Voters on Prince of Wales Island and in Metlakatla went to the polls Tuesday. Here’s a rundown of where things stand.
Craig
Craig Mayor Tim O’Connor has a more than 40-vote lead over challenger Chaundell Piburn in preliminary results. But with roughly 60 absentee and questioned ballots yet to be counted, O’Connor hasn’t won just yet.
Margins are even thinner in the race for Craig City Council Seat D: incumbent Hannah Bazinet has a razor-thin five-vote lead over challenger Trampus Conaster in preliminary results. For City Council Seat C, unopposed incumbent James See looks to have won another three-year term.
There were two races for seats on Craig’s school board. Patricia Conaster leads Jeremy Crews by 70 votes, greater than the number of ballots left to count. And Joel Steenstra looks to have won an uncontested three-year term on the board.
These results are unofficial, with absentee ballots set to be counted on Thursday. The City Council is scheduled to certify the election later that day.
Thorne Bay
Most races in Thorne Bay are too close to call with more than 70 ballots left to count.
But there are two races where the results are unlikely to change: Incumbent Charles Jennings looks to have beaten Dennis Sylvia in the race for City Council Seat B, and Shane Nyquest appears to have bested Bradley Clark for Seat G.
Incumbent Lee Burger has a healthy lead over Everett Cook in the election for Seat F, but the margin is just less than the number of ballots left to count. For Seat D, Jeffrey “Bubba” Oatman has a roughly 50-vote lead over incumbent Cindy Edenfield. And incumbent Thom Cunningham trails challenger Robert Hartwell by roughly 60 votes. Thorne Bay election officials will count the remaining ballots starting at 5 p.m. Friday.
Klawock
In Klawock, a crowded field of six candidates are competing for two City Council seats. Janelle “Macaset” Friday looks to have clinched one of them, but the second is still too close to call. Leslie Isaacs has a nine-vote lead over third-place Sampson Nickerson with a dozen absentee and questioned ballots to be opened on Monday.
Friday also won a seat on Klawock’s school board, as did Henrietta Kato. Both races were uncontested.
Hydaburg
In Hydaburg, incumbent Mayor Anthony Christianson leads challenger Thomas Morrison by 15 votes. He’ll likely get another three-year term. Marvell Nix looks to have bested Vicki LeCornu for City Council Seat 4 by a large margin. In the race for Seat 3, Raymon Guthrie has just a seven-vote lead over Tony Stevens. City officials say all absentee ballots have been counted, and there’s just one questioned ballot that’ll be eligible to be counted when Hydaburg’s City Council holds a special meeting Monday to certify the election.
School board races were fairly definitive. Marcella Grant will likely fill Seat 1, and Marvell Nix will likely get Seat 2, both by large margins.
Metlakatla
Metlakatla held a primary election in the race for Metlakatla Indian Community Mayor. With all votes counted and the primary certified by the election secretary, Albert Smith and Keolani Booth will advance to the Nov. 2 general election.
Additional reporting by KRBD’s Stella Yelich in Ketchikan.
Correction: A previous version of this story said there were 13 questioned and absentee ballots left to count in Hydaburg’s election. City officials say all absentee ballots have been counted, and all but one of the city’s questioned ballots came from ineligible voters, leaving just one vote left to count on Monday.
