Rupright's ready to go to work

WASILLA - There’s a good chance Wasilla’s new mayor will be sworn into office Monday in Kotzebue.

“I have a case up there that won’t go away,” defense attorney and new head of Wasilla’s city government Verne Rupright, said after his election was certified today.

Rupright won the job after 137 outstanding ballots were counted this afternoon. He beat former city council member and challenger Marty Metiva, 466-373.

The mayor-elect said his first act in his new position will be tell everyone on the city payroll to stay put.

“At this juncture I expect no changes. I want to hear what the department heads expect of me before I can tell them what I expect from them,” he said. “Of course, some (employees) may elect to leave.”

Regarding his work in the community, Rupright said, “I’m in the listening business. I have to know what the citizens want.”

Two of the first things he thinks the citizens want is for the city to tackle the comprehensive plan and Wasilla’s notorious traffic problems.

Rupright said he gained new insight in his community while he spent time campaigning during for the first election Oct. 7, and even more when he had to go out again for the run-off.

“It was pretty cold out there, working the streets,” he said. “But I had a lot of good people working for me.”

Rupright predicted Thursday that the final tally would likely follow the same statistical rate as the Oct. 28 vote where he carried a 55.3 to 44.7 percent advantage. With the final votes tallied today, he actually improved a little, winning with 55.5 percent to Metiva's 44.5.

Neither Rupright nor Metiva were on hand for the vote count at 2 p.m. when the city’s Canvassing Board determined Rupright’s lead had increased by 19 votes over the Oct. 28 run-off vote.

Now that the race is over, Rupright said he had one more thing he would like to do.

“Take a nap.”

Maybe he can get some shut-eye on the flight to Kotzebue.

The plan now is that he will fly to the Arctic Circle town Monday and then, if the weather holds, catch a flight back to Anchorage that afternoon. Then he’ll drive home for a post-swearing-in party at 7:30 p.m., at city hall.

After that?

“I start to work Tuesday.”