Voters in the Kenai Peninsula Borough will head to polls on Tuesday to cast their ballots in races for city council, Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, school board and other local seats.
Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly
On the Kenai Peninsula’s Borough Assembly, there are three seats up for election this year, each for three-year terms ending in October 2027.
For the seat representing Kalifornsky, incumbent Brent Hibbert has hit his term limit; James Baisden is running unopposed for election to the seat. For the seat representing the eastern peninsula, incumbent Cindy Ecklund is running unopposed for reelection. For the seat representing the southern peninsula, incumbent Mike Tupper is not running for reelection; Willy Dunne is running unopposed for election to the seat.
Kenai
In Kenai, two city council seats will be filled this fall. Candidates do not run for specific seats, and Kenai voters will instead cast ballots for two of the running candidates. The two candidates who receive the most votes will take the two seats for three-year terms ending in October 2027.
There are only two candidates running for the two seats.
Deborah Sounart, who has served on the council since 2021, is running for reelection. Sovala Kisena is also running for election to the council. Incumbent James Baisden, who is running for borough assembly, is not seeking reelection.
Soldotna
In Soldotna, elections will be held for two spots on the Soldotna City Council. Those are for Seat A, which Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings was appointed to in 2020 and then won in a 2021 election, and Seat C, held by Jordan Chilson since 2018. Both seats are for three-year terms ending October 2027.
Both Farnsworth-Hutchings and Chilson are running unopposed for reelection.
Homer
The mayor’s seat and two city council seats are up for grabs this year in Homer.
The city council positions are for three-year terms, while the mayor’s position will be held for a two-year term.
For mayor, candidates Rachel Lord and Jim Anderson are running to replace Ken Castner, who is not seeking reelection.
Shelly Erickson, who’s served on Homer’s city council since 2018, and Donna Aderhold, who’s been on the council since 2015, are both running unopposed for reelection to the two open council seats.
Voters on the parts of the southern peninsula — including areas of Homer, Anchor Point, Kachemak and Fritz Creek — will also vote on a proposition asking voters in the South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area whether the borough should incur $38.5 million in debt by issuance of general obligation bonds to pay for the costs of renovation and expansion of parts of the South Peninsula Hospital campus.
During a town hall presentation by the borough and the hospital earlier this month, the features of the bond were described as “expansion of infusion clinic, moving the pharmacy to a new location in the hospital, adding nuclear medicine treatment, and purchasing three leased buildings,” per reporting by the Homer News.
The bond would be repaid over 20 years, with a described annual tax increase of around $67 per year for each $100,000 of assessed property value. A “yes” on the proposition would mean supporting the issuance of the bond.
Seward
There are two Seward City Council seats, both for three-year terms expiring in October 2027, up for election this year.
The incumbents are Vice Mayor John Osenga and council member Mike Calhoon. Both are seeking reelection, and there are also two challengers in John Howard and Casie Warner. Like Kenai, the top two vote-getters in the pool of four will take the seats.
Board of Education
There are three seats on the KPBSD Board of Education to be filled this election, all for three-year terms through October 2027.
Jeanne Reveal and Sarah Douthit both are running for the District 2 seat representing Kenai. That seat has been held since 2018 by Matt Morse, who is not seeking reelection.
Kelley Cizek is running unopposed for reelection to the District 5 seat representing Sterling. Tim Daugharty is running unopposed for reelection to the District 8 seat representing Homer.
Election day
Municipal election day is Oct. 1. Per the Kenai Peninsula Borough’s election calendar, certification of the results for Tuesday’s election is scheduled for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s Oct. 9 meeting. Each city will separately certify the results of their own elections.
Polling locations will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Kenai Peninsula Borough’s Cooper Landing, Fox River, Hope, Moose Pass, Seldovia/Kachemak Bay and Tyonek precincts are by-mail precincts and will not have a regular polling place open on election day. Voters in those districts are mailed a ballot prior to election day. A full list of voting precincts is included at the bottom of this story. Voting locations can also be found at myvoterinformation.alaska.gov.
More information about the candidates can be found at peninsulaclarion.com/tag/elections. Full recordings of a series of candidate forums for all the local races except for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly seats can be found at “Peninsula Clarion” on Facebook or listened to as “Kenai Conversation” podcasts at kdll.org or in podcast apps like Apple Podcast. More information about borough elections, including the 2024 voter pamphlet, can be found at kpb.us.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
Polling Locations
06-200 Anchor Point Anchor Point Senior Center, Mile .25, Milo Fritz Road, Anchor Point
08-035 Bear Creek Bear Creek Fire Station, Mile 5 Seward Highway, Seward
07-005 Central Soldotna Sports Center, 538 Arena Ave., Soldotna
06-210 Diamond Ridge Homer Chamber of Commerce, 201 Sterling Highway, Homer
08-045 Funny River No. 1 Funny River Community Center, 35850 Pioneer Access Road, Soldotna
08-050 Funny River No. 2 Soldotna Prep School, 426 W Redoubt Ave., Soldotna
06-230 Homer No. 1 Homer City Hall, 491 E. Pioneer Ave., Homer
06-240 Homer No. 2 Homer United Methodist Church, 770 East End Road, Homer
06-250 Kachemak/Fritz Creek Kachemak Community Center, 59906 Bear Creek Drive, Homer
06-260 Kasilof Kasilof Community Church, 51540 Mercantile Ave., Kasilof
07-010 K Beach Soldotna Sports Center, 538 Arena Ave, Soldotna
07-015 Kenai No. 1 Kenai Mall, 11312 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai
07-020 Kenai No. 2 Challenger Learning Center, 9711 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai
07-025 Kenai No. 3 Kenai Mall, 11312 Kenai Spur Highway, Kenai
08-060 Mackey Lake Soldotna Prep School, 426 W Redoubt Ave., Soldotna
08-070 Nikiski Nikiski Community Rec Center, 50097 Kenai Spur Highway, Nikiski
06-070 Ninilchik Ninilchik Community Center, 15763 Kingsley Road, Ninilchik
08-075 Salamatof Nikiski Community Rec Center, 50097 Kenai Spur Highway, Nikiski
05-865 Seward/Lowell Point Seward City Hall, 5th and Adams, Seward
07-030 Soldotna Soldotna Public Library, 235 N Binkley St., Soldotna
08-080 Sterling No. 1 Sterling Community Center, 38377 Swanson River Road, Sterling
08-085 Sterling No. 2 Sterling Community Center, 38377 Swanson River Road, Sterling
