Early results from Wrangell’s municipal election are in. And even with more than two-dozen early ballots to be counted, the outcome of the one contested race is set. 

In the school board race, newcomer John DeRuyter leads incumbent school board member Esther Reese by 39 votes – DeRuyter has 115 votes, Reese trails with 76. There are not enough un-tabulated votes for Reese to overtake DeRuyter’s lead in the race. 

Reese has served on Wrangell’s school board since last year. DeRuyter has been a member of the schools’ Secondary Advisory Committee since 2021 and also serves on the borough’s Economic Development Board.

The other municipal races were uncontested to begin with. 

Current borough assembly member Anne Morrison will be re-elected with 159 votes. Newcomer Michael Ottesen will also gain a three-year term on the assembly, after securing 158 votes. 

In the Port Commission race, incumbent Port Commissioner Gary Morrison is set to serve another three-year term, with 180 votes so far.

There were a total of 192 ballots cast in-person in the 2023 Wrangell municipal election. It’s a more than 60% decrease from last year’s municipal election turnout.

These election results are unofficial, and will be certified after the canvass board and borough assembly meet on Thursday (October 5). The canvass board will count the more than 24 early ballots beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday. 

Eighteen (18) Wrangellites voted early in this year’s municipal election. And 15 voters had requested mail-in ballots by the deadline. As of Tuesday morning, six of the mail-in ballots had been received. That means the canvass board, which certifies the local election, will process at least 24 (and up to 33) ballots, between the early and mail-in ballots. 

That’s a steep drop from last year, when the combined number of early, mail-in and faxed ballots was over 100. 

10/3: This post has been updated to remove an unnecessary word and add a photo of the preliminary results from the ballot.

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

The post Unofficial results from Wrangell’s 2023 Municipal Election appeared first on KSTK.

Polls are open for Wrangell’s 2023 municipal election. 

Voters can cast ballots until 8 p.m. this evening at the Nolan Center. 

There are four local government seats up for election: two seats on the Borough Assembly (three-year terms); one seat on Wrangell’s school board (a three-year term); and one seat on the Port Commission (a three-year term). 

One race is contested: the race for the open school board seat. 

In the school board race, incumbent board member Aaltséen Esther Reese is running against challenger John DeRuyter. Read or listen to KSTK’s interview with the two candidates here. 

The other races on the municipal ballot are uncontested. 

Current assembly member Anne Morrison is running for re-election. Newcomer Michael Ottesen is running for the other open seat on the borough assembly. KSTK’s interviews with the assembly candidates can be found here.

The port commission race is also uncontested. Incumbent port commissioner Gary Morrison is running for re-election. Find an interview with Morrison on his bid for re-election here.

There are no local ballot measures this year. 

Anyone not voting in person who requested an absentee by-mail ballot must have it postmarked by today, October 3. 

KSTK expects to receive unofficial election results shortly after the polls close at 8 p.m. on October 3. Wrangell’s 2023 municipal election will be certified by the canvass board and certified by the borough assembly on October 5. 

10/3: This article has been updated to correct the date the election will be certified by the borough assembly.

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

The post Polls are open: Wrangell 2023 municipal election info appeared first on KSTK.

There are two seats up for election on the City and Borough of Wrangell’s governing body this fall, and two unopposed candidates for those seats: incumbent assembly member Anne Morrison and assembly newcomer Michael Ottesen.

KSTK sat down with Anne Morrison to talk about why she’s running again and what issues she hopes to focus on in the coming years. (Scroll down for KSTK’s interview with Mike Ottesen.)

TRANSCRIPT (lightly edited for flow and reading ease): 

ANNE MORRISON: My name is Anne Morrison and I’m running for my current position as an assembly member. I’m retired, retired from several different positions through the years.

KSTK (Sage Smiley): Other than being on the Wrangell Assembly, do you have other previous government experience?

MORRISON: Yes, I worked in the governor’s office here in Alaska, I worked in the Division of Elections. And I worked in the White House under the [Ronald] Reagan administration.

KSTK: So what makes you want to run for reelection to the borough assembly?

MORRISON: There are so many things that are in the works, and I would like to see them completed or at least pushed along. And it’s a very good assembly right now,  I think it’s very progressive. We all seem to have a very cohesive view of what needs to be done. So that’s why.

KSTK: What issues do you find motivating? What sorts of things do you look at that you have the opportunity to engage in on the borough assembly and you think: ‘Oh, this is really what it’s about, for me’?

MORRISON: Getting projects completed. For instance, the pool, I mean, that’s been in the works for years, and we’re finally getting it re-sided and it’s gonna look fantastic. There are so many things – our water system, we’re finally getting a new water plant in, if we get all the funding that we need. There’s a myriad of things. The [Mt.] Dewey trail, Inner Harbor repairs, it goes on and on and on. School funding, the Public Safety Building which is a huge, huge issue, just our school building maintenance. But then I see some really positive things like the Nolan center – the storage building was sinking. And it’s been fixed. So we are doing due diligence, we are doing maintenance on our buildings, which has been – with any small Alaska town, maintenance is just bumped down until the next assembly comes on. And this assembly, thank goodness, has taken the bull by the horns and said ‘No, we’re not going to do that anymore.’

KSTK: Related question: What do you see as some of the biggest issues facing Wrangell in the coming years? Of course, there are many, any town – especially a small town – is dealing with a lot of big issues. But what in your view as a current assembly member and in running for assembly do you see as some major issues facing Wrangell in the coming years?

