Many Prince of Wales Island residents went to the polls on Tuesday to vote in their communities municipal elections.
Craig
Over in Craig, the largest town on the island, residents voted on three ballot propositions and two City Council and School Board seats. Only one of those seats, a full term on the City Council, was a contested race between two candidates. Unofficial results show candidate Jan Trojan received 145 votes for that seat, beating out competitor Aaron Bean who finished with 58 votes.
The uncontested city council seat went to Shauna Thomas, though there were 32 write-in votes. A three-year term on the Craig School Board went to Bonnie Morris and a two-year term was claimed by Hans Hjort.
Craig voters also passed a ballot proposition to double the hotel tax for guests passing through the city from $5 a day to $10 a day starting next year.
Proposition 2 on Craig’s ballot was more closely contested. It proposed a seasonal sales tax increase next year to 7% during the busy tourism season and 6% for the rest of the year. The city’s current sales tax is set at 5%. The reason for this ordinance is the Craig City School District is facing a $1.2 million budget shortfall for this school year. City Administrator Brian Templin said in May that they needed a fast and efficient way to increase the city’s revenue to cover it and the proposed sales tax increase would most likely accomplish that. Unofficial results showed the increase passing by 5 votes. It’s still up in the air though. According to Templin, the city still has 42 absentee ballots and 6 questioned ballots to tally at the city council meeting Thursday evening.
The final proposition Craig voted on had to do with the long-queried Ward Cove Cannery Site. The City recently sold the historic piece of land to the Craig Tribal Association. The proposed ordinance would make it so any future sales of property on the cannery site would have to be approved by Craig citizens. That ordinance passed by 46 votes, making it possible that the remaining absentee ballots could overturn it but statistically unlikely.
Klawock
The City Council of nearby Klawock will be certifying their local election results Monday, Oct. 7. A little over 100 voters in the small community cast ballots for three races. Janelle Macasaet-Friday took the full-term City Council seat, receiving 76 votes to her competitor Paul England’s 65 votes. She also ran for the 3-year Klawock School Board seat but lost to Amanda Armour. Samantha Ponce ran uncontested for a one-year seat on the School Board
Hydaburg
Further south, the community of Hydaburg elected Anthony Christianson to be their new mayor. Andrea Peele and William Lockhart won full terms on the City Council and Anthony Edenshaw claimed a one-year term on the Council. Edenshaw also claimed a partial term on the Hydaburg School Board, alongside Laura Peele and Mary Anna Grant who were elected for three-year School Board seats.
These are also unofficial results though. Hydaburg will be certifying and swearing in their new elected officials following a special meeting on Monday, Oct. 7.
Thorne Bay
Thorne Bay residents voted on four open City Council seats. Preliminary results show those seats going to candidates Timber Pesterfield, Anthony Lovell, Trevor Killian, and Shane Nyquest.
Voters also weighed in on a resolution to set up in-person absentee voting at Davidson Landing in Thorne Bay for future municipal elections. It passed by 50 votes.
The city will be canvassing the community for absentee ballots on Friday, Oct 4 before declaring official results.
Coffman Cove
In Coffman Cove, a community of a little over 100 people north of Thorne Bay, 78 residents cast ballots for three City Council seats. A total of 11 candidates ran for those three seats and the unofficial results show three clear winners: Gregory Husten, William Shane Nixon, and William Bawden.
The nearby community of Whale Pass doesn’t hold its local elections until November 5, to coincide with state and federal elections. Election officials in Naukati, Hollis, and Kasaan were not available to share results.
