Four elected positions will be on the municipal ballot on Oct. 3, and as of Monday it was uncertain if all of the incumbents will seek re-election.
Two seats on the borough assembly, one on the school board and one on the port commission will be on the ballot. All four are three-year terms.
Esther Aaltséen Reese, the only incumbent on the five-member school board whose term expires this year, said last week she is undecided as to whether to run for the position again or not.
Anne Morrison, who holds one of the assembly seats that will be on the ballot, has decided to run again.
Gary Morrison, who serves on the five-member port commission, said he is still undecided.
As of Monday morning, Aug. 21, Michael J. Ottesen had filed to run for assembly and John DeRuyter had filed to run for the school board.
Ryan Howe, whose term on the assembly is expiring, is undecided. He said last week the decision is due to his increasingly busier schedule.
“I haven’t completely ruled out running again, but the deadline to file is very soon so I have to make a decision,” Howe said.
“If I choose not to run, it will be because of too many other time commitments; I’ve greatly enjoyed serving. I’m heading into the final year of my school admin program, which is when I’ll be doing most of my research projects and logging practicum hours; this will take up considerably more of my time.” Howe teaches at Wrangell Public Schools.
The deadline to file for candidacy is 4 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 31, and candidates must secure at least 10 qualified voter signatures along with filling out the declaration for candidacy packet and turning it into borough clerk Kim Lane. It also needs to be notarized by Lane or another notary. Packets can be picked up at City Hall.
Candidates must be registered voters to qualify for the ballot. Assembly candidates must have at least one year of residency in Wrangell. It’s a six-member assembly, plus the mayor. Howe noted that the position, at least for assembly, can be time consuming.
“Being an assembly member requires a substantial investment of time to do well,” he said. “If I decide to run, it will be with the knowledge of just how weighty and time consuming a responsibility being on the assembly is.”
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