Soldotna City Council Member, Justin Ruffridge announced his intention to run for Alaska House of Representatives, challenging incumbent Rep. Ron Gillham. Ruffridge was appointed, and later elected to Council Seat F to serve a two-year term. He was re-elected in October 2020. Additionally, Ruffridge is a pharmacist and the Director of Pharmacy Operations at Inlet Pharmacy Group.
Ruffridge spoke with KSRM on the PFD and budget:
“I think, obviously, at the forefront of a lot of people’s understanding is the PFD. I think that’s been a huge area of conversation over the last number of years. I’m worried that it’s been used as a bargaining chip in our political arena. I think there’s decisions that need to be made on that front and, really, to be able to stop wasting people’s time, resources, money on having a singular conversation over and over again. On that note, the budget is important. Fiscal responsibility is important. I’m a business owner in this area and so running things in a business capacity is important to me to pay attention to efficiency and pay attention to things that really can be done well and run well, and a state is no different than that. I think it’s the duty of the legislature to promote that fiscal responsibility.”
On experience, Ruffridge says:
“I’ve been a public servant for several years; elected to Soldotna City Council and serving on the state board. I’m passionate to continue serving people as a state representative. I think it’s important to continue doing that in whatever capacity one can do and this is an area that I’ve chosen to step into.”
Ruffridge recently filled out his candidate registration form through the Alaska Public Offices Commission. According to the Alaska Division of Elections, Gillham has already filed to run for re-election.
NOTE: image courtesy of the Soldotna Professional Pharmacy website.