KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
Barring any write-in candidates declaring in the next two months, the legislative slate is set for Kodiak voters.
Alan Austerman is the only candidate – from any party – who will appear on the general election ballot for House District 35. With all 13 precincts reporting, the incumbent received 1,073 votes in the closed Republican primary. The district gives up much of its territory on the mainland and now stretches as far east as Yakutat.
Likewise, Senate District R starts in Yakutat and includes House Districts 35 and 36, which includes, besides Kodiak, part of Bristol Bay, a section of the Yukon as far upriver as Anvik and Shageluk, and down to the coast, including Nelson Island. There were two candidates in the primary for state senate – one Democrat, Robert Henrick of Cordova, and one Republican, Gary Stevens of Kodiak. With 53 of 56 precincts reporting, Henrick received 1,438 votes in the open primary, while Stevens got 1,850 in the closed Republican primary. The two will face each other in the general election.
District 35, which includes Kodiak, voted overwhelmingly in favor of Measure 2, reestablishing a Coastal Management Program in Alaska. There were 1,400 Yes votes and 580 No votes. Measure 1, which raises the ceiling on property tax exemptions, also met with District 35 voters’ approval, with 1,036 Yes and 894 No.
For our listeners in the Pribilofs, both Senator Lyman Hoffman and Representative Bob Herron, both of Bethel, ran unopposed in District 37. Voter turnout was light, though, with 12 votes cast in St. George, and 18 cast in St. Paul.
