With the deadline for filing to run for Assembly seats on Monday afternoon, no candidate has yet put forth their name for the District 2 seat.
But what happens if no one applies before the deadline?
“Somebody can either submit a letter to run a write-in campaign. If nobody runs a write in campaign, the Assembly can appoint to the seat,” said Beth McEwen, city clerk of the city and Borough Of Juneau. ”Alicia Hughes-Skandijs was the most recent person to be appointed.”
Hughes-Skandijs filed Friday to run for the District 1 Assembly seat. She is running against Kenny Solomon-Gross.
The District 2 seat is currently held by Assembly member Rob Edwardson, who is not seeking reelection. The district includes Auke Bay, the Mendenhall Valley and Lynn Canal precincts.
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There have been many vacancies on the Assembly in recent municipal elections as members ran for other positions, such as mayor, in the case of Beth Weldon, or state office, as in the case of state Sen. Jesse Kiehl, a Democrat.
“Norton Gregory and Beth Weldon both resigned their seats where they could run for mayor. When Jesse Kiehl got elected to state senator he had to resign his Assembly seat,” McEwen said. “The Assembly ended up appointing Alicia Hughes-Skandijs to his vacant seat.”
The process to appoint someone to the seat is laid out, McEwen said.
“Generally, when there’s a vacancy they put out a call for anyone to submit a resume. HR goes through and makes sure they’re qualified for the seat they’re asking to be appointed to,” McEwen said. “In my 20-year tenure, I’ve never seen no one run for a seat. We’ve always had at least one candidate for the seat. Generally, it’s common for us to have candidates walking in on the last day to file.”
The filing deadline is at 4:30 p.m. on Monday, July 27.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at 757-621-1197 or lockett@juneauempire.com.
