STATUS QUO

PALMER — Another contentious election for the Matanuska Electric Association wrapped up Saturday with the makeup of the board of directors unchanged.

According to unofficial results presented at the co-op’s annual meeting at Palmer High School, incumbents Lois Lester and Kit Jones received 3,377 and 3,366 votes respectively. The rest of the vote broke down thusly: Marvin Yoder -- 2,846 votes, Crystal Nygard — 2,799 votes and Tom Staudenmaier -- 499 votes.

As MEA elections go, and considering the co-op’s recent turmoil, remarks from the crowd were remarkably brief and, overall, civil. Picket signs on display at recent board meetings were nowhere to be seen.

Two weeks ago the board voted to fire two longtime executive employees and seemingly began the process of firing General Manager Wayne Carmony.

The only person who brought up the controversy was Mark Ewing, who sits on the Borough Assembly but was speaking as an MEA ratepayer at the meeting.

“I wish you luck in your next position,” Ewing said to Carmony.

In her statement to the membership before the meeting, Lester promised to work hard and critically evaluate any proposal for energy generation

“Go ahead. Mark that vote. You will not regret it,” Lester said.

Lester is currently the president of the board and presided over Saturday’s meeting.

As for Jones, she pointed to her experience as chief financial officer of her husband’s corporation and her credentials as a certified accountant.

“I got my CPA just so I could understand better the finances of our corporation,” she said, pointing to that experience as showing a willingness to do her homework.

Yoder works currently in the administration of mayor Verne Rupright in Wasilla. He pointed out in his speech that hydroelectric projects in the Lower-48 are declining, with some communities deciding to do away with the facilities. He said that all options for electricity generation should be on the table.

As for Nygard, she thanked everyone who’d worked on her behalf or donated to her campaign.

“We cannot allow for special interests to control the majority right now,” she said of the election.

Staudenmaier — a perennial candidate in MEA elections — used his time to talk about utility consolidation, a change he’s been advocating for a number of years. In Staudenmaier’s view, all Railbelt electrical co-ops should be merged into one.

Also on the ballot were more than two-dozen changes to the bylaws. They received mixed results but the most controversial of them – a change to conflict of interest rules for board members, passed with 59.3 percent of the vote.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.