MORRISON: I wouldn’t call it an issue, but tourism. Because they are going to come. I think we need to be able to control that. We do not want to become like Skagway or Sitka – I was in Sitka when there were 7,000 people there off the boats, and the population is 8,000. So myself, I don’t think we want that kind of tourism. But we definitely want tourism because it’s a huge boost to our economy. One of the big things that’s going to be facing us with this Alder Top [Village] subdivision coming on is city services [like] water. Our water pipes or water lines out the road are too small, all our water lines and town all have to be replaced. They’re all 50, 60 years old, and they are corroded, as we all know, whenever there’s a burst. School funding is a huge issue. But that’s on a state level, the assembly has funded the school to the max that’s allowed us to do by law. Our inner harbor – if you’ve been down there lately, needs to be repaired. Then, of course, we have the Six Mile site, which is a huge opportunity for us, and I think that will come to fruition. We have our secondary sewer treatment plant, which we may have to put in – an unfunded mandate. We just love them. And then the thing I think that folks really have to realize that we have all of these projects going, but I would say 95% of the projects that we have going on in Wrangell are funded by grants – grant money comes either from the feds or the state. It comes with many, many, many rules and regulations, and they all have to be administered. Writing grants takes hours and hours and hours of time. So yes, there is a lot of money out there right now through the infrastructure bill, but it’s all competitive. And we have to compete for it. And the grants have to be written.

KSTK: In your time on the Wrangell Assembly – How long have you been on the assembly? 

MORRISON: Five years. 

KSTK: Five years, okay. So in your time on the Wrangell Assembly, what do you feel is your most important function as an assembly member?

MORRISON: Listening. Simply listening, and then making a decision based on what’s the most good for the most people and trying to keep the government functioning.

KSTK: What makes you a good candidate for assembly? Why should someone vote for you?

MORRISON: I think I’m a fair person. And I think I’m easy to talk to. And I think I can see both sides of an issue and hopefully make a good judgment.

KSTK: Is there anything else we haven’t touched on that you want to add about your candidacy for Borough Assembly?

MORRISON: It’s a very time-consuming job. And I very much appreciate the people who come to me and say: ‘We appreciate you spending your time on the assembly.’

KSTK: Thank you for your time so far, and good luck in this race. 

MORRISON: Thank you.

The other candidate for borough assembly is newcomer Michael Ottesen. Here’s KSTK’s conversation with the first-time assembly candidate.

TRANSCRIPT (lightly edited for flow and reading ease): 

MICHAEL OTTESEN: I’m Mike Ottesen, some people know me by Mikey Ottesen. I work for Alaska Vistas as a captain and guide. I’ve been driving jet boats and tours for just about nine years now. I’m running for assembly. For me, running for assembly – it’s kind of a way to give back to a community that’s given a lot to me. Growing up here, playing sports and fundraising and selling tickets to everybody in town, and just kind of getting a better understanding for how the city works, and kind of getting some younger engagement going on in the city, I think could be a good thing for the long-term, and future of the city.

KSTK: Totally. Are there any specific borough issues that you think are important or that are really motivating you to run other than getting that local engagement and giving back?

OTTESEN: As far as issues – I mean, everybody knows the water plant, right? I don’t really have anything that’s higher than others, just kind of an overall thing. Maybe getting Wrangell kind of a fresh, new look at things and how we’re doing things, kind of focusing on industry. Obviously, I work in tourism. And I think tourism can really benefit Wrangell, in the long-term kind of taking that role as we lost logging, to bring in to a bigger industry in tourism.

KSTK: So that leads pretty well into my next question, which is: What do you see as some big issues or things that Wrangell is going to have to face in the next few years that the assembly might be able to help with, that you might be able to help with, in your position on the assembly?

OTTESEN: I’m sure a lot of people have seen the new cruise ship schedules coming out for ‘24 and ‘25. And we’re seeing a lot of bigger ships, 2,500- to 3,000-passenger ships getting into our schedule. And I know a lot of people don’t want to turn into Juneau or Ketchikan. And I think the best way to deal with that is to look at it closely, and kind of decide what’s best for Wrangell, and what could benefit Wrangell financially, kind of increase our cash flow into the city.

KSTK: In thinking about being an assembly member – you’re running unopposed, so you’ll be on the assembly unless someone runs a crazy write-in campaign we don’t really expect. So. You’ll be on the assembly. What do you think will be your most important function as an assembly member? What is your philosophy of being a member of Wrangell’s assembly?

OTTESEN: I think, for me, it’s just being young and being able to look at things through a different lens, and kind of looking at things that are kind of a lot farther out than what we’re looking at right now. Because I’m planning on living here for the rest of my life. So I would really like to see the city and the citizens of this town benefit in the long-term. And kind of bring, like I said earlier, bring some of that younger generation into the city, and kind of get more engagement from our younger generation.

KSTK: Do you have previous government experience? Have you served on any other type of government board before?

OTTESEN: I have not – this will all be brand new for me, this will all be a big learning curve for me. I’m a quick learner. So hopefully, kind of getting in and learning the things and getting things turned over quickly, I think will benefit me and the city greatly. It is a three-year seat, so I should learn a lot.

KSTK: Last question. What makes you a good candidate? Why should someone vote for you for borough assembly?

