Assembly races clear, bonds not

One new face will be amid the field of four Mat-Su Borough Assembly members at the swearing-in ceremony scheduled for Tuesday.

Former Meadow Lakes Community Council president Betty Vehrs is a first-time assembly member, having defeated incumbent Kelly Lankford Ladere and opponent Tom Hood to win the District 7 assembly seat.

Although the results aren't official, Vehrs has 831 votes; 256 more than Ladere. Former Meadow Lakes Fire Chief Tom Hood brought in 299 votes in the race. It's a relatively safe margin, but Vehrs said she'll be watching as the canvassing board verifies the vote.

"It's not when the check's in the mail, but when the check clears the bank," Vehrs said Wednesday.

Vehrs said she hopes to use that positivity to encourage others in her area to get involved in local politics.

"Getting the public involved, to me, that's the easy part -- 'Come on, this is fun; get on board!,'" Vehrs said. "There's plenty of talent, and I'm a talent scout."

Vehrs stepped down formally Wednesday from her place on the community council, a move she said she had announced she'd be making when she signed on as a candidate. She said she'll be stepping down as well from her appointment as chair of the Animal Care and Regulation board.

In the second contested Valley race, Jim Colver claimed the lead over opponent Sherry Pinckley Trboyevich by more than 300 votes.

Colver said he expected to do well, and believes his win was less related to issues than to his track record of responding to constituents' concerns.

"Over the last three years, I worked to find out what was important in my area," Colver said. "If they call me, I try to help them. People appreciate that you're there for them. I really feel honored that they showed that support."

Trboyevich, new to the political scene, said she learned a lot through knocking on more than 2,000 doors in her neighborhood. Although she said there may be several factors for the split in votes, some of that split may have come from the difference in stance on the coal-bed methane issue that heated up the campaign. Trboyevich said she still believes coal-bed methane is the future of the Valley, in terms of providing good jobs and boosting the economy.

Trboyevich said she'll continue to work on making neighborhoods safer in her area -- a cause she had been working on prior to the election.

"Neighborhood watch is something I'm going to work hard for," Trboyevich said. "There's a lot of people simply not home during the daytime, and burglars know that. A lot of people whose doors I knocked on said 'yes, we've been robbed.'"

Along with the two contested assembly races, incumbents Talis Colberg and Bill Allen both ran unopposed elections and retained their seats on the assembly.

The two bond propositions the Mat-Su Borough put forward met with some resistance from voters. A parks and recreation bond, totaling $5.375 million, is still too close to call, with 5,540 votes in favor of the bond and 5,410 against. The Port MacKenzie deep-water dock bond, at $10 million, appears to have passed by about 600 votes, although absentee and questioned ballots may change the final outcome. More than 5,800 voters were in favor of the port bond, while just over 5,200 opposed it.