Sample ballots are displayed ahead of the Oct. 4 municipal election at an absentee in-person polling place in Kenai City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Sample ballots are displayed ahead of the Oct. 4 municipal election at an absentee in-person polling place in Kenai City Hall on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022, in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Election 2023: Who has already filed for local office

Voters will go to the polls this fall

Tuesday evening is the deadline for people looking to run for local office to file their declaration of candidacy with clerk offices ahead of the Oct. 3 municipal election. Seats are open on the Soldotna, Kenai and Homer city councils, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, the Kenai Peninsula Borough and various service area boards.

Incumbent Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Peter Micciche is the only person who has filed to run for election to the borough’s highest office. Micciche in February was elected to the position during a special election held after the resignation of former Mayor Charlie Pierce.

In Soldotna the city’s mayor and city council tickets have received one application each, all from incumbents. Incumbent Mayor Paul Whitney, first elected mayor in 2020, has filed for reelection. Council member Dan Nelson is seeking reelection to City Council Seat B and Chera Wackler, who was appointed to the council in January, is running for a full term for Seat F.

In Kenai, Henry Knackstedt and Glenese Pettey have filed to run for the two open seats on the city council. Knackstedt is an incumbent candidate who has sat on the council since 2014. Pettey served on the council from 2016 to 2022.

In Homer, two city council seats are up for grabs. Incumbents Rachel Lord and Caroline Venuti have both filed to run, as has longtime Homer resident Joni Wise.

As of Thursday at 2:15 p.m., no candidates had filed to run for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s District 2 – Kenai seat, District 5 – Sterling seat, or for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education’s District 4 – Soldotna seat. Those seats are currently held by Richard Derkevorkian, Bill Elam and Penny Vadla, respectively.

For seats on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education, five candidates have thrown their hats in the ring. No candidates have yet filed for the school board’s District 4 – Soldotna seat, which is currently held by Penny Vadla.

For the school board’s District 3 – Nikiski seat, incumbent Jason Tauriainen and Lyndsey Bertoldo have both filed to run.

Incumbent board member Debbie Cary, who also serves as board president, has filed to run for the board’s District 7 – Central seat, as has Kasilof resident Dianne MacCrae. Beverley

Romanin, who was appointed to the board last fall, has filed to finish out a one-year term to the board’s District 5 – Sterling seat.

On the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, four candidates have filed to run for two of the assembly’s four open seats.

Incumbent Peter Ribbens, who was appointed by assembly members in January, has filed to finish out a two-year term for the District 3- Nikiski seat. Nikiski resident Adam Bertoldo has also filed to run for that seat.

For the District 8 – Homer assembly seat, currently held by Lane Chesley, Kelly Cooper and Heath Smith have filed to run. Cooper is a former assembly member and president who ran for a seat in the Alaska House of Representatives in 2020. Smith is a former Homer City Council member who challenged Sen. Gary Stevens for a seat in the Alaska Senate last fall.

The candidate filing period of the Oct. 3 municipal election closes on Aug. 15 at 4:30 p.m. Sept. 3 is the deadline to register to vote in that election, and absentee in person voting starts on Sept. 18.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

People carrying flags and signs line the Sterling Highway for a “No Kings” protest in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna ‘No Kings’ protest draws hundreds

The nationwide protest came the same day as a military parade organized at the behest of the Trump administration.

Council member Jordan Chilson speaks during a Soldotna City Council work session in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna council mulls change to meeting time

Meetings would be moved from 6 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. under a resolution set to be considered on June 25.

Mountain View Elementary School is photographed on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Mountain View vandalized by children, police say

Staff who arrived at the school on Monday found significant damage, according to police.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy compares Alaska to Mississippi data on poverty, per-pupil education spending, and the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress 4th grade reading scores during a press conference on Jan. 31, 2025. Alaska is highlighted in yellow, while Mississippi is in red. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy vetoes education funding to $500 BSA increase

Per-student funding was increased by $700 in an education bill passed by the Alaska Legislature in May.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Job Center is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on April 15, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Minimum wage increases to $13 per hour on July 1

Since 2014, Alaska’s minimum wage has increased from $7.75 to $11.91 through the Alaska Wage and Hour Act.

Leads for the Sterling Safety Corridor Improvements Project field questions and showcase their “preferred design” during an open house meeting at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Preferred design alternative for Sterling Highway safety corridor introduced at town hall

The project is intended to redesign and construct improvements to the highway to reduce the number of fatal and serious collisions.

Alaska State Troopers badge. File photo
Recovered remains confirmed to be missing Texas boaters; fourth set of remains found

Remains were recovered from the vessel sank that in Kachemak Bay last August.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a meeting of the KPBSD Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD issues notice of non-retention to pool managers, theater techs and library aides

Those notices were issued due to the ongoing uncertainty in state education funding.

National Guard members put on hazmat suits before entering the simulation area on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
National Guard begins exercise in Juneau simulating foreign terrorist attacks

Operation ORCA brings 100 personnel to Juneau, disrupts traffic around Capitol.

Most Read