OTTESEN: Oh, that’s, that’s a tough one. I don’t like to brag. I guess you could say just me being younger and growing up in this town and have kind of seen what’s gone on in the town and how things could be done differently. And me planning on being here for the rest of my life and working in this town, I think is a good reason.

KSTK: Good luck! Thank you for taking some time today.

OTTESEN: No problem. Thank you.

Wrangell’s municipal election is scheduled for Tuesday, October 3. 

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

The post LISTEN: Interviews with Wrangell Borough Assembly candidates appeared first on KSTK.

There’s one seat on Wrangell’s Port Commission on the municipal ballot this year. And incumbent Port Commissioner Gary Morrison is running for re-election, unopposed. 

KSTK sat down with Morrison to hear about why he’s seeking another term and what he sees coming down the pike for Wrangell’s ports and harbors. 

Wrangell’s local election is scheduled for October 3.

FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW (lightly edited for clarity and reading flow):

GARY MORRISON: [I’m] Gary Morrison. We’ve lived here in Wrangell for about 14 years. I’m a retiree. I worked 38 years for the U.S. Forest Service, most of that in Alaska, a good share of that in Juneau and Sitka. After retiring from the Forest Service, I was the state parks director in Anchorage, did that for a couple of years, and then retired here in Wrangell. So all I do is have fun.

KSTK (Sage Smiley): And how about your previous government experience? Have you been on the Port Commission before?

MORRISON: Yeah, I started on the Port Commission here in 2016. And been on it ever since. This will be my fourth time running. These last two times, one of the main reasons I’ve run is I waited till the last day to register and nobody else did. So I thought, ‘Well, somebody needs to be on the Port Commission.’ So I would go ahead and do it again for another three years.

KSTK: That speaks a little bit to my next question. But if you could elaborate, that would be great: What makes you want to be on the Port Commission – what makes you want to run for reelection?

MORRISON: Well, I’m a boater, and I’m very interested in our harbors and the facilities that we have for everyone. And I want to keep the cost down. And I want to keep the maintenance and service up. And there are a number of items going on with the harbors that I’d like to help follow through and see them get done. One is: currently, we’re looking at getting security cameras installed at all of the harbors and in the boatyard. And I think that’s going to be very important. And that’s coming up soon, and I want to do anything I can to help that follow through. And then another big one is when Heritage Harbor was built, for some reason, they did not install any anodes or anything to prevent corrosion of the pilings, and they’re now starting to corrode and we’ve got to get something on them or their life is going to be real short. So we need to get a contract out to put zincs on all of the pilings. And that’s going to be very expensive, probably going to cost over a million dollars to do that. Those are two things that are really important to the harbor. And then there’s some things I’d like to see get done as well that we either don’t have the money for or haven’t had the opportunity yet to deal with. And one is the idea of having a second boat ramp at Heritage Harbor, so that two boats can be getting in or out at the same time. There’s often times when it’s a crowd down there with boats trying to get in or out or some going each way. And it’d be nice if we had a second one. Obviously, there’s no money for that. So we have to keep watching for where there might be a grant that could help us do that. And at the same time the boat launch down at Shoemaker is in real need of repair. The lower part of that is very rough to get in; the space between the concrete slabs is getting big and the ramp doesn’t go out far enough on a low tide for you to launch your boat without going off the end of it and then damaging your trailer when you try to get back out. So that’s really important, too. So there’s those kinds of things that I think I’d like to see follow-up on. And actually on the commission itself, we’ve talked about it, and I guess we’ve talked around it, and that is figuring out some way that all the boats in the harbor would have some sort of insurance so that if one of them sinks and there’s clean up and there’s issues, that it doesn’t fall back on the city. And that has happened. It’s happened in a big way in some other towns in Ketchikan and Juneau. And it’d be nice if we could figure out a way to get everyone insured so that the taxpayers here in Wrangell don’t have to foot the bill if someone’s boat sinks. So I think those are important things.

KSTK: Absolutely. So this might tie in a little bit to all of those issues that you’ve talked about. But what do you see as the biggest issue – or maybe couple of issues – facing Wrangell’s port and harbors in the coming years? What’s coming down the pike that might really have a significant impact on the community relating to the port and harbors?

MORRISON: Well, I don’t see any problems in the near future. It’s just a matter of us making sure that the rates are such that we can continue to do the job that the harbor people are doing now, which is a very good job. And make sure that that can continue and adjust our rates to make that happen without overcharging people but having enough to where we can get along, and making sure that the rates in the boatyard are such that we can maintain the lifts in the various equipment that is down there so that we can continue to provide that excellent service one of the best and Alaska. So we want to see that continue.

KSTK: What is the function of the Port Commission within this broader system of borough government? How does that support the running of Wrangell, basically?

MORRISON: Well, a number of things that come up in Wrangell have to be addressed at the Port Commission. For example, if someone wants to lease tidelands that the city owns, that goes through the Port Commission for our recommendation. If someone wants to buy tidelands that the city owns, that comes through us to get our position on it before it goes to the assembly. I guess those are the main things that happen that the Port Commission is involved in. We set the rates for the slips in the harbors, we set the rates for licensing boat trailers and set the rates for the people that are in the boatyard with their boats getting repaired. So those are some of the main things that we deal with on a regular basis. And then everything we try to do is to support the Harbormaster, and the people that work there and their work.

KSTK: Is there something you’re most proud of in your time on the Port Commission so far that the Port Commission has been able to accomplish or see through or work on?

