New board members picked in WCA elections

Tribal members of the Wrangell Cooperative Association headed to the polls Saturday afternoon to choose six new members of the WCA Board.

The six council seats that were up for election this term were previously held by Lynn Allen, Lovey Brock, Arthur Larson, Brooke Leslie, current board vice-president Ken Lewis Jr. and Tim Gillen. Gillen and Leslie did not seek reelection.

Sam Campus, Luella Knapp, Catherine White and Richard Oliver joined Allen, Brock, Larson, and Lewis on this year’s ballot.

Between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. at the Stikine Native Organization building 76 ballots were cast, with 60 arriving in person and 16 absentee ballots counted. Eligible voters within the WCA number at over 400.

“I think it went a little slow at first, but it was normal, what we normally get,” said Sandy Churchill, formerly WCA election committee chairperson. She volunteered during this election to assist Don McConachie, the new chair.

After tallying, the six candidates with the most votes were Oliver with 58, Knapp with 54, Lewis with 48, Allen with 47, Campus with 45, and Larson with 41.

Churchill explained board members serve two- or one-year terms– how that will be determined and for whom still needs to be discussed.

“That was a question that somebody else asked me,” she said. The official electoral results will be presented to the WCA Board at its next meeting on March 3.