Early election returns released late Tuesday suggest Juneau voters are ready for tax changes, though the race for the Assembly remains too close to call.
Proposition 2 — repealing city sales tax on essential food and non-commercial utilities — is currently passing by a landslide: 4,173 yes votes to 1,867 no votes.
The other two ballot measures are much closer. Proposition 1, which would cap property tax mill rates, leads by 184 votes. Proposition 3, which would create a seasonal sales tax rate, trails by roughly 1,000 votes.
In the Assembly race for the District 2 seat, challenger Nano Brooks holds a narrow three-vote lead over incumbent Wade Bryson.
The preliminary count includes 6,073 ballots. According to Deputy Clerk Andi Hirsh, that represents an estimated 50–60% of the total vote based on past election trends.
That means the thousands of ballots cast on Election Day could change the final results, which will be released on Oct. 21.
Assembly candidates weigh in
Brooks and Bryson were the only Assembly members facing challengers this year. District 1 incumbent Greg Smith and areawide incumbent Ella Adkison both ran unopposed.
This is Brooks’ third campaign for an Assembly seat after unsuccessful runs in 2023 and 2024. The razor thin margin between himself and Brooks has also kept him cautious of the current results.
“After going through this a few times, I know not to celebrate early or get too excited on the first preliminary,” Brooks said.
Brooks said that his campaign this time felt different from his previous ones.
“The main difference would be that every corner of the community had reached out in one way or another, expressing the same types of concerns revolving around mismanagement of funds [by the city] and having results that aren’t working in the best interests of the people,” Brooks said.
Brooks encouraged voters to cast a “Yes, Yes, No” ballot: yes on Propositions 1 and 2, no on Proposition 3, arguing for limits on taxes and city spending.
Bryson represented an opposing philosophy, urging a “No, Yes, Yes” vote: no on lowering the mill cap, yes on the food and utility tax repeal alongside a yes vote on the seasonal sales tax, to shift more tax burden to tourists.
Bryson, running his third reelection, said that the preliminary results for the propositions do not bode well for his campaign.
“Nano was supported by supporters of Prop 1 and Prop 2 that were saying that the government was spending too much money,” Bryson said. “I was taking a different tack, explaining services, and so I had a very different message from my competitor.”
As a member of the Assembly, Bryson said he wished that proponents of cutting taxes and the city budget would be more specific about what city services or departments should be reduced.
City estimates suggest up to $11 million in tax revenue is at stake if the “Yes, Yes, No” ballot passes. In that case, Brooks said, the Assembly would have to reconsider which services the city can afford to maintain.
“They’re gonna actually have to have a very large-scale discussion in community process to determine what services we’re gonna either remove or reduce,” Bryson said. “Because if you reduce a service, there’s a user group that is going to object to that.”
Proposition advocates celebrate early results
Angela Rodell is a member of the Affordable Juneau Coalition, the advocacy group that led the initiatives for Propositions 1 and 2.
“Obviously, we’re excited about the preliminary results,” Rodell said. “It’s something that volunteers, neighbors have worked really hard to get, and we’re hopeful that these results will be consistent with the final certification in a couple of weeks.”
She said the initial tally aligns with what the coalition heard during its signature-gathering and get-out-the-vote efforts.
“Taking that sales tax off of food and utilities — that is a huge uniter for Juneau,” Rodell said. “I think it demonstrated not a ‘Left-versus-right,’ ‘Red-versus-Blue’ political party effort. This was, ‘We gotta start doing something and doing something now and helping our neighbors.’”
Rodell says that if Propositions 1 and 2 pass, she expects the Assembly to prioritize “core services” such as water and wastewater, firefighting, police and snowplowing.
“There’s been a lot of money coming in, and it allows you to say yes to everyone on everything,” Rodell said. “And now, we’re gonna have to say no to some things, and that is never easy, but it’s necessary.”
Ballot processing ran smoothly
Although they’re the ones tallying the votes, Municipal Clerk Breckan Hendricks said election workers find out the results only minutes before the public does.
“So when we hit that button last night at 11:58 to start our processing, it was a surprise to see all of those results, which was kind of neat,” Hendricks said.
Ballots arrived at the processing center quickly, Hendricks said, but a write-in race for the Juneau School District added hours to the review. The computer system recognizes a write-in vote, but each one must be adjudicated by a human.
“Our election workers worked really hard, and it was a good night.”
