The Sitka Tribe of Alaska certified its election results last week for Tribal Council. Earlier this month, three incumbents who ran unopposed were re-elected, and one write-in candidate scored a seat.
Incumbent Martha Moses was the top vote earner, reclaiming her seat with 53 votes, followed closely by Lesa Way and Frederick Olsen Jr. Incumbent Harvey Kitka did not seek re-election this year. The open seat will be filled by write-in candidate Rachel Moreno, who previously served on the Council for eight years, and ran a close race for a seat on the Sitka Assembly this fall.
In a press release issued by STA, Tribal Chairman Lawrence ‘Woody’ Widmark said that low voter turnout isn’t uncommon when candidates run unopposed. “We weren’t surprised to see fewer voters get out to vote, we thank all our citizens that did vote,” he said.
The newly elected and re-elected Tribal Council members will be sworn in for their two year terms of service in early December.
