With 11 candidates and 1 ballot proposition on property taxes, Sitkans will have a lot to think about when they head to the polls October 4. (Creative Commons photo)
The filing period for municipal elections closed at 5 PM Friday. And three more Sitkans filed for assembly just before the deadline, and there’s also another candidate for mayor.
Alexander Allison joined the race for Assembly. Allison has lived in Sitka since 1998 and previously served a term on the Port and Harbors Commission. Allison is a Language Arts teacher at Blatchley Middle School, who runs a charter tour company in the summer. As a former commercial fisherman, he says the biggest focus of his platform is the fishing fleet.
Alexander Allison teaches 7th grade in Sitka. (Sara Newhouse photo)
“We need this community to do a better job of supporting the commercial fleet in Sitka, which has long been our economic life blood instead of continually raising rates and fees. We need to give back. Sitka deserves the best haul-out facility in Southeast Alaska, I think. I also think there needs to be greater transparency and accountability in local government, from the finance department to the police department.”
Also filing Friday for assembly were Aaron Bean and Evy Kinnear.
Bean is a lifelong Sitkan and commercial fisherman. He was at sea Friday and unavailable for comment. Bean most recently has been in the news as an advocate for commercial marijuana regulation in Sitka. He’d like to cultivate and sell cannabis one day, and he’s been an active proponent of practical regulations, both locally and at the state level.
Evy Kinnear is co-director of the Fortress of the Bear, a non-profit wildlife habitat which she and her husband, Les, have built from scratch in Sitka’s Gary Paxton Industrial Park. She says that her interactions with city government haven’t always gone smoothly.
“And I had to go in front of the assembly a couple of times and I didn’t feel particularly heard, or that anybody reached out to find out what was really going on.”
Kinnear says she wants the assembly to be a place where citizens feel like they can be heard, and their concerns can be addressed.
Allison, Bean, and Kinnear bring the number of candidates for two open seats on the Sitka assembly to five. They’ll vie for the vacancies against another newcomer, Kevin Knox, and incumbent Aaron Swanson.
For the mayor race, Matthew Hunter, Ben Miyasato, and Gary Paxton are in the running. And now they’ve been joined by Mary Magnuson.
Magnuson is the co-owner of the Mean Queen, and no stranger to Sitka politics. She’s served on the now-defunct Long Range Planning and Economic Development Commission, and on the Citizen’s Task Force, and run unsuccessfully for mayor and for assembly.
Magnuson feels the stars are aligned for another try at public office.
“I finally have the time that I would need to devote to do a good job. My parents have passed. And my business is up and running and doesn’t require my constant attention. And I’m going to pay a great deal of sales tax to the city this year, and I’d like to be involved in how it’s spent.”
Current mayor Mim McConnell has served two terms, and will not seek reelection.
There were no late-comers in the race for Sitka’s lone vacancy on the school board. Incumbent Jennifer McNichol and Ed Gray will compete for that seat.
The municipal election in Sitka is Tuesday, October 4th.
