Supporters campaign for Kenai City Council member Bob Molloy on the corner of Main Street Loop and Kenai Spur Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Supporters campaign for Kenai City Council member Bob Molloy on the corner of Main Street Loop and Kenai Spur Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

Voters reject K-Selo bond proposition; oust incumbents in municipal elections

Peninsula voters shot down a controversial proposition to fund a new school, passed another to move the border between the Central and South Peninsula Hospital Service Areas to the true midway point, and elected some fresh faces to both the borough assembly, school board and city councils.

Tuesday night’s unofficial results, with all 28 precincts reporting, show Proposition 1 failing by nearly 60 percent and Proposition 2 succeeding by 65 percent.

Many candidate races on the central peninsula were uncontested, while some were more competitive. In Kenai, three candidates, Robert Peterkin II, Teea Winger and Bob Molloy were running for two vacant city council seats.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Carol Baumer, a retired Kenai resident, said voting for Teea Winger for the Kenai City Council brought her to the polls Tuesday.

“It’s a chance to sort of do something different,” Baumer said. “We’re all aging. It’d be nice to kind of get newer people in as the rest of us age-out.”

Newcomer Peterkin II was elected to the Kenai City Council, along with incumbent Molloy. Winger fell short by only 49 votes.

“I certainly appreciate the confidence of the voters and congratulate both Robert Peterkin and Teea Winger on a really good race,” Molloy said. “I’m looking forward to working with Peterkin and the other city council members.”

In Soldotna, all three candidates ran unopposed for the three open council seats.

Todd Paxton came out on top in the Nikiski Fire Service Area board member race against Peter Ribbens.

In the contentious southern peninsula Borough Assembly race, incumbent Willy Dunne beat out Troy Jones with 626 votes against 541 votes.

In the central peninsula, both borough assembly candidates ran unopposed. District 1 candidate Hibbert came in with 426 votes for the Kalifornsky area. For District 6, which includes Seward, Hope, Moose Pass and north Sterling, Kenn Carpenter received 669 votes.

Greg Madden leads the four-way District 5 School Board race, with over 163 votes ahead of 15-year incumbent Marty Anderson.

“Congratulations to Madden,” Anderson said. “It was a privilege to serve on the school board for 15 years. It was the longest I’ve ever done anything. I hope Mr. Madden learns quickly because there’s a lot of things coming up for the school district. I wish him well.”

Nine-year incumbent Tim Navarre lost by 43 votes to Matthew Morse, in the District 2 School Board race.

“I’m happy to win and I hope to do some great things for the school district,” Morse said.

At polls from Sterling to Ninilchik, voter turnout seemed somewhat sparse, with intermittent bursts of activity that kept poll workers on their toes.

Preliminary numbers showed 9,113 voters turned out for the elections this year, down from recent years. Unofficial results show 9,113 ballots were cast, out of 47,158 registered voters — approximately 19 percent of the population. In the 2017 Regular Election, 15,177 of the 44,951 registered voters cast ballots — approximately 34 percent of the population. Only about 21 percent of registered voters cast ballots in the 2015 regular elections.

On the central peninsula, voters seemed most concerned with the K-Selo bond proposition, which would provide $5,390,000 to help build a new school in Kachemak-Selo, an Old Believer village east of Homer. The Kenai Peninsula Borough was awarded a $10,010,000 grant through the 2016-2017 state capital budget. Under the grant program, the borough must provide a 35 percent match of $5,390,000. Some voters said the K-Selo bond proposition was the primary reason they showed up at the polls.

In Kenai, Kaye Reed said she came out to vote because it was her civic duty. She said she supported the K-Selo bonds because it means the peninsula is growing.

“If we’re needing to build a new school, that means we’re having growth, and that means we should be building new schools,” Reed said.

In Soldotna, teacher Bristol Demeter said supporting education by approving the K-Selo bonds was the main reason she came out to vote. Chad Sorenson, also in Soldotna, said he came out to vote because it was his civic duty. He said he also supported the K-Selo Bond issue.

“I think the school bond is important,” Sorenson said. “It’s just the right thing to do for the little kiddos.”

In Sterling, Ted Moran said he came out specifically to vote against the K-Selo bond proposition.

“I think it’s just a waste of money for such a small area,” Moran said.

In Ninilchik, Marti Chapman also visited the polls to support the bond.

The bonds failed with 4,431 ‘no’ votes.

Although the K-Selo bond was the focus of many ballots on the central peninsula, many were ambivalent when it came to Proposition 2, which moves the common boundary between Central Peninsula Hospital Service Area and the South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area 15 miles south. The boundary between the two hospitals has always been at the Clam Gulch Tower along the Sterling Highway, which is 14.5 miles closer to the Central Peninsula Hospital than the true midway point. Chapman said she spent more time reading up on other issues.

“I didn’t do enough reading on that,” Chapman said. “I’ve been educating myself mostly on what’s coming up (in the mid-term election), with proposition 1.”

The proposition to move the border to the midway point was successful with over 65 percent of voters supporting it.

Reach Victoria Petersen at vpetersen@peninsulaclarion.com.

Kenai City Council candidate Teea Winger and her husband hold campaign signs for passing motorists along the Kenai Spur Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai City Council candidate Teea Winger and her husband hold campaign signs for passing motorists along the Kenai Spur Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 2, 2018 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

A supporter of Robert Peterkin, who ran for Kenai City Council, campaigns along the Kenai Spur Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 2 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

A supporter of Robert Peterkin, who ran for Kenai City Council, campaigns along the Kenai Spur Highway on Tuesday, Oct. 2 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Victoria Petersen/Peninsula Clarion)

More in News

Vice President Kelly Cooper speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Borough considers seasonal sales tax rate

Borough sales tax would be modified from a flat 3% to a seasonal model of 4% in summer months and 2% in winter months.

The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
King salmon fishing on Kasilof closes Thursday

If any king salmon is caught while fishing for other species, they may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately.

Un’a, a female sea otter pup who was admitted to the Alaska SeaLife Center in June 2025, plays with an enrichment toy at the center in Seward, Alaska. Photo courtesy of the Alaska SeaLife Center
SeaLife Center admits 2 seal pups, 1 orphaned otter

The three pups join the Alaska SeaLife Center’s ‘growing’ patient list.

James Wardlow demonstrates flilleting a salmon with an ulu during a smoked salmon demonstration, part of Fish Week 2023, on Wednesday, July 19, 2023, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Refuge to celebrate all things fish during weeklong event

Fish Week will take place July 16-19.

President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, July 7, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School board finalizes budget with deep cuts to programming, classrooms

Multiple members of the board said they were frustrated by the state’s failure to fund education.

Former KPBSD Finance Director Liz Hayes speaks during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development meeting at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
School district finance department earns national awards

The two awards are based on comprehensive reviews of the district’s budget and financial reporting.

Children leap forward to grab candy during a Fourth of July parade on South Willow Street in Kenai, Alaska, on July 4, 2025. (Photo courtesy Sarah Every)
Celebrating the 4th in the streets

Kenai comes out for annual Independence Day parade.

Fire crews respond to the Bruce Fire, July 4, 2025, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Alaska Division of Forestry)
Firefighting crews respond to wildfire outside Soldotna

The 8-acre fire and two “spot fires” of less than one acre each are located near Mile 102 and 103 of the Sterling Highway.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Peninsula Clarion relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in