Phillip Mach, 35-years old, was appointed to the borough assembly to fill a vacant seat at the beginning of last year. At the end of his appointment in October, he ran for a single-year term and won. Now, after a year and a half on the assembly, Mach is one of four candidates looking to fill one of the two three-year positions on the assembly.

Here’s Mach on some of the things he says the assembly has accomplished during his term.

Really positive things, you know. We’ve got contracts out for redoing the siding and the roofs of the schools and the Public Safety Building. I think those are huge.

Originally from North Seattle, Mach followed his dad into the fishing industry. He worked on their family operated boat out of Bristol Bay for about 15 years.

After graduating from Seattle Pacific University with a degree in business finance, he took a position at a Trident Seafoods plant near Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands. Then, in 2023, he moved to Wrangell to manage the Trident plant that was reopening.

I think for me, the main big thing that I really get excited about is just economic development. I think Wrangell just has a lot of opportunity and it’s exciting to see that.

He says the goal of economic development is tied directly to supporting local businesses that are already established, in addition to attracting new ones.

He’s a father of an 8-month-old and says his other priorities are schools and childcare. He says these are important to support current residents and to attract new ones, and that he’d really like to see more childcare options for the community.

I think that’s a big deal, and make sure our schools are well funded. And it’s very important when people come to town, they look at schools, they look at childcare, they look at opportunities in town.

On attracting new residents, Mach also brought up the need for new housing options in Wrangell. He says he was excited that they were able to get the new Alder Top residential subdivision approved during his time on the assembly.

Mach is one of the youngest members of the assembly.

I know Dan Powers has a large family too, but just kind of the importance of our younger generation and making sure that Wrangell is here to stay and not slowly, you know, population going down.

He says, while he respects the collective knowledge of the assembly, he brings a different perspective and generational focus to the group.