Stephanie Taylor
From Ballotpedia
This page was current at the end of the individual's last campaign covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.
Stephanie Taylor ran in a special election to the Anchorage Assembly District 1 to represent District 1 Seat L in Alaska. She lost in the special general election on June 21, 2022.
Taylor also ran for election to the Anchorage Assembly to represent District 5 Seat H in Alaska. She lost in the general election on April 5, 2022.
Taylor completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Stephanie Taylor was born in Louisiana. Taylor earned a bachelor's degree from Seattle Pacific University in 2001. Her career experience includes working as a homemaker, homeschool mom, and instructor. Taylor also worked as a sales promotion coordinator at Nordstrom and managed advertising, special events, and fashion show production. She has been affiliated with TeenPact Leadership Schools and the Alaska Republican Party.[1]
Elections
2022
Special election
See also: City elections in Anchorage, Alaska (2022)
General election
Special general election for Anchorage Assembly District 1 Seat L
The following candidates ran in the special general election for Anchorage Assembly District 1 Seat L on June 21, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Daniel Volland (Nonpartisan) | 38.8 | 1,758 | |
 | Stephanie Taylor (Nonpartisan) | 31.1 | 1,411 | |
 | Tasha Hotch (Nonpartisan) | 16.6 | 751 | |
| Robin Phillips (Nonpartisan) | 5.7 | 258 | ||
| Rob Forbes (Nonpartisan) | 4.2 | 191 | ||
| Cliff Baker (Nonpartisan) | 3.2 | 147 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.4 | 19 | ||
| Total votes: 4,535 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Hans Thompson (Nonpartisan)
2022
See also: City elections in Anchorage, Alaska (2022)
General election
General election for Anchorage Assembly District 5 Seat H
Incumbent Forrest Dunbar defeated Stephanie Taylor and Christopher Hall in the general election for Anchorage Assembly District 5 Seat H on April 5, 2022.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Forrest Dunbar (Nonpartisan) | 55.2 | 6,534 |
| Stephanie Taylor (Nonpartisan) | 41.9 | 4,958 | |
| Christopher Hall (Nonpartisan) | 2.6 | 305 | ||
| Other/Write-in votes | 0.3 | 36 | ||
| Total votes: 11,833 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Campaign themes
2022
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Stephanie Taylor completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2022. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Taylor's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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Stephanie Taylor has been an Anchorage resident since 1970, when the Air Force stationed her father at Elmendorf AFB. She graduated from Dimond High School and earned her BA at Seattle Pacific University. Stephanie has resided in east Anchorage since 1989 when she married her husband, Mike. They have five children ages 29–18. She has spent the last 30 years raising and homeschooling their children, and volunteering for numerous organizations and political campaigns. She has been an instructor for home school classes (English Grammar, Literature, Science, Geography). Stephanie initiated the Neighborhood Watch program in her neighborhood in 2016 and continues to serve as the lead coordinator. Most recently, Stephanie served as the Alaska State Coordinator for TeenPact Leadership Schools, 2017-2021. She enjoys working with and mentoring teens. Stephanie decided to run for Assembly after watching Anchorage decline over the past few years. Stephanie believes in limited government, personal liberty, and fiscal responsibility.
- The homeless issue is very complicated and each individual experiencing homelessness has a unique story. Our city has been spending millions of dollars without requiring results. This has allowed these individuals to suffer and our City to deteriorate. People need treatment for their addictions or mental illnesses, followed by job and life skills training so that they can function in society and live their best lives. They need compassion and hope, but they also need accountability. We need to measure success in lives changed, not money spent. It will take an effort from the entire community, but there are workable solutions. These efforts will improve public safety and restore our public spaces for the use of all.
- Spending and budget - The Municipality of Anchorage needs to get spending under control. Anchorage's population is shrinking; our spending needs to reflect that. Voters continue to complain about their increasing property taxes. When we reduce spending, property taxes will also be reduced.
- Mail in elections - The switch to mail-in elections did not yield the expected outcomes. The system was supposed to be less costly and increase voter turnout. Instead, it complicated a simple process, at great expense. Mail-in voting has also resulted in a significant lack of voter confidence in the integrity of the election process. When people lack confidence in the voting system, voter turnout is affected. Absentee voting (by request) has always been a great option for those unable to get to the polls on Election Day. By returning to in-person voting, in November, we could reduce costs by combining with the state elections and receive more timely election results.