MORRISON: Well, I guess, yeah, the most important one, the time that I’ve been on there is the redevelopment of the Shoemaker Harbor that has happened since I’ve been on the commission. And then there have been improvements to the boatyard, a new bigger lift, and being able to handle bigger boats and additional improvements in the boatyard that helps the economy of Wrangell.

KSTK: What makes you a good candidate for the Port Commission?

MORRISON: I’ve got time (laughs).

KSTK: So is that why someone should vote for you: because you’ve got time?

MORRISON: Well, I don’t know why someone should vote for me other than they’d have to write someone in. There’s no one else on the ballot. And I think I’m doing a service to the community and I just want to continue to do that. 

KSTK: Is there anything else you’d want to add? 

MORRISON: There’s little things that we could do to improve our harbors here. And I’m always open to suggestions that people have that I can take to the Port Commission and take to the Harbormaster to try to improve things. Maybe a good little example might be the safety ladders that are in all of the harbors. I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed but most of them have got a lot of stuff growing on the bottom of them. And they really aren’t that safe to use as a safety feature to get out of the water. And over time, it would be nice to be able to take those out one at a time and clean them and put bottom paint on them, so they might not grow some of the things that are grown on him now and they would be safer as a safety feature. And it’s just those little things that need to be done in the harbor all the time that like to assist the Harbormaster in accomplishing.

KSTK: Totally. Thanks for your time today, and letting people get to know you as a candidate for Port Commission. Really appreciate it. 

MORRISON: Thank you. 

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

The post LISTEN: Port Commissioner Gary Morrison on his run for re-election appeared first on KSTK.

Wrangell’s municipal election is set for next Tuesday (October 3). 

There will be one contested race on the ballot: there are two candidates running for the one open seat on Wrangell’s School Board.

Incumbent school board member Esther Reese (Aaltséen) is running for re-election. Challenger John DeRuyter is also running for the seat.

KSTK’s Sage Smiley sat down with the two candidates to hear about the issues that they find motivating and what they think are some of the biggest issues facing the school district in the coming years.  

FULL TRANSCRIPT BELOW (lightly edited for clarity and reading flow):

KSTK (Sage Smiley): First of all, we’re going to start out – I’m just going to ask you to introduce yourself and what you do in town and what position you’re running for. So maybe we’ll start with Esther.

ESTHER REESE: Okay. So my name is Esther Reese, and I am the tribal administrator for the Wrangell Cooperative Association, and we represent the 895 tribal citizens for the Shtaxheen Kwan. I also serve as the president of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission. And I am the chair of the IEA committee within the schools, and I am running for the one seat that’s open for the school board. 

KSTK: John?

JOHN DERUYTER: My name is John DeRuyter. And I like to say that I’m retired, but that really isn’t all the way true. I’ve been a clinical psychologist for the last 25 years. And I still have some patients that – we just can’t get rid of each other, I guess. I’m going into my third year on the Secondary Advisory Committee. I chaired it last year, and so far, I’m doing the same thing now. I also have been appointed to the Economic Development Board. And I volunteer at Parks & Rec and a bunch of things like that. And I find that I’m way more busy, retired than I ever was not retired.

KSTK: And you’re also running for school board.

DERUYTER: I am running for school board as well.

KSTK: So Esther, you’re a member of the school board right now. And John, you’re running for school board. What motivates you to want to run for school board? And I’ll follow up with the same question for you afterward, Esther.

DERUYTER: Sitting on the Secondary Advisory Committee, what I was aware of – or became aware of is an awful lot of community interest in being involved in the school district and the school system in a variety of different ways. And it seemed that their concern, or their observation was very hard to be heard to be involved, to be a part of it. I know how to get the community involved. And that was the initial motivation. 

KSTK: What motivates you to want to run for reelection, Esther?

REESE: Well, I have had two children in the school system, my son has now graduated, and I have a daughter who is a freshman. And so I have been a part of the schools the whole time, [since] they were in elementary school, middle school, and now high school. And so I’m very motivated to do things for our children, not just my children, but the children in our community. I’ve served [on the school board] for a year and feel like I have that experience that is beneficial, and was able to go and do the trainings for the new school board members. There’s a lot that goes into it, and I really enjoyed it and appreciated the opportunity to serve our community in that way. My motivation when I initially ran, and my continued motivation, is to make sure that we have collaboration between all of the entities in the community. So I really wanted to be able to connect the tribe and what the tribe was doing with the school system – and have experiences working with the tribal, state and federal entities – so just wanted to be able to bring some of that together with collaboration and feel like I’ve done a good job of that in the school board meetings, and just in general, making sure that the schools and the tribe came together, which I know is going to be important in the future with all sorts of things budgets, and different educational opportunities and things of that sort. It just felt really good to be able to do that for the last year. And I’m interested in continuing. 

KSTK: The school board – and schools, and students, and teachers and everyone in the community – are facing a lot of really pressing issues. There’s a lot of inflation, this is a very hard time for a lot of organizations. What do you see as the biggest issue or maybe couple of issues that are facing Wrangell’s school system and school district and students in the coming years? Can we start with you, Esther?

REESE: Sure, yeah. Well, I know everyone’s aware that the budget is going to be needing a lot of attention. And there’s a look at consolidating the schools. So you know, some really good hard planning and looking like I had said at collaboration with different entities. For example, the tribe has opportunities for grants that other institutions don’t necessarily have. And so being able to do some of that collaboration on some of those hard things that we have to look at, like the budget. In the past, another issue that the school had faced was administration not retaining administration. And I’m really happy that we have some new administrators. And I’m very hopeful, because of just their history, that we will be retaining those people into the far future because, you know, really excited about the team that we have in place.

