The Plaza Mall is the voting location for Ketchikan’s largest precinct. (KRBD file photo by Leila Kheiry)
Five more candidates are running for public office in Ketchikan.
Three are vying for a two-year stint on the city council, as incumbent Emily Chapel has said she won’t be seeking election.
Grant EchoHawk and Riley Gass have filed to run for the two-year term. It’s not Gass’s first try at public office — he applied to fill the late Lew Williams’ seat following his resignation, but the city council selected Chapel instead.
In the interest of full disclosure, EchoHawk serves on KRBD’s nonprofit board of directors. The volunteer board’s oversight does not extend to KRBD’s newsroom.
Incumbent Mark Flora’s three-year term expires in October. Instead of filing for one of three available full-term seats, Flora has filed for the two-year seat. Here’s Flora on why:
“I’d like to run for the two-year seat to finish some very important projects we’re in the middle of, particularly the port and the hospital, and at the end of the two-year seat, I think it’s time for the next person to have an opportunity,” Flora said by phone Monday.
There are currently three candidates running for the three available full-term City Council seats: incumbent Dick Coose and newcomers Abby Bradberry and Jai Mahtani.
Two more candidates also joined the race for Ketchikan’s school board — Nicole Anderson and Kim Hodne are challenging Tom Heutte for a single one-year seat on the board.
Ali Ginter and incumbent Diane Gubatayao entered the race for two three-year seats shortly after filings opened last week. Paul Robbins, Jr., also an incumbent, says he plans to run, but as of Monday afternoon, he has not officially filed papers.
In the race for Borough Assembly, incumbents Alan Bailey and Susan Pickrell said last week they’re not seeking re-election. That leaves three candidates running for three assembly seats: Jeremy Bynum, Sheen Davis and incumbent A.J. Pierce.
