The first day in the filing period for October’s municipal election kicked off early Friday morning with the first candidate casting his run within minutes of the 10-day-long period’s opening.
The filing period, which runs until 4:30 p.m. Monday, July 24, will determine who will be on the ballot for the Oct. 3 local election to fill four Assembly seats along with two spots on the Juneau School District Board of Education.
City Clerk Beth McEwen said the first day of the filing period is “always exciting.”
“There’s always surprises and I always call elections the fun part of the job — but this is the fun part of the fun part of the job,” she said Friday morning. “We encourage people that if they’re going to file, that they don’t wait until the last day.”
The four seats opening on the nine-person Assembly are to fill positions currently held by members Maria Gladziszewski (areawide), Alicia Hughes-Skandijs (District 1) and Christine Woll (District 2) and recently resigned Carole Triem (areawide) whose seat is temporarily filled by previous Assembly member Loren Jones until the election.
The areawide seat means the Assembly member may live anywhere in the borough, while District 1 means the member must reside in either Douglas, Thane, the downtown area, Lemon Creek, or the Mendenhall Valley south of Egan Drive and east of the Mendenhall River (near the airport). District 2 includes the rest of the Mendenhall Valley, Auke Bay and out-the-road.
The candidate who receives the most votes during the areawide position election will take Gladziszewski’s seat for a full three-year term, and the candidate with the second-most votes will take Triem’s seat for two years as she resigned prior to finishing her full term.
Hughes-Skandijs and Woll can run for reelection if they choose since both are eligible for two additional three-year terms after their terms expire this October. However, Gladziszewski will term out of her position come October after serving three, three-year terms — the maximum allowed by the city.
The two seats opening on the district’s school board are currently occupied by Brian Holst and Martin Stepetin Sr. Unlike the Assembly, there is no term limit for school board positions, meaning both are able to run for reelection if desired.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651)-528-1807.
An added benefit of running for local office is enjoying free donuts and coffee which were provided by the City and Borough of Juneau Clerk’s Office to celebrate the first day of the filing period for the local election opening Friday morning. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
City and Borough of Juneau Clerk Beth McEwen certifies areawide candidate Paul Kelly’s paperwork Friday morning within minutes of the local election filing period opening. Kelly is running for one of the two areawide Assembly positions open. (Clarise Larson / Juneau Empire)
