The Ketchikan Gateway Borough municipal election results have been solidified and new members of the Borough Assembly sworn in.
During a short pair of special meetings Monday night, the Borough Assembly unanimously voted to certify the results of the October 1st election. The certification followed the counting of over 400 absentee, special needs, and questioned ballots earlier in the day. Those ballots are counted and assessed by a group called the Canvass Board, a qualified four-person board appointed by the Assembly to assess the validity of those 423 absentee, special needs, and questioned ballots.
2,121 ballots were cast in total for two borough assembly seats and four school board seats.
After the results were certified, the Assembly held a second meeting to welcome and swear-in the new Assembly members. First order of business though was to officially recognize Grant EchoHawk, the outgoing member of the assembly.
“He was a champion for the underserved populations and acted as a staunch supporter of the people’s constitutional rights,” Borough Mayor Rodney Dial said in an official proclamation bidding EchoHawk farewell. According to DIal, EchoHawk attended 74 meetings in his time on the assembly and served in a number of special committees.
EchoHawk served one three-year term on the Assembly starting in 2021. Dial proclaimed that EchoHawk was an advocate for the community by sponsoring agenda items for the island’s unhoused population, environmental cleanup, and “Alaska Native tribal matters.”
Dial said that though he and EchoHawk didn’t always see eye-to-eye, EchoHawk was known for the calm yet passionate presence he brought to the dais and for acting as a “staunch supporter of the people’s constitutional rights.”
Other assembly members like Kathy Bolling and Glen Thompson echoed this sentiment, saying EchoHawk worked tirelessly to uphold citizens’ democratic rights.
EchoHawk got the final word, though. He attended the meeting via Zoom from Metlakatla and said that he was deeply proud of what the Assembly accomplished over the last three years. He also agreed with Dial about working through their history of disagreement.
“Probably you’re not going to find two people more on two different ends of the ideological spectrum but when it comes to getting the job done and, for the most part, setting aside ideological positions to work for the community, for the overwhelming amount of my tenure, we’ve been able to do that. It’s a good testament that it is possible for folks to disagree and still get the job done,” EchoHawk said in regards to the mayor’s comments. He concluded by urging the community to remember that their voice really does matter in local government.
The Borough Clerk then swore in the two newly elected Assembly members, Bridget Mattson and incumbent Jaimie Palmer, who will be serving her second term on the Assembly. Mattson, who previously served on the school board for four years, said she was thrilled to be joining the Assembly and also expressed appreciation for her predecessor Grant EchoHawk.
Palmer also welcomed her new fellow assembly member during her comments after being sworn in.
The Borough Assembly will be appointing a vice-mayor and assigning members to standing committees at the beginning of November. The next regular Assembly meeting is scheduled for Oct. 21.
New School Board members will be sworn in at their regular meeting Wednesday night.
Borough election results:
Borough Assembly
- Bridget Mattson
- Jamie Palmer (incumbent)
School Board (3-year)
- Ali Ginter
- Keenan Sanderson (incumbent)
- Jordan Tabb (incumbent)
School Board (1-year)
- Michelle O’Brien
