With the unofficial results in, the Ketchikan Borough looks to have re-elected an incumbent and a former School Board member to the assembly. The preliminary votes in all 7 precincts were tallied by just before 11pm Tuesday night.
The Borough Assembly had two open seats and three candidates running to fill them. Initial results have Bridget Mattson and Jamie Palmer with sizeable leads in that race. Each received over 1,000 votes. The third candidate, Janalee Gage, received 614. It’s unlikely Gage will move into the top two, based on the remaining number of absentee and questioned ballots
On the School Board, four candidates vied for three open full-term seats. Ali Ginter made a strong showing, receiving the most votes in every precinct except Saxman and South Tongass. Ginter finished with 1,042 votes. She was trailed closely by Keenan Sanderson and Jordan Tabb who received 918 and 893 votes respectively. Jordan Tabb said in an email after the results came in that he was excited for the opportunity to return to the school board and that he “anticipate[s] the board will need to work as closely as possible with the state legislature and borough to advocate for adequate funding for Ketchikan’s schools.” Ginter and Sanderson were not available for comment. Hillary Rifenburg came in fourth with 676 votes, meaning she’s unlikely to overtake Tabb based on the outstanding votes. Michelle O’Brien ran uncontested for a one-year seat on the School Board.
Voter turnout was especially low this year, with an average of 18% of registered voters casting a ballot.
There are a total of 423 absentee, questioned, and special needs ballots left to be counted. Those will be counted in the coming week, and Borough Clerk Kacie Paxton said she expects the official tallies to be certified next Monday.
