2019 City of Thorne Bay City Council Candidates

POW Report invites all candidates who are running for office on this island to send in a picture and a bio and it will be published. This is an opportunity for free advertisement and to have your voice heard. 

Absentee voting starts on the 15th and elections are October 1st.

Seat A - 3-year term

Roger Longbotham:

I have been married to my lovely bride Patty for almost 30 years. We have 4 beautiful daughters, 8 grandchildren, and 3 great grandchildren. We moved here in 2014, and we found home. We are active in our local church where I serve as a Deacon. Before moving here, I worked as an auto mechanic and later as a service manager at a Chevrolet dealership.

In the early 90's I was a volunteer with the Wallowa County Search and Rescue. I was elected to serve as an officer.

As soon as we moved here, Patty and I knew we had found paradise. You walk outside and you are surrounded by towering trees and wildlife. We live where you can trust a community to keep an eye on your children and help you with projects that needs to be done. This makes it all worth living here and calling Thorne Bay home.

Now onto some of the less appealing things about Thorne Bay.

* The only jobs that are available are the lower paying jobs, unless you work for the city or forest service. It is very hard to find a living wage job here.

* With our current leadership, they all seem to lack a vision of what Thorne Bay could be and should be.

* Right now the way things are going with Thorne Bay, we are on a hasty decline if we sit back and do nothing.

* Case and point, look at our emergency services, Fire and EMS. We have equipment that is worn out and our emergency transportation is over an hour away. I personally want to thank all of the volunteers that have served in those areas. I appreciate all that you have done!

* Communications and roads were major concerns expressed by others to me, as with a lack of leadership being a real issue.

* We need strong leaders in this community. People who are willing to work hard to bring things together. We have such a beautiful community, divided by so much animosity. Why not be a unified community? One that is strong and resilient to last the test of time.

If elected, I will work for the citizens of Thorne Bay. I will be honored to serve, and not be a part time councilman. There is no doubt that I live in Thorne Bay and care about Thorne Bay.

Elect Roger Longbotham "for a greater Thorne Bay"



Raymond Slayton, raymondslayton@hotmail.com, (208) 916-6002
Did not respond for comment



Everett Cook: 

I grew up in remote areas of Alaska, like Sand Point. Although I have spent a majority of my life on Prince of Wales, my summers as a child were spent in Wyoming. My parents were teachers in Thorne Bay until they retired a few years ago and moved back to Wyoming.

Freshly graduated from high school in Thorne Bay, I married the love of my life and spent the next four years at a Wyoming College and graduated with a degree in Elementary Education and with all intention of moving back to the Island. Unfortunately teaching never panned out, but we still wanted to raise our two children in our hometown of Thorne Bay and moved back home in 2012.

I have worked a vareity of jobs from fast food and concrete to proof checker at first bank and fueling airlines at aero services. My passion has always been for people and I found myself most happy working in the schools and am currently employed with Community Connections in Thorne Bay.

Being invested and having history in Thorne Bay has driven me to ask myself what is wrong and how can we fix it. The world has its problems and we can do next to nothing about them. We move down and we see the problems with the State but we can't do much there either. Still noticing things that could be better at the local level, I felt inspired and more capable of making a difference.

It won't be fast and it won't be easy but we can make a difference if we work together. Be inspired to our potential and find new ways to thrive.

If you are in Thorne Bay and you're out and about on voting day, consider what you can do to help.

Seat B - 3-year term

Eric Rhodes:

Hi, I'm Eric Rhodes, 39 years old, born and raised on an island off the coast of North Carolina. I moved my homestead to Thorne Bay 7 years ago.

I'm sharp, honest and qualified but I need your help. What needs to change in Thorne Bay? Your thoughts matter!

It's your town, let me listen and help make things better. I'll do whatever it takes.







Risa Carlson
Did not respond for a comment

Set C - 1-year term

Abbey Cook

My father was a commercial fisherman, so I enjoyed life on a sail boat for the first 9 years of My life. Growing up on the water, I was immersed in the Southeast Alaskan lifestyle and learned from a young age that you have to work hard to get the"job"done. Needless to say, I fell in love with this land and the opportunities and bounty it brings.

At present, I live on Southside Thorne Bay with my husband Everett Cook and our two children Meliah and Auron.

As an Alaskan, I understand the need for equal representation and it's my belief that the way forward is with unity and not divison.

I believe in the power of the people and know that together, we can find solutions.

"One drop raises the sea."
I want your voices heard.

I would be honored to represent the residents of Thorne Bay.

Please come by Thorne Bay City Hall October 1st to cast your vote.



Thom Cunningham
Did not respond for a comment

Rosalyn Hert
Did not respond for a comment



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