Candidates aren’t lining up yet

WASILLA — Residents hoping to run for public office in the Mat-Su Borough have from July 21 to 5 p.m. Aug. 1 to officially file as a candidate.

The filing period applies to all candidates seeking offices in Houston, Wasilla, Palmer, the Borough assembly and school board. Candidates must file with the Alaska Public Offices Commission before they can begin to raise funds, according to state statutes. Only those candidates who plan to raise less than $5,000 may file for an exemption to campaign finance disclosure regulations.

The municipal general elections take place Oct. 7.

Wasilla

In Wasilla, those intending to file as a candidate must get at least 10 signatures from registered voters living in the city before filing for election, Wasilla City Clerk Kristie Smithers said.

So far, Smithers reports the number of residents inquiring about filing information has been dismal.

“There’s not a lot of interest for council at this time,” Smithers said Tuesday, adding that’s somewhat typical before the official filing period begins.

This time last year there were plenty more potential candidates seeking information at Wasilla City Hall, Smithers said. There are three council seats and the office of mayor up in the city’s election this October.

Two council seats are for three-year terms and one is for a one-year term. The one-year seat is occupied by Councilwoman Stephanie Massie, who was appointed to serve out Greg Koskela’s term after he resigned last year.

Current Councilmen Steve Menard and Marty Metiva have already announced their intentions to run for mayor. Mayor Dianne M. Keller is term-limited and cannot run again for the office of mayor.

Borough Assembly

Residents don’t have to get any signatures to run for a Borough assembly seat, but there are requirements that need to be met. Potential candidates must be a qualified Borough voter and must have lived in the Borough for at least one year prior to running for election. The Borough assembly’s District 4 and District 5 seats will be on the ballot this fall. The seats are held by Mary Kvalheim in District 4 and Cindy Bettine in District 5.

Bettine said Thursday she plans to run for re-election. Kvalheim is term-limited.

Palmer

Residents interested in running for office in Palmer will first have to gather 20 signatures from registered city voters. The number of signatures required to become a candidate in Palmer is the highest of any city in the Mat-Su Valley core area.

Two council seats will be available during this election, those occupied by Tony Pippel and Brad Hanson. The terms for each seat is three years.

Deputy City Clerk Shelly Acteson said it’s too early to tell how many people will come forward to run in the election, but so far no one has expressed interest at city hall.

Houston

Houston tops the core cities with the most open council seats this year. Four seats — A, B, C and D — will soon be vacated by their current council members.

Council members Sandy McDonald — who is also the city’s mayor — Paul Stout, Ralph Buzard and Glen Tilghman are at the end of their terms.

Seats A and B are three-year terms ending in 2011, and seats D and C are one-year terms ending in 2009.

Like other cities, candidates must live within Houston city limits and be eligible by state and local requirements.

Once the seats are filled, council will appoint a new mayor from among its ranks, according to Acting Houston City Clerk Kaye Black.

Bucking the trend of other cities, Black said she’s had at least one, possibly two, residents call ahead of the filing period to inquire about running.

School Board

Four candidates for Mat-Su Borough School Board have already made their intentions to run public.

Current school board Members Myrl Thompson, Cheryl Turner and Pat Purcell will all run to retain their seats.

Palmer resident Brian Sullivan said he will run for Turner’s seat. Also from Palmer, Ole Larson said Thursday he also will run for a school board seat.

Candidates for school board must file with the Borough during the same filing period as city council or mayoral candidates, but they are not required to gather signatures.

The school board elections will take place the same day as other municipal elections in the Borough, Oct. 7.

Contact Michael Rovito at michael.rovito@-frontiersman.com or 352-2252.