Kenai election results official with 24.9 percent voter turnout

The final results of Kenai’s Oct. 4 election confirm the unofficial preliminary results: Brian Gabriel beat Hal Smalley for the seat of Kenai mayor, and Jim Glendening and Glenese Pettey are new council members.

With Kenai’s 211 absentee votes counted, the results of the city’s Oct. 4 municipal election are official. After the three polling places in Kenai closed and votes were counted on Oct. 4, the mayor’s race between Smalley and Gabriel was the closest on the ballot. Gabriel, with 577 votes, led Smalley, who had 502.

When the absentee votes were counted, Smalley almost made up his lead on Gabriel by earning 72 additional votes, according to official results released in the Kenai City Council’s Wednesday meeting packet. Gabriel, however, had gained an extra 105 from the absentees. He won with a total of 682 votes to Smalley’s 574. Gabriel will serve a three-year term as mayor.

In the council race, the two choices of the poll voters were also the most popular among absentee voters. Glendening, who led the poll with 549 votes, won the most absentee votes with 94. Pettey was second in both poll and absentee votes, with 405 and 74 votes, respectively. Christine Hutchison, who placed third in the polls with 312 votes, came in fourth on the absentee ballots, with 35 votes. Bob McIntosh beat her among absentees with 38 votes, though he had 259 poll votes. The fifth candidate, Jason Floyd, received 214 poll votes and 19 absentee votes.

Kenai — with an estimated population of 7,661 according to the U.S Census Bureau — has 5,223 registered voters. Including absentees, 1,302 of them cast ballots at the Oct. 4 election for a turnout of 24.9 percent.

The three new Kenai officials will be sworn in to their new positions at the city council’s meeting Wednesday night.

Reach Ben Boettger at ben.boettger@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

The Kenai Peninsula College main entrance on Aug. 18, 2022, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Chiappone and Dunstan to speak at the KPC Showcase

Kenai Peninsula College continues its showcase with two new speakers this week and next

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, talks about issues of concern regarding the proposed merger of supermarket chains Kroger and Albertsons during a floor speech in the House chamber on Wednesday. (Screenshot from official U.S. House of Representatives video feed)
Begich leads in early results, but Alaska’s U.S. House race won’t be immediately decided

About 245,000 ballots had been counted by 11:32 p.m., and Peltola trailed by about 5 percentage points

The Alaska governor’s mansion on Wednesday. Gov. Mike Dunleavy is considered a contender for a post in Donald Trump’s second presidential administration. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Election summary: Trump wins, GOP takes over U.S. Senate, Alaska may get new governor

Begich and repeal of ranked choice voting narrowly lead; GOP may lose control of state House.

Nesbett Courthouse in downtown Anchorage on Oct. 7, 2024. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Voters line up at the polling site at Anchorage City Hall on Nov. 4, 2024. City Hall was one of the designated early voting sites in Alaska’s largest city. It is not a designated site for Election Day voting. (Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Republicans lose two seats in state House, increasing odds of leadership switch

Rural Alaska precincts had reported few results by 11:30 p.m. Tuesday night.

Donald Trump won or was leading as of Wednesday morning in all seven swing states in the 2024 presidential election. (Doug Mills / The New York Times)
Donald Trump returns to power, ushering in new era of uncertainty

He played on fears of immigrants and economic worries to defeat Vice President Kamala Harris.

A voter is handed as ballot at Woodworth School in Dearborn, Mich., on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. One of the most consequential presidential elections in the nation’s modern history is well underway, as voters flocked to churches, schools and community centers to shape the future of American democracy. (Nick Hagen/The New York Times)
Trump verges on victory, picking up Pennsylvania

Donald Trump has captured Pennsylvania, the biggest prize of the seven battleground… Continue reading

Signs and supporters line the Kenai Spur Highway in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Unofficial results for the 2024 general election

Preliminary, unofficial election results as of 9:55 p.m.

Poll worker Carol Louthan helps voters submit ballots at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Update: Bjorkman, Ruffridge, Elam and Vance lead in election night results

Several residents said that they came out to vote because they knew this election was “a big one.”

Most Read