The highest difference was 20.35% in 2004. No matter which party won, the percentage of people who voted for the winning party was significantly higher.
The city of Juneau leans slightly liberal. Between 2000 and 2020, the majority of Juneau residents voted for the Democratic candidate in four of the presidential elections. The difference between the percentages of Democratic and Republican voters was higher than 10% every year except in 2000.
From 2018 and 2021, there were 6,136 contributions to the Democratic party in Juneau, totaling $585,466. In contrast, there were 840 contributions to the Republican party during that same time period, totaling $203,788. The individual contributions to the Republican party were about 2.5 times larger than the contributions to the Democratic party.
Local Leaders
The local leaders of a city represent the political climate of that city. The people vote for these leaders, so they are going to vote for people that share the same political beliefs as them. The political parties of the leaders and/or the policies that they support represent the beliefs of the people who voted for them.
Mayor
The mayor’s job is to lead the City Assembly meetings and city ceremonies. The mayor also represents the city in the state, national, and international matters.
The mayor of Juneau is Beth Weldon. She was elected in 2018 and reelected in 2021 for a second term, which will end in 2024.
Weldon was the first female officer in the Capital City Fire/Rescue. She was in the Juneau Assembly for two years. She owns an auto shop with her husband.
Weldon’s campaign platform was based on education, daycare, homelessness, infrastructure, and increasing tourism. She specifically placed emphasis on economic health, which she asserted that she maintained during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Some legislation that has been enacted during her time as mayor has been appropriating money to the Eaglecrest Gondola Capital Improvement Project, an Application for Congressionally Directed Spending for the Capital Civic Center, and the Juneau Police Department Radio System Replacement Capital Improvement Project.
Mayor Weldon considers herself nonpartisan, but her focus on economic health could imply a connection to the conservative point of view.
Assembly Members
The City Assembly’s job is to approve and adopt the city budget, levy taxes, and make or amend city laws, policies, and ordinances.
There are nine assembly members in Juneau including the mayor. Of the eight remaining members, there are six women and two men. One assembly member is on her second term, and another is on her third term. The rest were elected for the first time in 2019, 2020, or 2021. All assembly members are considered nonpartisan.
City Manager
The City Manager is appointed by the city council rather than elected by the people. The City Manager’s job is to oversee the day-to-day operations of the city, plan and implement the budget, carry out policies, and hire government employees.
The City Manager of Juneau is Rorie Watt, who has been City Manager since 2016.
Policies
There are some policies that are more likely to be supported by those who have a liberal perspective than by those who have a conservative perspective. Abortion, increased gun control, and same-sex marriage are all considered liberal policies.
Abortion
In Alaska, a patient who wishes to receive an abortion must first have counseling. This counseling is state-directed, and it includes information that is designed to discourage the patient from getting an abortion.
In 2017, there were 6 facilities in Alaska that provided abortions, four of which were clinics. 86% of the counties in Alaska do not have an abortion clinic, which leaves 32% of women in Alaska without access to an abortion clinic.
Gun Laws
Alaska had the sixth-highest gun death rate in 2020 and the twelfth highest gun export rate.
The gun laws in Alaska include mental health record reporting. Alaska does not have laws about universal background checks, gun owner licensing, assault weapon restrictions, a large-capacity magazine ban, waiting periods, concealed carry or open carry regulations, or child access prevention laws.
Same-Sex Marriage
Alaska legalized gay marriage on October 17, 2014, nine months before the Supreme Court required all states to legalize gay marriage. Alaska was the 30th state to legalize same-sex marriage, tied with Arizona, which legalized it on the same day.
Demographics
The demographics of a city can have a lot of influence on the political climate. Certain types/groups of people are more likely to have a liberal or conservative perspective than others.
The population of Juneau is 31,849 people. The population density is 12 people per square mile. 48.6% of the population is female and 51.4% is male. The average age is 37.3 and the average number of people per household is 2.6.
The racial makeup of Juneau is as follows:
- White: 65.4%
- Black: 1.0%
- Hispanic/Latino: 6.4%
- Asian: 6.7%
- Native American: 10.8%
- Hawaiian/Pacific Islander: 1.0%
- Two or More Races: 8.3%
- Other: 0.4%
50.1% of the residents in Juneau are married, and 12.9% are divorced. 31.1% of residents are married with children, and 16.9% are single with children.
The average income of a Juneau resident is $38,057 per year. The average household income is $84,750 per year. The unemployment rate in Juneau is 5.5%
96% of residents in Juneau are high school graduates, and 28.1% only have high school diplomas. 26.1% of residents have two-year degrees, 40.3% have four-year degrees, 2.6% have six-year degrees, and 1.5% have eight-year degrees.
29.0% of Juneau residents are religious. 27.5% of residents are Christian, 0.4% are Jewish, 0.2% are of an eastern faith, and 0.0% affiliate with Islam.
The rate of violent crime in Juneau is 37.9. The rate of property crime in Juneau is 55.6. Both are higher than the national average.
Political History
Alaska became a state in 1959, so the political climate hasn’t changed much since it became a state. Alaska has been affiliated with the Republican party since it was first created. In 1964, the majority of Alaska residents voted for the Democratic candidate, Johnson. Otherwise, Alaska voted for the Republican candidate.
Juneau has had a long history of the Native American population. There was gold mining in the Juneau area in the 1880s. The Russian Orthodox Church was spread to the Native Americans in the area. The capitol building in Juneau was authorized in 1911. Juneau increased in growth once Alaska became a state. The Alaska Pipeline was built in 1977, which flushed the state with oil reserves until the 1980s.
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