KSTK: How about you, John?

DERUYTER: I absolutely agree: budget is a huge issue facing us, it really is, in my perception of it – I don’t have access to the numbers like Esther does. But what I’ve been watching is things just just scraping by on so many levels. And because I’m on the economic development board now, one of the possible solutions to this is to really start building the Wrangell economy, so the funds are available to support the school system on a higher level. We’re working on a number of levels with that, most specifically, the deepwater port out at Six Mile. And then of course, there’s the Alder Top [Village] subdivision that’s going in. And those all have the potential to create more tax income for us, which then can be shared with the school system.

KSTK: So that really segues pretty well into the next question I wanted to ask, which is about kind of the converse, and you’ve both mentioned some solutions to this – but what are the solutions, if you can see any right now to these big problems that the school district is facing? We’ll start with you, John.

DERUYTER: You know what, I wish I had a magic wand. Don’t have one of those. I don’t know that there is any particular solution that I would say: ‘This will do it.’ It’s just not possible to go there, in my mind. It’s a community effort, the community needs to see and acknowledge what’s going on and why it is important. And then step into it together. We are a community. There’s not a piece here in a piece there and a piece over there. And we need to act together to make it work. So I can’t give you: ‘This is going to do it.’

KSTK: That’s fair. How about you, Esther, what’s your take?

REESE: Yeah, I absolutely agree, we are going to have to solve this all together. It’s going to have to be collaboration, it’s going to have to be the city and the schools and the tribe and all of the different entities coming together to try to fix the budget. And the good news is we have a little bit of time to do that. And it’s wonderful that we have some very capable people at the city working on this with the school system and the tribe’s involvement. And I mean, we’re a community that has faced challenges in the past and have overcome them. And I’m very hopeful that with all of these wonderful people in place, that we can do exactly the same thing. Because I mean, like I had said, our children are just so important. And education in our community is so important. And collaboration, I think is how we’re going to have to get through this.

KSTK: In your – Oh, sorry.

DERUYTER: – Yes, you’re right. Sorry, I had to say it out loud.

KSTK: No worries. So in your time, either on the school board or on the Secondary Advisory Committee so far, is there an accomplishment or some project that you are most proud of that you’ve been involved with? We’ll start with you, Esther.

REESE: It’s only been a year. But I really feel like in my time, I’ve been able to build some of those bridges between some of these some of these entities, you know, and all the school board meetings, I have fun doing the report afterwards, like: ‘Hey, the Hokulea is coming in.’ ‘Let’s remind everyone that these opportunities are happening.’ ‘This is what the tribe is doing.’ And so I’ve felt really good about being able to, to bring some of what the tribal government is doing in with the school system, and so feel really good about that. The other great thing is we’ve got some great new teachers. I was on the curriculum committee, and so we chose some really great math curriculum. I just feel like during that time, being able to build some of those bridges and also just being supportive of the administration.

KSTK: How about you, John?

DERUYTER: When I joined the Secondary Advisory Committee two years ago, the coming up of three now, there were four members. Last year I took over as chair and by the end of the year, we had nine people coming. There’s people involved, anxious to participate in what we were doing. And around the middle of last year, what we did is go back and look very carefully at our charter. Are we following this, are we accomplishing those things that were called to accomplish? And we readjusted a bunch of stuff. And we’ve been, from my perspective, way more successful, moving suggestions and concerns up the ladder.

KSTK: Thank you both for sharing. So my final question is one related to this election, which is: There’s one school board seat. This doesn’t have to be adversarial. But what makes you a good candidate for the school board seat? Why should someone vote for you? We’ll start with you, John.

DERUYTER: Goes back a long way. I went to high school at a school just about this is just a little bit bigger than this one. I know the dynamics. I know how it works, the very different context. But I know what little schools are about. I have been very successful in Alaska, running a number of different businesses. I know how finances work, I know how that all fits together successfully. I bring a lot of experience to the table, not from a school board perspective. But from a management perspective, from a business perspective, from an economic development perspective. Those are all things that are valuable when you’re managing a school district. And that’s why I’m running.

KSTK: How about you, Esther?

REESE: Well, first off, I’d like to say that I’m happy to be running against someone – I was unopposed last year. (laughter) So it’s nice to have interest in serving on the school board. As far as what I feel like I would bring to the table – I’ve been a community member of Wrangell for I think it’s 20 years now. And so I’m intimately familiar with the community, with the school system. I’ve had two of my kiddos in the school system. My background: I worked as a financial advisor and business manager for a brokerage firm prior to coming to Wrangell, and I now manage the tribe as the tribal administrator. So I have a lot of experience with grants and budgets and finances in general. I also feel like I’m just extremely passionate about our community, and the health of our community, and making sure that our kids here have everything they need, even though we are a small community. I also have some experience having served [on the school board] for a year and have a little bit of the knowledge of exactly what it means to be on the school board and be a functioning school board member. And so I think all of those things come into play. And then also just my desire to have a lot of collaboration between the tribe in the school system in the city. I think those are some of the ways that I could serve in this seat if elected.

KSTK: Thank you both very much, and good luck to both of you in this race.

REESE: Thank you!

DERUYTER: Yeah, thank you very much.

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

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It’s Election Day, and voting is open at the Nolan Center until 8:00 p.m. tonight. 

