Alaska Elections

Former Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan announced that he’s running for U.S. Senate Tuesday in Anchorage.

Sullivan joins a crowded field of Republicans trying to unseat Democrat Mark Begich next November.

Wearing blue jeans and work boots with a jacket and tie, and with his wife and three daughters standing beside him, Sullivan said one focus of his campaign will be the fight against federal overreach.

“Now many people talk about this idea, but I am proud to have been on the front lines over the past four years actually fighting the fight, in the arena every day on this very critical issue,” Sullivan said.

He says he resigned as DNR commissioner in September to focus “110%” on the Senate campaign.

Sullivan also served as Alaska’s Attorney General and is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Marine Corp Reserves.

He will campaign against Lieutenant Governor Mead Treadwell and Joe Miller to win the Republican primary next August.

Sullivan says he will start his campaign across the state today with stops in Wasilla and Fairbanks.

Kate Troll was sworn in to the Juneau Assembly last night.

Troll won the only contested race in this year’s municipal election, beating Bill Peters for an area-wide seat.

She replaces Johan Dybdahl, who served the maximum three consecutive terms, or nine years, on the Assembly. Dybdahl, who is Tlingit, was honored with a set of Native paddles as a parting gift. The paddles were presented to him by Sealaska Native Corporation Executive Vice President Rick Harris and Mayor Merrill Sanford.

Assembly members Mary Becker and Karen Crane were sworn in to their second terms on the Assembly before last night’s meeting. Both ran unopposed.

Economic Development Plan funding approved

The Juneau Assembly last night voted 5-3 in favor of spending $100,000 on a municipal economic development plan.

Assembly member Loren Jones voted against the funding ordinance. He said he’s not opposed to the city and borough having a plan, but he believes the Juneau Economic Development Council is already in a position to produce one.

“By an ordinance we established the Juneau Economic Development Council as the economic committee for the borough, and we seem to be bypassing that particular group,” Jones said.

The city will pay for the plan with funds from old capital projects that came in under budget. Jones said he thinks the funding should go through the Assembly’s normal budget process, rather than be appropriated in the middle of a fiscal year.

Assembly members Jesse Kiehl and Kate Troll joined Jones in voting no on the ordinance.

Assembly member Carlton Smith has been the main proponent of the city creating an economic development plan. He was absent from last night’s meeting.

The project went out to bid last week. Bids are due November 26th.

Parking Manager funds nixed

The Assembly last night failed to approve $50,000 requested by the city administration to hire a parking manager for the rest of this fiscal year.

Some Assembly members had concerns the position would continue beyond that. Assemblyman Jerry Nankervis says local government is already too big.

“This looks to me like an increase in government. I can’t see any way that it’s not an increase in the cost of government,” Nankervis said. “And I would argue that there are less complaints about parking downtown than there ever have been since my experience. The increases in parking garage spaces that have pay boxes, those seem like those should be pretty easy to supervise.”

The City Manager’s office requested the position to implement the CBJ Downtown Parking Management Plan, adopted by the Assembly in 2010. The plan is currently being implemented by staff from the Community Development and Parks and Recreation departments. Nankervis – a former police officer – suggested the Juneau Police Department could take on some of those tasks.

The funding ordinance failed on a tie vote, 4-4. Assembly members Randy Wanamaker, Mary Becker and Loren Jones joined Nankervis in voting no. Mayor Merrill Sanford and Assembly members Karen Crane, Jesse Kiehl and Kate Troll voted for it. Assemblyman Carlton Smith was absent.

Kate Troll will be sworn-in to the Juneau Assembly tonight.

Troll two weeks ago won the only contested race in this year’s municipal election, besting Bill Peters for an area-wide seat. Assemblyman Johan Dybdahl currently holds that office. He’s served the maximum three consecutive terms on the Assembly and will be recognized for his service tonight before Troll’s swearing-in.

Assembly members Mary Becker and Karen Crane will be sworn in for their second terms on the Assembly. Both ran unopposed.

Also tonight, the Assembly will consider an ordinance authorizing the city manager to negotiate a lease for a communications tower at Eaglecrest Ski Area.

