Familiar faces apply for open assembly seat

PALMER — The list of people who have applied to replace Jim Colver on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly was finalized Wednesday.

The list includes some new faces and some old ones. According to Mat-Su Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie they are: Barbara Doty; Robert Doyle; Gregg Hanson; Neal Lacy; Steve Menard; and Robert Williams.

Doty is a well-known physician in Mat-Su whose name last showed up in the Frontiersman when she won a seat on the American Academy of Family Physicians’ board of directors. She also shows up in coverage of the plane crash that killed her husband, John Eschleman and two other men in 2010. Doty works in family medicine/obstetrics and has practiced medicine in the Mat-Su since 1986.

Doyle sits on the board of directors of the Matanuska Electric Association. He is a former Chief Administrator for the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District. He’s a longtime Alaska resident who graduated from East High School in Anchorage.

Lacy served on the school board before losing his seat to Donna Dearman in the 2013 race. He went on to run for the state House of Representatives as a Democrat. He is a former district teacher who created the small engine mechanical program at Colony High School that works on lawnmowers and snowmachines — anything smaller than a car.

Steve Menard was last in Valley politics when he served on the Wasilla City Council. He is the son of a former Valley legislator and Mat-Su Borough Mayor, the late Steve Menard, and a former Valley state senator, Linda Menard. His time on the city council ended with voters recalling him from that body after he behaved poorly on a city trip to Sitka.

Robert Williams ran for Lieutenant Governor as a Democrat last year, losing to Hollis French who was eventually dropped from the ticket when the gubernatorial nominee, Byron Mallott, chose instead to form a unity ticket with Independent candidate Bill Walker. The unity ticket won. Williams is a math teacher at Colony High School and son of a Butte-area logger.

Gregg Hanson is the only real wildcard among the group. His name doesn’t appear in Frontiersman archives though Mat-Su Borough property records do show a homeowner with property in the relevant assembly district.

The assembly planned to convene Thursday to discuss candidates. Members will then either vote to seat one of the candidates, or to seek more applicants.