On the ballot, voters will rank candidates for the U.S. House, U.S. Senate, and Governor / Lt. Governor, as well as candidates for state House and Senate. 

After the 2020 Census, Wrangell’s state House and Senate Districts have shifted slightly. Wrangell is now in Alaska State House District One and Senate District A. 

This General Election will be decided by ranked-choice voting: If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote after the “1st choice” votes are counted, the “2nd choice” votes of the lowest candidate will be redistributed to the remaining candidates. That process will continue until a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote. 

Alaska voters approved the new voting system two years ago after passing Ballot Measure 2. This is the first General Election to be decided by ranked-choice. 

Voters will also weigh in on whether judges throughout the region may retain their positions for years to come, and vote on whether Alaska should hold a constitutional convention. 

Voters should bring a valid form of identification with them to the Nolan Center if voting in-person. That can include a voter ID card, driver’s license, passport, hunting or fishing license. Find a full list of acceptable identification at elections.alaska.gov. 

Anyone with an absentee ballot for today’s election must have it postmarked by today, November 8.

The state Division of Elections aims to certify today’s election on or before November 29.

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

The post Happy Election Day 2022! Here’s Wrangell voting info. appeared first on KSTK.

Wrangell’s final election results show incumbent Vice-Mayor Patty Gilbert has been elected as mayor, beating out opponent Terry Courson by 87 votes. And a bond proposal for an $8.5 million renovation of the community’s Public Safety Building has failed, after receiving 324 votes in opposition and 259 for the measure.

The mayoral race and outcome of Proposition 2 were the two items still up in the air after in-person voting closed Tuesday evening (October 4). 

Wrangell’s canvass board processed the remaining 104 ballots cast in this year’s municipal election in the borough assembly chambers Thursday afternoon (October 6). That included 88 early ballots, 15 by-mail ballots, and 1 special needs ballot. There were no questioned ballots for this election. 

Wrangell’s assembly approved and certified the election results later the same evening (October 6), making the results official. 

Final election results didn’t result in any major shifts in the preliminary outcomes. 

While Prop. 2 failed to pass muster with voters, the other two ballot measures passed. Voters approved a $3.5 million bond for Wrangell’s Public Schools (Prop. 1) and gave permission for the City and Borough of Wrangell to sell or lease the old mill property at 6-Mile Zimovia Highway (Prop 3). 

Incumbent assembly member Dave Powell and Chamber of Commerce Director Brittani Robbins will both gain three-year terms on Wrangell’s borough assembly. Their opponent, WCA CARES Act Coordinator Alex Angerman, trailed by more than 150 votes. 

All three candidates for school board ran unopposed. Current board president David Wilson and IGA office worker Elizabeth Rountree have both been elected for three-year terms to the school board. Tribal administrator Esther Ashton has been elected to a one-year term on the board. 

Teacher Winston Davies has been elected to his first term on the port commission, and incumbent commissioner John Yeager will serve another three-year term as well. Yeager received the most votes out of any municipal candidate: 517. 

Turnout in this municipal election was 31% – 601 ballots – of the borough’s 1,979 registered voters, according to Wrangell’s borough clerk. That’s about 6% higher than turnout for last year’s municipal election, and 8% higher than 2020 participation. 

There was also about a 14% increase in early and mail-in voters for this year’s municipal election compared to last year. 

The candidate-elects will be officially considered elected after they take an oath of office, which can be done any time now that the borough assembly has certified the election. Terms of office begin at the next meeting: Monday for the school board and port commission, Tuesday for the Borough Assembly.

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

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Early results from Wrangell’s municipal election are in. But with more than 100 early and questioned ballots still to be counted, the race for borough mayor and the outcome of one ballot proposition are still too close to call. 

In the borough mayoral race, incumbent Vice-Mayor Patty Gilbert leads challenger Terry Courson by 56 votes. Gilbert has 275 votes, Courson trails with 219. Gilbert has sat on Wrangell’s assembly since 2016. Courson served on the assembly between 2020 and 2021. 

The “No” votes lead for Proposition 2, an $8.5 million bond to fund critical renovations to Wrangell’s Public Safety Building, but the measure is also too close to call. Prop. 2 has 207 votes for, and 275 against. 

Other races have wide enough margins to call or were uncontested to begin with. 

Unofficial results show incumbent borough assembly member Dave Powell is set to win re-election, with 345 votes. Chamber of Commerce Director Brittani Robbins is in second with 320, and is poised to gain an assembly seat as well. Tribal CARES Act Coordinator Alex Angerman trails with 176 votes, too far behind to catch up. 

Proposition 1, a $3.5 million bond for a major maintenance project in the public schools, is set to pass, with 141 more “Yes” votes than “No” votes. That’s 311 “Yes” to 170 “No.”

Proposition 3, which gives the City and Borough of Wrangell permission to sell or lease the 6-Mile mill property, is also on track to pass, with 393 “Yes” votes and 90 votes in opposition. 

Races for school board and port commission seats were uncontested. 

Current school board president David Wilson will be re-elected, with 387 votes. Newcomer Elizabeth Rountree will also gain a three-year term on the school board, after securing 357 votes. 

And Tribal Administrator Esther Ashton will fill a one-year term on Wrangell’s school board as well, receiving 405 votes. 

In the Port Commission race, incumbent Port Commissioner John Yeager is set for re-election with 422 votes. Teacher and fisherman Winston Davies will also sit on the commission, receiving 388 votes so far. 

