Mayor of Juneau runs for re-election after death of her husband

Juneau Mayor Beth Weldon has announced that she will run for a third term in the October municipal election.

In an interview on Tuesday, she said the decision to run for office was not an easy one.

“It was an extremely difficult decision, especially after the death of my husband Greg,” she said. “But I came back to the same thought that I am committed to Juneau and I think I still have a lot to offer.”

Her husband died in a motorcycle accident in Arizona at the end of April.

Weldon is a retired department chief with Capital City Fire/Rescue and owner of Glacier Auto Parts. She has two grown sons and has lived in Juneau since birth.

She has been mayor since 2018. Before that, she served as a member of the Assembly for two years before resigning to run for mayor. She was re-elected in 2021 and will finish her second three-year term as mayor in October.

Weldon said her priorities if re-elected would include promoting child care development, building more housing and controlling the city’s budget.

She said she considered not running after her husband died, but then decided to continue.

“Before Greg died, I wanted to run anyway. And then that gave me a little break,” she said. “Then I decided he wanted me to keep going because he was a silent supporter, but he was the guy who, when I came home late one night, he would bring me leftovers from dinner.”

There are also five more seats up for grabs in the October election: two in the Juneau Assembly and three on the school board. There are also a few citizen initiatives that could end up on the ballot.

The two Assembly seats up for election are held by Michelle Hale and Wáahlaal Gídaag Barbara Blake, both of whom have stated that they do not intend to run for re-election.

So far, no one else has publicly announced their intention to run for mayor, but Weldon said she would be surprised if she ran unopposed.

“I’ve always said: your vote, your choice, so go vote. And I think we’re going to see some candidates,” she said.

The registration period for applying for local office begins on July 12.