Petersburg’s municipal election had many contested races — from the Library Board, to the Public Safety Board, and all the way up to the Borough Assembly. Just over a third of the island’s population turned out to vote, with 1,250 ballots cast.
KFSK’s Shelby Herbert has the unofficial election results.
Petersburg voters overwhelmingly passed Ballot Proposition 1, with 872 voting “yes,” and 311 “no.” This means borough employees are free to serve on the Borough Assembly, Planning Commission, Hospital Board and the School Board. But it would also exclude them from running for any board or commission that directly oversees their work.
Voters handed sitting School Board vice president Katie Holmlund another term with 882 votes. There were 23 write-in ballots for the school board seat — the most of any race.
The race for all three open seats on the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board were uncontested. Ambre Burrell came in with 951 votes, and Gregg Kowalski with 946, both took three-year terms. Adam Caster takes a one-year term on the board, with 813 votes.
The three seats on the Harbor Board were also uncontested. Board Chair Bob Martin will keep his seat; he came in with the most votes at 888. Incumbent Scott Roberge received 820, and newcomer Joel Randrup got 861.
The final uncontested race was for the local Planning Commission. All three incumbents kept their seats: Marietta Davis, who came in at 717, Chris Fry, at 789, and Heather O’Neil, with the most votes: at 852.
For the two open seats on the Borough’s Public Safety Board, Mark Tucillo swept, taking the most votes at 641. Stanley Hjort is projected to take the other seat, coming in narrowly ahead of the other candidates at 409 votes. The runner-ups are: Jacob Slaven, with 400 votes, Russel Thynes, with 324, and Tony Vinson, with 388.
There are three open seats for the Library Board. The projected winners are: Marilyn Menish-Meucci, with 507 votes, Lizzie Thompson, with 726, and Mary Ellen Anderson, with a whopping 840 votes. JoAnn Thynes and Tina Buschmann fell behind them, with 430 and 447 votes, respectively.
The race was tight for the three seats on the hospital board, which could determine the fate of the board’s new hospital project. Board president Jerod Cook, with 891 votes, and secretary Marlene Cushing, with 798, are both projected to win another three-year term. Newcomer Don Koenigs fell behind them, at 441 votes.
For the one-year term on the Hospital Board, Mika Hasbrouk pulled ahead with 597. Her opponent for the seat, incumbent Jim Roberts, had 519.
The race for the two Borough Assembly seats was the tightest of all. The projected winners are political newcomers Rick Perkins, with 593 votes, and Rob Schwartz, with 695 — the highest tally for any assembly candidate. Perkins is neck and neck with Jeigh Stanton Gregor, who came in just five votes short at 588. Assembly incumbent Jeff Meucci had 540 votes.
But it’s not quite over yet. Election staff still have to count 24 absentee ballots — there are also four questioned ballots, and the state of Alaska has to decide whether or not they’re valid.
The Borough will count the remaining ballots and release the official results at the election certification meeting on Monday, October 9th.