A total of 497 ballots were cast in-person Tuesday (October 4), about a 24% increase in election day ballots cast compared to last year. 

These election results are unofficial, and will be certified after the canvass board and borough assembly meet on Thursday (October 6). The canvass board will count the more than 100 early and questioned ballots beginning at 1 p.m. Thursday. 

Eighty-eight (88) Wrangellites voted early in this year’s municipal election. Twenty (20) had requested mail-in ballots by the deadline. As of Monday evening, 15 of the mail-in ballots had been received. That means the canvass board will process at least 103 ballots, between the early and mail-in ballots. 

That’s an uptick from last year, when the combined number of early, mail-in and faxed ballots was just over 90.

View the preliminary election results below:

10/4: This article has been updated to clarify language and add images of the preliminary election results.

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

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Wrangell voters are being asked to consider bond propositions for the first time in over a decade, and weigh in on a major land sale. At a town meeting last Wednesday (September 28), members of the community came with questions. 

On October 4, Wrangell residents will cast their votes on local candidates, as well as three ballot measures. Wrangell residents got a chance to listen to presentations from borough and school district officials on the ballot measures and ask questions at a town hall on September 28.

Proposition 3 asks the voters whether or not they approve of the sale or lease of Wrangell’s former lumber mill site, which the borough purchased for $2.5 million earlier this year. The borough charter states that any land sale over $1 million must be approved by voters. 

Borough Manager Jeff Good explained that there isn’t a plan yet for what might be done with the property – voters wouldn’t be approving sale or lease to a specific entity. But it lets the borough start developing an economic plan for the site. 

“No decisions have been made at all as far as what that property is going to be used for,” Good told Town Hall attendees. “The whole goal is – it’s the people’s property. So the whole goal of that, the economic development discussion, is to figure out what the best use is going to be long-term for the property and for the City and Borough of Wrangell.”

The other two ballot measures are bond proposals, where the borough would take on debt to fund major infrastructure projects in town. 

Borough Finance Director Mason Villarma says it’s been more than a decade since the borough last took on General Obligation bond debt – that was back in 2010, to fund a school playground. 

“The biggest thing is that this isn’t some big pitch,” Villarma introduced the discussion. “It’s not promotional – I don’t want to be known as the bond guy. I’m not the bond guy. This is just an informative discussion. If I was known as the bond guy, that might be a tough sell at the grocery store. I’m here to just offer the information and give you guys the tools you guys need to vote. We’re presenting a solution, and you guys get to decide if it’s really the right one.”

Much of Wrangell’s public infrastructure was built in the same time period, in the mid-1980s. Some previous borough assemblies deferred building maintenance, so now roofing, siding and other integral structural components of the buildings are beginning to crumble. Borough officials say the community needs to take on some debt to make the necessary repairs. 

Proposition 1 would take out $3.5 million of debt to fund repairs to Wrangell’s schools. 

“The main basis for it is we’re trying to protect the interior of the school,” Good explained, “So that – and the siding needs to be done, the roof needs to be done. So we’re trying to protect the inside of that building [with those repairs].”

School district officials say that the $3.5 million from Prop. 1 would be used to try and leverage an additional $6.5 million in state funding through an educational maintenance grant program (the DEED CIP major maintenance fund). 

District maintenance director Josh Blatchley says the district has secured multiple grants from the program in the past, beginning in the 1990s, and most recently in 2006. 

“Roughly every 10 years, we have been able to obtain some money and put it into the schools,” Blatchley told voters, “And I think what we’ve done – or been able to accomplish – by getting those grants and putting some money into the schools is the schools are in a little bit better shape than the Public Safety Building. That was built at the same time, but we have been doing maintenance on them throughout, but they are still old buildings.”

Taking out the bond debt for Prop. 1 wouldn’t come at a cost to property taxpayers – borough and school officials say they’d be able to cover the debt payments through a fund called Secure Rural Schools, which gets its money from federal forest receipts. 

But the other bond proposition might come at some cost to Wrangell property-owners. Proposition 2 would take on $8.5 million of debt for Phase One renovations to the community’s Public Safety Building. Borough Manager Good explained that the 37-year-old PSB needs many of the same repairs as the schools – new roof, new siding.

“The siding is so gone, it’s actually starting to do damage to the interior of the building itself,” Good said, “So some of the walls we’ve had to actually go up and shore up in the past – there’s rot on the inside.”

While the interest rate on a potential bond isn’t set in stone yet, borough officials like Villarma estimate that the debt service would be around $627,000 annually, if they obtain the expected interest rate of around 4%. 

Wrangell resident Joan Sargent asked what the impact of that debt service might look like to taxpayers. 

“As the public,” Sargent said, “People looking at ‘Okay, we’re in huge inflation,’ go buy a gallon of milk, okay? And so we’re all thinking, ‘Okay, what’s our bottom line going to be if we vote for this, at home?’”

Villarma answered that the borough currently estimates that Prop. 2 would require an 8.5% increase to local property taxes – a total of $151,000 annually: “So whatever your property tax bill is, you can probably guess that that’s what it’s going to be.”

That wouldn’t cover the full debt service, but the borough plans to offset the cost to taxpayers by using other funding sources to assist with payments, like the local Permanent Fund and a jail contract with the State of Alaska.

One problem is that the borough is currently in the middle of having all of the properties in town reassessed. That might result in much higher assessed values for some properties – borough officials say some areas of town haven’t been assessed in a decade or more. 

