It’s Election Day, folks!
Today’s the day to cast your ballot for candidates vying for seats on city councils, the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education, service area boards and the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and anyone in line to vote at 8 p.m. will be allowed to vote.
Where to vote
Precinct boundaries and polling places are determined by the Alaska Division of Elections. Voters can check their precinct online at myvoterinformation.alaska.gov.
A full list of voting locations by precinct name can be found on the Kenai Peninsula Borough website. New this year is the voting location for the Kasilof precinct. Voters in the Kasilof precinct will vote at the Kasilof Community Church on Mercantile Avenue.
Tuesday’s election will also be the first in which new voting equipment that complies with the Americans with Disabilities Act will be available.
Voting locations for central peninsula voters are as follows:
Precinct name, polling location
Central — Soldotna Sports Center, 538 Arena Drive
Funny River No. 1 — Funny River Community Center, 35850 Pioneer Access Road
Funny River No. 2 — Soldotna Prep School, 426 W. Redoubt Avenue
Kasilof — Kasilof Community Church, 51540 Mercantile Avenue
K Beach — Soldotna Sports Center, 538 Arena Drive
Kenai No. 1 — Kenai Mall, 11312 Kenai Spur Highway
Kenai No. 2 — Challenger Learning Center, 9711 Kenai Spur Highway
Kenai No. 3 — Kenai Mall, 11312 Kenai Spur Highway
Mackey Lake — Soldotna Prep School, 426 W. Redoubt Avenue
Nikiski — Nikiski Community Center, 50097 Kenai Spur Highway
Salamatof — Nikiski Community Center, 50097 Kenai Spur Highway
Soldotna — Soldotna Public Library, 235 N. Binkley Street
Sterling No. 1 — Sterling Community Center, 38377 Swanson River Road
Sterling No. 2 — Sterling Community Center, 38377 Swanson River Road
Who’s running
On the central peninsula, seats are open on Kenai and Soldotna city councils, as well as for local seats on the borough assembly and the board of education.
In Kenai, five people are running for two vacancies on the Kenai City Council. The top two vote-getters will win seats on the council. Candidates that will appear on the ballot for the vacancies are Victoria Askin, James Baisden, Alex Douthit, Jim Duffield and Deborah Sounart.
In Soldotna, five candidates are running for three designated seats on the Soldotna City Council. Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings is running unopposed for the council’s Seat A, to which she was appointed in December of 2020. Dan Nelson is running against Erick Hugarte for Seat B on the council. Hugarte was appointed to the seat earlier this year. Micah Shields is running against incumbent Jordan Chilson for Seat C on the council.
In Seward, four candidates are running for vacancies. The top two vote-getters will win seats on the council. Candidates that will appear on the ballot for the vacancies are Michael Calhoon, incumbent John Osenga, Leighton Radner and Randy Wells.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Kenai, Sterling/Funny River and Homer seats are up for grabs. Matt Morse is running unopposed for the board’s Kenai seat, Benjamin Miller is running against Jennifer Waller for the board’s Sterling/Funny River seat and Britny Bradshaw is running against Tim Daugharty for the board’s Homer seat.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly’s Kalifornsky, East Peninsula and South Peninsula Seats are up for grabs. Incumbent Brent Hibbert is running unopposed for the assembly’s Kalifornsky seat. Cindy Ecklund is running against incumbent Kenn Carpenter for the assembly’s east peninsula seat. Ashton Callahan, Dawson Slaughter and Mike Tupper are all running for the assembly’s south peninsula seat.
In-depth interviews with almost every city council, school board and assembly candidate can be found at peninsulaclarion.com/tag/elections.
Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.