Funding ordinances include appropriations for the Empty Chair memorial, a CBJ economic development plan, and legal services for the Juneau School District and Bartlett Regional Hospital. The district and BRH previously hired outside counsel to provide legal services. If the ordinance passes, they will simply give the money to the CBJ Law Department, which would then hire an additional attorney to handle the increased workload. The move is expected to save the city money overall.

The Assembly tonight will also decide whether to accept an appeal of a recent Planning Commission decision to deny a zone change to developer Richard Harris. He’s making his third attempt to re-zone his Atlin Drive property from residential to Light Commercial. The Planning Commission most recently turned down his zoning request last month.

The meeting starts at 7 p.m. in City Hall Assembly Chambers. It will be broadcast live on KTOO-FM.

The results of Juneau’s October 1st municipal election have been certified.

City Clerk Laurie Sica says the CBJ Canvass Board met Tuesday to complete its review of absentee and questioned ballots. A handful of outstanding votes were added to the overall total.

In the only contested race, Kate Troll picked up 13 additional votes for Areawide Assembly. Her opponent, Bill Peters picked up two votes. The final tally has Troll winning by a margin of 2,528-1,992.

Mary Becker and Karen Crane ran unopposed and were reelected to two other Assembly seats.

Troll, Becker and Crane will be sworn-in at the next regular Assembly meeting, October 14th.

School Board members Barbara Thurston and Lisa Worl also ran unopposed, and will be sworn in October 15th.

Juneau’s Canvass Review Board will certify municipal election results on Tuesday.

Even with absentee and question ballots added in, turnout for the Oct. 1st election was only 19 percent, the lowest in more than 30 years.

The outstanding ballots were counted on Friday, increasing candidate totals but not changing the outcome.

Kate Troll defeated Bill Peters by 525 votes for the Areawide Assembly seat that has been held for the last nine years by Johann Dybdahl.

Troll had 2,515 votes to Peters’ 1,990 votes.  During the final count, she gained 649 and Peters gained 419 votes.

Troll was in Assembly chambers Friday as election workers ran the 1,097 absentee and question ballots through the AccuVote machines.

This is her second foray into local politics.  She was elected to the Ketchikan Gateway Borough Assembly in the 1980s, and is familiar with the homework members have to do.

She says that experience taught her to be a good listener.

“When you go into a meeting, remain open-minded. I found that I would come into a meeting thinking ‘this is the way I’m going to vote,’ but listening to the other Assembly people and particularly the public comment I found oftentimes changed the way I voted, and I anticipate that to be the same,” Troll says.

She says she’ll be a team player on the Juneau Assembly and knows she got there because of team work.

“I would like to thank my volunteers.  It takes a team effort to win and it takes a team effort to govern.”

Troll will be sworn into office at the next regular Assembly meeting on Oct. 14.  Assembly members Karen Crane and Mary Becker, who ran unopposed, will be sworn in for a second term.

School board members Barbara Thurston and Lisa Worl also were unopposed for their seats and will be sworn in on Oct. 15.

Juneau Assembly candidate Kate Troll held onto her lead in the only contested race in this year’s municipal election, as the city’s review board counted absentee and questioned ballots on Friday.

While the numbers are still considered unofficial until Tuesday when the Canvass Board certifies the election, Troll leads Peters by 525 votes, for a total of 2515 to 1990.

She gained 649 votes from the question and absentee count, and Peters gained 419.

A few absentee-by-mail ballots may yet trickle in and must arrive by Tuesday morning to be included in the certified election.

Troll was in Assembly chambers this morning while election workers were running the outstanding ballots through the AccuVote machines.

She will be sworn in at the next regular Assembly meeting on October 14.  She says the first thing she will do is make sure other Assembly members understand she’s a team player.

“I just want to be a contributing member first and foremost and then I’ll sort out where I can assert some leadership on different issues,” Troll says.

Assembly members Karen Crane and Mary Becker will be sworn in for a second term.  They ran unopposed.

School board members Barbara Thurston and Lisa Worl also were unopposed for their seats and will be sworn in on October 15.

Voter turnout for the October 1st election ended up at 19 percent, near an all time low for a municipal election in the Capital City.