But Villarma emphasized that the assessed value of a property and the mill rate – or the rate a property is taxed per $100 of assessed value – are independent variables. The borough isn’t going to ask taxpayers to double their payments, even if their house doubled in assessed value, he said. 

“The assembly’s got to stay committed to saying ‘We’re not going to overcharge the public for these two debt services,’” Villarma said, “So essentially, this is what we need, we need eight and a half percent to be able to meet our obligations in the future, comfortably and sustainably.”

Wrangell resident Andrew Hoyt wondered if property taxes are set in stone as the sole way to pay back a bond. 

“Is increasing the mill rate the only option here?” Hoyt asked. “It would seem to me that’s somewhat of an inequitable tax, so to speak, because not everybody in town owns property, so you’re putting that burden on those who have chosen to invest in the community itself by living here and owning property. I’m just wondering and curious if the option of increasing the sales tax in town by a penny, say, has been discussed by the borough by the city administration and such, because it would seem to me that that is an across-the-board tax on everyone who lives in Wrangell?”

Villarma agreed that more options could be on the table. Right now, Wrangell’s sales tax is fully spoken for, though. Eighty percent (80%) goes to the community’s General Fund, and 20% to the school district. 

“You could target specific things in a sales tax hike, you could lift the cap, there’s an abundance of things you could do,” Villarma agreed, “And I guess I’ll say: Nothing’s set in stone until the budget cycle – when the assembly sets the mill rate, they set the budget and how we’re actually funding these. This is just the proposed and estimated way of doing it.”

And, Villarma added, grants or other funding obtained after passing a bond could be used to pay down the debt as well.

“If there’s other revenue sources that come in throughout the time or the life of the bond, we can still subsidize or pay that off through those mechanisms,” Villarma said. The borough plans to take out 20-year bonds, if the measures pass during the election. “So that’s kind of a commitment on the administration’s side: we’re not going to stop looking for external sources of funding, just because we get the $8.5 million from the voters.”

Capital Facilities Director Amber Al-Haddad provided an example: the playground funded by the last General Obligation bond the community approved was paid off by outside funding sources. 

“Back in 2010, the community approved a bond proposition for the playground, around a million dollars, with the idea that the mill rate would be increased to cover the debt service on that,” Al-Haddad explained. “In the end, we were able to get a DEED (Department of Education) CIP grant for that project, so the mill rate didn’t change based on that project. So, you know, that’s a prime example of exactly what makes sense talking about ways to pay that debt back without impacting the community.”

Some town hall attendees wondered about the project itself – would it cover every critical element to keep the building standing? 

“It’s probably a silly question, but I gotta ask it,” said Charles Haubrich, “Have you guys looked at demolition and just rebuilding it?”

They had, responded Al-Haddad. At the last estimate, obtained two years ago, renovating the Public Safety Building would cost over $16 million, and a new build, housing the same public services, could reach well over $30 million.

She continued that there isn’t a plan to issue another bond to cover subsequent phases. This bond would cover the critical structural needs, and other internal fixes could be done piecemeal, as the borough found funding. 

Some questioned how the Public Safety Building was able to deteriorate to such a critical condition when Wrangell property owners have been paying taxes through those years. 

Al-Haddad explained some issues weren’t known about until they reached emergent levels. For example, the building’s internal gutters were leaking and compromising the structural integrity, but because they were internal, it wasn’t clear until workers did destructive testing. 

The borough discovered that in 2016, after finding an infestation of carpenter ants and looking further. They’ve been trying to figure out what to do ever since. 

“We’ve been working on this and deliberating about what to do for a long time, because it’s so expensive to do anything,” Al-Haddad said. “But it’s a problem, and it’s not going to get any better.”

Moving forward, Wrangell officials assured the attendees that the borough is implementing systems to better keep up with building maintenance. 

“We’re gonna do biennial inspections on all of our buildings, so we’re going through each building every other year, and doing a thorough inspection,” Good said, “So that’s what we’re trying to develop now, trying to get ahead of stuff, and try to be a lot of plan long term, so that we hopefully won’t end up in a situation like this in the future. That’s our goal.”

“The other thing we’ve done to piggyback on that,” Al-Haddad continued, “Is, we’ve purchased software that allows us to now have an automated preventive maintenance program. So you know, all the systems have been put into that database, and we’ve populated, you know, the frequency of checking, you know, the variety of systems in that building, so we don’t miss those critical pieces.”

After about an hour of presentations and questions, Villarma wrapped up the Town Hall meeting, thanking attendees: “No matter how you guys vote, you know, this isn’t a pitch or anything like that. We just appreciate citizens that are asking the questions and concerns and it just shows that you guys care.”

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

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Two seats are up for election on Wrangell’s Port Commission. And with just two candidates, it’s an uncontested race.

Incumbent Port Commissioner John Yeager is running for re-election. Yeager is a sportfishing guide and commercial fisherman.

Teacher and commercial fisherman Winston Davies is also running for a seat on the Port Commission. Newcomer Davies will replace commissioner Frank Roppel, who did not file to run for re-election.

Due to scheduling conflicts, KSTK was unable to hold a candidate forum with the Port Commission candidates.

For more information about the candidates’ priorities, read the Wrangell Sentinel’s articles on Winston Davies and John Yeager.

Get in touch with KSTK at news@kstk.org or (907) 874-2345.

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