I am particularly passionate about the homelessness in Anchorage. It is a humanitarian crisis. We can no longer turn a blind eye toward the suffering of our homeless neighbors. It speaks volumes about our community when there is so much visible suffering around us. Allowing people to suffer and self-destruct on our streets is not compassion. We need to follow the successful models other cities and organizations have used. We can partner with nonprofits in our community who are successfully transitioning people out of homelessness. They have solutions that are effective, and we could employ their successful strategies on a larger scale.
I am also deeply concerned about the division in our community. Political division has been growing nationally for a number of years, but it has now gone beyond that to an "us vs. them" mentality within our local community. This is a direct result of policies and rhetoric coming from our current Assembly. Our community needs to be united and work together to restore this fine city.
I am also deeply concerned about the division in our community. Political division has been growing nationally for a number of years, but it has now gone beyond that to an "us vs. them" mentality within our local community. This is a direct result of policies and rhetoric coming from our current Assembly. Our community needs to be united and work together to restore this fine city.
The Anchorage's Assembly is the legislative body of the city. It provides checks and balances to the role of the Mayor. As the largest city in Alaska, the Assembly helps shape the policies that set the trends for the entire state of Alaska. An Assembly member is expected to represent the concerns of their individual district balanced by the input from all Anchorage residents. They have the power to approve and allocate taxpayer dollars to projects they deem important. This nonpartisan role greatly affects the daily lives of all Anchorage residents.
Assembly members' first priority must be the well being of the people of Anchorage. Assembly members must have the maturity to put aside personal preferences and political differences to enact what is truly best for the city. They must be straightforward and honest, not putting political gain over truth. They must be humble and willing to learn new things-- able to exercise compassion for all people.
I have had varied life experiences during the majority of my life in Anchorage that help me see this city from a clear vantage point. As my focus has been primarily on the family, I realize that the family is a microcosm of society. Building a successful family requires a host of important skills . My husband and I have reared five successful adults who have a strong work ethic, own homes and contribute to their communities. My family holds varied political opinions and values. I am able to maintain my own values while learning from the values of others and appreciate the relationships even when we disagree. It's important to be able to work well with others who differ and to have the difficult conversations that need to happen in a healthy way. That's what builds community. I am also very detail and solution-oriented. I am not afraid to ask questions and really get into identifying the problems so that I can work toward solving them. I care about all the little and big things that make our city thrive. I have a vested interest in seeing this city develop to the point where we can all thrive.
My first job was working at McDonald's from age 14 - 16. I worked at a restaurant about 3/4 miles from our home. I mainly worked the front counter area. During summers, I often worked the opening shift from 5:30 am to 2:00 pm and would ride my bike to work. During the school year I mainly worked on weekend nights, so I learned how to open and close the store. Fast food jobs were the standard first jobs for teenagers when I was growing up. All three of my siblings and I worked at McDonald's at some point. I learned many valuable skills like customer service, working a cash register, making appropriate change, the importance of being on time and how to work well with others, to name a few. It helped me establish a good work ethic at a pivotal time in my life.
When I think about my role on the Assembly, I think of Mary Poppins. Although I'm not being blown in on an umbrella, I hope that I can roll up my sleeves and get to work with the discipline it takes to restore this city. I would like to bring much needed discipline to our unhealthy spending habits so that we can help make more of our dreams come true. Our city needs the kind of stability and care that I hope to bring.
Experience in government is of benefit when the Assembly members truly maintain the best interests of their constituents and the city as a whole. Trust between seat holders and constituents is broken when members exert an overreaching amount of control over constituents and remain unresponsive to their concerns. In this way, Assembly members lose touch with the people. Local government was designed in such a way that many citizens should be capable of representing their neighbors well. Different community members bring other experiences that are just as valuable as experiences in government.
Assembly members should be service-oriented, have great listening skills, pay attention to details, be able to communicate effectively, have good creative problem solving skills and relational skills that help build teamwork and consensus.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2022 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on March 26, 2022
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