There were no surprises in Soldotna on Tuesday night, with three candidates running unopposed for three open seats on the city council ballot.
Nels Anderson will be Soldotna’s new mayor, elected for a three-year term. Tyson Cox will retain Seat B for a three-year term and Keith Baxter will return to the council for a three-year term in Seat F.
Unofficial election results from the Kenai Peninsula Borough clerk’s office put Anderson at 636 votes, Cox at 590 votes and Baxter at 589. The mayoral seat had 45 write-in votes and each council seat saw 28 write-in votes. Absentee votes have yet to be counted.
Anderson previously served as Soldotna’s mayor from 2013 to 2015. He also served on city council from 2009 to 2012 and on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education for about fifteen years prior to that.
“My philosophy has been that unless I consider the issue extremely important, when there is a tie vote I will withhold my vote,” Anderson wrote in his candidate profile. “Because I feel most decisions should have majority consensus.”
Tyson Cox will continue to serve in Seat B after filling a one-year term in 2016.
Keith Baxter will fill Seat F. Baxter served on the council from 2013 to 2016. He currently serves on the Soldotna Planning and Zoning Commission.
Anderson will be taking the mayoral seat from current Soldotna Mayor Pete Sprague. Baxter will be filling Regina Daniels seat. Daniels did not seek reelection.
Reach Kat Sorensen at kat.sorensen@peninsulaclarion.com.
