FACE OFF

WASILLA — Voters will choose a new mayor today in a run-off election pitting two locals against one another in what has become a heated race for the city’s top job.

Marty Metiva and Verne Rupright are vying for enough votes to take over for outgoing Mayor Dianne M. Keller, who can’t run again because of term limits.

The winner will be the first male mayor in 12 years, and will follow Keller and former mayor and now Gov. Sarah Palin into the $75,000-a-year job.

Voters who live in Wasilla will get their chance from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. today to decide who they want to lead the city.

On Monday, just half a day before the polls opened, both men said they were feeling confident and looking forward to today’s contest.

“I’m feeling good,” Metiva said. “We’re just doing what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Metiva, like his opponent, has been going door-to-door to introduce himself and gauge what issues are on voters’ minds.

For his part, Rupright said he’s looking forward for the contest to be over so the city can move forward with its new mayor.

“I’m feeling very confident,” Rupright said.

Five men began a quest to win the mayor’s position before the Oct. 7 municipal elections. Since no one candidate received more than 40 percent of the vote, the top two vote-getters went to today’s run-off.

The two remaining candidates have stark differences.

Rupright has been a Wasilla resident for 25 years and talks about living through the good times and the bad. An attorney, Rupright has made a name for himself as a level-headed defense lawyer determined to uphold the constitutional rights to a fair trial.

He, like Metiva, says his goal of becoming mayor is born out of a love for the city and a desire to see its future go the right way.

Metiva moved to Wasilla just over four and a half years ago and immediately got involved in various projects.

The Wasilla city councilman is known as a fundraiser for various causes and often says even though he hasn’t lived in the city as long as his opponent, he wants to give back and plans to live out the rest of his days in Wasilla.

As local campaigns go, this one seems typical of small town politics, with critics waiting until the final days to level attacks on whichever candidate they don’t want to see in office.

For Metiva, that meant defending himself against an ad-hoc group of locals, some eligible to vote in Wasilla and some not, who seem bent on denying the relative newcomer the mayor’s office.

On the other side of the ticket, Rupright has had to fend off his own critics, though none near as vocal as the cadre against Metiva.

There are also supporters of the candidates, braving freezing winter temperatures to wave signs and talk voters into voting for their man.

Both candidates will also have their election just one week before a much talked about presidential election that has inundated Americans with political coverage.

What the timing will do to impact voter turnout for the run-off is unknown, but Metiva and Rupright say they’re hoping a higher turn-out of voters compared to the Oct. 7 election.

At that election, 21.5 percent of registered voters turned out.

Whoever wins, the new mayor will come on board during a time of change in Wasilla and public outcry over a lack of jobs and too much traffic congestion. The winner will also be tasked with rebuilding public trust in a mayor’s office after Keller found herself accused of corruption over the summer.

Keller was ultimately asked to resign after she was found to have worked to benefit a private developer at the cost of local business owners. She did not honor the council’s request.

On Monday, Metiva and Rupright were being cautiously optimistic about their chances for election.

“It’s very difficult to predict,” Rupright said. “You had a five-man race and now you have a two-man race.”

No matter what happens, Rupright said he knows he’s had the “right guys” on his side in the run-up to the election.

Besides garnering endorsements from Wasilla City Councilwoman Dianne Woodruff and former Borough Assembly member Mary Kvalheim, Rupright is also endorsed by the Wasilla Police Department Employees Association, a non-union group.

Members of the association have been going door-to-door in Wasilla stumping for Rupright.

“Win or lose, I’m glad,” Rupright said. “I’m happy with their support.”

Metiva offered up the same positive outlook.

“We both have a 50-50 chance,” he said. “It’s been a good, positive campaign.”

While Metiva’s assessment of a positive campaign is true — he and Rupright haven’t talked to one another much recently, in essence avoiding personal negativity — each candidates’ surrogates handled the negative campaigning.

Metiva was hit with allegations of mishandling a non-profit’s finances and having a potential conflict of interest because his wife, Cheryl, is executive director of the Greater Wasilla Chamber of Commerce.

In a Frontiersman article Oct. 24, Metiva addressed the allegations of his critics and assured voters he and his wife uphold the highest level of professionalism when it comes to their careers.

Rupright, for his part, had to fend off charges saying he has a rough personality, including one from Metiva backer and former mayoral candidate Greg Koskela that Rupright’s personality “turns people off.”

Steve Menard, another candidate for Wasilla mayor, also endorsed Metiva.

Rupright said he prefers direct talk to sugar coating important issues, and his supporters say that no-nonsense personality is exactly what the city needs.

Supporters of Rupright also point out that the $75,000 a year salary is a reduction for Rupright, who said he will close up his law practice if he’s elected mayor.

During the Oct. 7. municipal election, Metiva received 27 more votes than Rupright.

Whether those 27 people have been swayed to vote a different way can’t be known, and a larger voter turn-out than last time will likely have a major effect on the race.

Polls are open at Wasilla City Hall and the Wasilla Seniors Center.

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