A new mayor, briefly, then we do it again

Thank goodness somebody won more than 40 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s borough mayoral election. Can you imagine asking 7 percent of the people to drag themselves away from whatever they are doing to come out for a run-off election in August? And then again in October for the final vote?

The few people who went to the polls Tuesday found election officials reading novels or doing their nails.

Talis Colberg has to feel pretty good about his overwhelming victory, but he can’t be pleased that he and the other candidates roused a little more than 4,000 people from the campaign stupor to vote. That doesn’t include the 1,000 other votes cast absentee, or contested. If those are counted, then the total votes would be 5,106 out of more than 56,000 registered voters — 9 percent.

So what does this tells us? Or better, what does this tell the candidates?

John Leiner, somewhat of a gadfly in the Palmer area, did no campaigning at all and got 42 votes. Nearly as much as Frank Shor’s 45. And Shor at least went to a forum or two. Butch Fondahn got 59 votes. Not exactly a cry from the public for his service.

Steve Menard vowed only to run for the short-term to fulfill his late father’s work. So one wouldn’t expect him on the October slate, even though he polled third.

That leaves Colberg and Bruce Walden.

Walden got routed in his home district of the Butte where he drew 69 votes to Colberg’s 115.

Maybe with some more visible campaigning he can overcome Colberg’s name recognition and modest war chest. But this election’s results don’t suggest that happening.

So does that leave Colberg on easy street to get the three-year post?

Not necessarily. The window for filing for the mayor’s job is open from July 20 to July 31. And even though Colberg looks like he has an edge, another name or two could emerge. The Alaska Public Offices Commission website has some notable people filing for something, but it’s not clear for what job.

Nothing against Colberg, but It would benefit the community if somebody with some political clout and different ideas does challenge him, if only to raise the stakes a little. It would give the voters more meat to chew on. Then maybe the turnout would improve.

There was also an oddity about this past vote: There were seven candidates and not one woman in the bunch. Yet there are three women on the borough assembly. It’s not like Alaskans won’t vote for a woman seeking high office.