KMXT 100.1 FM Public Radio in Kodiak, Alaska
There are still a handful of seats on various boards in the Kodiak Island Borough that still do not have any declared candidates, and the deadline for filing is tomorrow.
Assemblyman Jerrol Friend has filed for re-election, and Assemblywoman Chris Lynch, the other incumbent whose term is ending, told KMXT this morning she intended to seek re-election. The other declared candidate for assembly is current school board member Aaron Griffin.
There are currently two open seats on the Kodiak Island Borough School Board, and one incumbent, Norm Wooten, has filed for re-election, though the other, Peggy Rauwolf, has not yet filed.
Scott Arndt and Rebecca Nelson have signed up for the Fire Protection Area Number 1 board, which has two openings. As of this morning, they were the only candidates to have signed up any of the nine seats available among the five service areas.
The filing deadline is at 4:30 on Wednesday afternoon. After that, write-in candidates may file – which is a change from the past, where people could just write in a candidate, and the one with the most votes would be asked if they’d like to serve. This has happened often in service area elections. But now a write-in candidate must file in advance in order to be seated, even if they get the most votes.
Meanwhile there are three candidates for the two Kodiak City Council seats up for grabs this year. Rich Walker is challenging incumbents Gabriel Saravia and Mark Vizcocho. City Clerk Deb Marlar urges people to file their nominating petitions well before the 4:30 Wednesday deadline so the signatures can be verified.
