The race for the Areawide seat on the City and Borough of Juneau Assembly is already down to two candidates.
Andy Hughes dropped out of the race, handing in his withdrawal to the Clerk’s Office on Thursday. He sent the Empire a copy of his withdrawal but did not list a reason or respond to a phone call for comment.
That leaves Carole Triem and Tom Williams in the race. Hughes’ name will not appear on the Oct. 2 ballot, as Friday was the deadline for people to officially withdraw their name.
[Crowded races abound in municipal election]
Triem, 30, and Williams, 66, registered with the city on Monday, as did Hughes. All three of them had to wait for former Assembly member Norton Gregory to resign from the Assembly before declaring their candidacies. Gregory is running for mayor, and city code dictates that an Assembly member must resign their seat to run for mayor.
Gregory resigned with one year left on his term, so the winner will serve one year on the Assembly and have to run for re-election next fall.
Hughes, 77, ran as a write-in candidate for the Areawide seat in the 2017 election. A retired regional planning chief for the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities, Hughes expressed interest in a number of community issues including community safety, inmate re-entry, child care, transportation and helping low-income families.
The ballot will be sent to the printer this coming Wednesday. Election day is Oct. 2, and voters must be registered by Sept. 2.
