Unofficial election results released early Wednesday morning show a tight race for the City and Borough of Juneau’s two open Areawide Assembly seats and a narrow defeat of the new City Hall bond proposition.
New City Hall prop faces slim defeat
Ballot Proposition 1 — the only one on the ballot this fall — asked voters whether to approve $27 million in bond debt to fund the construction of a new City Hall. The preliminary count of 5,198 ballots released shortly before 1 a.m. Wednesday showed 2,582 no votes versus 2,470 yes votes for the proposition — a narrow 112-vote difference against the proposition’s passing.
Of the voters counted in the preliminary results, 146 did not vote on the measure.
Kelly, Adkison spring to the top
The results showed tight races for the candidates vying for four open seats on the Assembly and two seats on the Juneau Board of Education.
The candidates in the 10-person field leading the race for the two open Assembly Areawide seats are Paul Kelly and Ella Adkison, who received 1,946 and 1,698 votes, respectively. The pair are followed by third-place candidate Nano Brooks who so far has secured 1,489 votes. Close behind were JoAnn Wallace (1,340) and Laura Martinson McDonnell (1,316). The remaining candidates each received less than 500 votes.
The candidate who receives the most votes for the Areawide election will take outgoing Assembly member Maria Gladziszewski’s seat for a full three-year term, and the candidate with the second-most votes will finish up resigned member Carole Triem’s seat for two years.
District 1 and 2 incumbents secure early leads
Assembly District 1 incumbent Alicia Hughes-Skandijs and District 2 incumbent Christine Woll led their races, with Hughes-Skandijs securing an 839-vote lead over challenger Joe Geldhof and Woll leading challenger David Morris by 1,391 votes.
Noon, Cioni-Haywood emerge far ahead
David Noon and Britteny Cioni-Haywood emerged as the top candidates for the two open seats on the Board of Education with 3,216 and 2,993 votes, respectively, outpacing third-place candidate Paige Sipniewski with 1,646 votes.
More votes on the way
According to City Clerk Beth McEwen, the results are preliminary and outcomes may shift as the count released Wednesday morning only reflects the eligible ballots received through Oct. 1. That means the hundreds — if not thousands — of ballots that were submitted on Election Day or sent by-mail still need to be added.
The initial results represent 18.72% of registered voters. Official voter turnout was just under 33% during the 2022 local election.
According to the city, another set of updated preliminary results is expected to be released on Friday, along with another update the following week. However, the certified count is still two weeks out, scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 17.
• Contact reporter Clarise Larson at clarise.larson@juneauempire.com or (651) 528-1807.
