In between primary elections and general elections, borough residents have the opportunity to elect new leadership next month.
Polls will be open for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Regular Municipal Election 7 a.m. to 8 p.m., Oct. 2. Early voting began Sept. 17.
Any U.S. citizen at least 18 years of age who has registered to vote as a resident of the Kenai Peninsula Borough at least 30 days before the election is eligible to vote.
For the central peninsula, the ballot will hold elections for Borough Assembly, Board of Education, Kenai City Council, Soldotna City Council, service area board candidates and borough ballot propositions.
Borough Assembly Candidates
Brent Hibbert is running unopposed in the District 1 (Kalifornsky). Hibbert is the owner of Alaska Cab, Inc. and has served on the Borough Assembly since 2017.
Kenn Carpenter is running unopposed in District 6, which encompasses Seward, Hope, Moose Pass, Cooper Landing and north Sterling. He was appointed to the assembly in 2017. Carpenter was raised in Eagle River and has been living in Alaska for more than 30 years.
Willy Dunne and Troy Jones are running for the District 9 (south peninsula) seat. Dunne has been serving on the assembly since 2015 and is a retired marine biologist. Jones is a business owner and is the president of East Road Services, Inc. in Homer.
Board of Education Candidates
Matthew Morse and Tim Navarre are running for the seat in District 2 (Kenai). Morse has lived in Alaska for 32 years and is a business owner in Kenai. He graduated from Kenai Central High School and attended University of Alaska Fairbanks where he received a degree in biology. Navarre has been serving on the school board since 2009. He is currently a council member for the city of Kenai and a business owner.
There are four candidates running for the District 5 (Sterling/Funny River) seat. Karyn Griffin has lived in Alaska for 17 years and is a stay-at-home mom. Greg Madden is a chiropractic physician and has experience teaching in elementary school and college. Marty Anderson has been on the school board since 2003 and is the president of the North Peninsula Chamber Board. Nissa Fowler is an accountant and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in economics and a master’s degree in accounting.
In District 8 (Homer), Mike Illg runs unopposed. He was appointed to the school board in 2016 and was elected in 2017.
Service Areas
In the Joint Operations Board for Central Peninsula Emergency Medical and Central Emergency there are two seats available. Ryan Kapp is running for seat C and Leslie Morton is running for seat D.
In the Nikiski Fire Service Area there are two seats available. Todd Paxton and Peter Ribbens are both running for seat F and Amber Olivia-Douglas is running for seat G.
In the Nikiski Senior Service Area, Lacey Lyn Stock is running for seat A.
The North Peninsula Recreation Service Area has two seats available. Felix Martinez II is running for seat C and Sasha Fallon is running seat D.
Propositions
Proposition 1 provides $5,390,000 to help build a new school in Kachemak-Selo. In 2011, residents of the Old Believer village east of Homer submitted a petition to the school board requesting a new school. The current school in K-Selo is comprised of three leased residential homes that have deteriorated beyond useful capacity, the borough election packet said. The 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. A ‘yes’ vote approves the issuance of the bonds, while a ‘no’ vote opposes the issuance of the bonds.
Proposition 2 moves the common boundary between Central Peninsula Hospital Service Area and the South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area 15 miles south. Voters residing in the Central Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area and the proposed new area are able to vote on this proposition. In 1955, a hospital was built in Homer and was leased to the borough in 1969. In 1971, the Soldotna hospital opened. 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. A ‘yes’ vote means moving the boundary to the midway point between the two hospitals. A ‘no’ vote means the boundary will stay the same.
Kenai City Council Candidates
Robert Peterkin II, Bob Molloy and Teea Winger are all vying for two seats up for election on the Kenai City Council. Peterkin has lived in Alaska for 49 years, is a business owner and is the vice president of Cook Inlet Regional Citizens Advisory Council. Molloy is an attorney, has lived in Alaska for 39 years and has served on the Kenai City Council since 2005. Winger is a temporary Office of Emergency Management instructor for the borough and was born and raised in Kenai.
Soldotna City Council Candidates
Paul Whitney is running for seat A. Whitney has lived in Alaska for 43 years and has been serving on the Soldotna City Council since 2013.
Jordan Chilson is running for seat C. Chilson has lived in Alaska for 29 years, is a programmer and analyst for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District and currently serves on both the Soldotna Parks and Recreation Advisory Boars and the Soldotna Planning and Zoning Commission.
Justin Ruffridge is running for seat F. Ruffridge is a pharmacist, has lived in Alaska for 24 years and recently served on the Soldotna Planning and Zoning Commission. He was appointed to the Soldotna City Council in April and has been serving since.
Reach Victoria Petersen at vpetersen@peninsulaclarion.com.
