A look at Southern P.O.W. elections

It’s municipal election season and there will be plenty to vote on throughout Prince of Wales Island.

In Craig, two three-year City Council seats are open. Those are Seat C, currently held by Shauna Thomas, and Seat D, held by Hannah Bazinet. Two school board seats are also up, a two-year term held by Josh Andrews, and a three-year term held by Hans Hjort.

Craig voters will also consider amendments to two ordinances. The first would substantially increase the hotel tax from $5 dollars to $10 dollars per day. 

The second would up the sales tax to 7% from April through September and 6% for the rest of the year. The city’s current sales tax is set at 5%. Should that ordinance pass, the additional revenue would be dedicated to the Craig School District. The school district is facing a $1.2 million budget shortfall for this school year and the city administrator said in May that they needed a fast and efficient way to increase the city’s revenue to cover it.

Filing for City of Craig offices closes August 30^th at 5PM.

In Thorne Bay, one one-year term and three three-year terms are open on the City Council. The one-year seat, Seat A, is currently held by Robert Hartwell. The three-year seats, Seats D, F and G, are held by Tony Lovell, Lee Burger and Shane Nyquest.

Thorne Bay voters will also consider a proposition allowing same day, in-person, absentee voting at Davidson Landing for all local general and mayoral elections. That would make it more convenient for those south of town to vote. Currently, absentee voting is only available at city hall.

However, Thorne Bay’s City Council is considering adopting a resolution at its September 3^rd meeting that would put that proposal into effect. If the measure passes at the council meeting, the voting question will not appear on the ballot.

Filing for Thorne Bay offices closes at noon on August 30^th.

The filing periods for Hydaburg and Klawock have not yet opened.

Hydaburg’s filing period is August 30^th through September 20^th.

There is one three-year seat and two one-year seats open on the Hydaburg City Council. The three-year seat is held by Tony Stevens, Dean Edenshaw holds a one-year seat, and the last seat is vacant.

Mayor Anthony Christianson’s three-year term is also up.

There are two seats open on the Hydaburg School Board, a three-year term held by Marvell Nix and a two-year term held by Sebastian Bowker.

In the City of Klawock, the filing period runs from September 2^nd through 20^th.

Klawock voters will vote to fill two three-year seats on the City Council, currently held by Janelle Friday and Leslie Isaacs.

Municipal election day for all Prince of Wales Island communities is October 1^st.