Borough taking applications for October elections

The City and Borough of Wrangell is taking applications for this year’s borough-wide regular election, set for Oct. 6.

Up for contest this year are two 3-year seats on the Assembly, currently held by Daniel Blake and Julie Decker. The two three-year Port Commission seats of John Martin and Clay Hammer will expire in October, as will the four-year terms of Dorothy Hunt-Sweat and Woody Wilson on the Wrangell Medical Center Board. Tammy Groshong’s three-year seat on the School Board expires in October, and there will be two other vacant seats—a three-year and unexpired one-year term—open for the election.

Also coming up will be a number of board- and commission-level seats. These include two seats on the Planning and Zoning Commission, two seats on the Parks and Recreation Board, one seat on the Wrangell Convention and Visitors Bureau, three seats on the Economic Development Committee and two seats on the Nolan Museum/Civic Center Board.

Applicants for these positions need to be United States citizens at least 18 years of age, a resident of Wrangell and able to have voted in the state for at least 30 days before the election. Qualified persons may have their name placed on the ballot by filing declarations of candidacy with the Borough Clerk’s office during regular business hours through Aug. 31.

As of Tuesday, no applications have been turned in, though Clerk Kim Lane said several current seat-holders have taken out the paperwork to run again. A full list of candidates will be reported on as the election date nears.

A pair of propositions will be included on October’s ballot as well, with simple yes-or-no questions presented to voters.

Proposition 1 is a charter amendment, which reads: “Shall the Home Rule Charter of the City and Borough of Wrangell be amended to repeal Section 11-2, Thomas Bay Power Authority, as set forth in Ordinance no. 900?”

The proposition was approved for inclusion on the ballot by the Assembly in April, and Lane explained it is a cosmetic change to remove reference to the now-defunct Thomas Bay Power Authority.

Proposition 2 asks: “Shall the municipal officers and candidates for elective office of the City and Borough of Wrangell be exempt from the requirements of the State of Alaska Public Official Financial Disclosure Law, AS 39.50?”

The Borough Assembly in May approved the proposition’s inclusion on the ballot after a pair of public hearings. Assembly members voted unanimously in favor of the idea after agreeing that the state-level documentation was too intrusive into the financial assets of applicants for public office. It was hoped that scrapping the requirement might boost residents’ involvement in local government.

Voters are advised to check that their address is correct on their State Voter Registration. City law requires that each voter shall be registered to vote in the precinct in which that person seeks to vote in order to vote in municipal elections. Those registered in another city have until Sep. 6 to update their information in order to vote on Oct. 6.