Rupright wins another 3 years

WASILLA — It’s business as usual at city hall following Tuesday’s election, which saw incumbents win across the board.

In the most hotly contested race of the political season in the Valley, Mayor Verne Rupright handily beat challenges from city councilwomen Dianne Woodruff and Taffina Katkus, and former councilman Michael A. Carson. Rupright’s 453 votes represent more than 47 percent of ballots cast, according to unofficial results. That’s 169 ahead of Woodruff, who garnered 284 votes, or 29.5 percent. And Katkus, a first-term councilwoman, earned just more than 20 percent with 192 votes, while Carson had 27.

Along with councilwomen Leone Harris and Colleen Sullivan-Leonard also winning re-election to their seats, the message from voters is clear, Rupright said.

“Obviously, the voters in Wasilla were pleased with the working relationship with the mayor’s office and those council people,” he said. “I would say I think people listened to the issues and paid very little attention to the rhetoric and think that Wasilla’s going in the right direction, and needs to continue on that path.”

In seeking a second term as mayor, Rupright said he has many goals he wants to see accomplished, including improving traffic flow through the city, upgrading the municipal airport and building a new library.

That voters borough-wide also approved more than $30 million in road improvements is a big deal, he said.

“We’ve got connecting roads, the bonds passed, which is really an investment in the future and a jobs bond,” he said. “Now it’s time to really lobby heavy to the state to make those matches good.”

He’s also pleased with the approval of $214 million in school district bonds, which includes money to replace Iditarod Elementary School, the oldest in the Mat-Su Borough School District.

By building a new school, Rupright said he hopes the borough can use the old school to house satellite offices in Wasilla, something he’s pushed for in the past.

“Getting from Wasilla to Palmer anymore is next to impossible to take care of a planning or platting issue,” he said. With the fast growth of the area, “that older building can then be used for something more positive.”

For the next three years, Wasilla also will work on upgrading its wastewater treatment plant and push forward with a ground navigation system at the airport, which would allow for expanding the runway, he said.

After a heated election that at times was contentious, Rupright said he hopes he and the council can continue to work well together.

“I would certainly hope so,” he said. “The mayor’s office cannot do all the work of the city in a vacuum. It takes the cooperation of the council to pass these ordinances and work on the budget issues. They hold the purse strings.”

Former councilman Carson declined to comment, but Rupright’s hope of a harmonious relationship between his office and the council is a sentiment shared by Katkus, who said she will continue to work hard as a councilwoman.

Although she said she’s “disappointed with the turnout of voters, I’m still determined to get the people involved.”

Overall, 23 percent of registered voters participated in Tuesday’s election, which was a slight increase over past municipal elections. In 2010, which saw several council seats on the line, 18.1 percent turned out to vote. The last election with a mayor race on the ballot was 2008, which Rupright won, that saw 21.5 percent turnout.

Katkus said she has high hopes for Wasilla.

“I feel like we deserve the best we can give, and I’m up for it,” she said. “I’m more experienced now and I have more public speaking under my belt. I enjoy stepping up for what’s right, and I’m not a person to back down and shrink back from that.”

As for working with former political foes, Katkus said, “I work for the people, I don’t work for the mayor or the council. I will be a team player. … It’s the status quo and I know we can do better, but I’ll lead from the inside. I’ll do what I can do.”

Woodruff, who’s in her second term on the council, said Tuesday’s results were disappointing, but that she’s still passionate about her community.

“The voters have decided and I’m going to keep working for them,” she said. “I’ll keep doing the homework I always do and keep listening to people. I was disappointed, obviously. We didn’t get the message out well enough. I was disappointed with some of the campaign pieces that came out that were not very truthful.”

With the same council and mayor, Woodruff expects the city to run as it has been.

“I don’t think it’s going to be any different than before,” she said. “If anything, I think maybe Mrs. Katkus and I may have a better working relationship than in the past. Other than that, I don’t expect much change.”

City council

Although both Harris and Sullivan-Leonard won re-election to the city council, their battles were closer than the mayor’s race. With more than 150 absentee, questioned and early ballots to be counted, Harris leads local businessman David Nyberg 438 votes to 394, a difference of 44.

“I’m honored, but I’m still waiting for the final count,” Harris said.

Overall, she thinks the message from Wasilla voters is clear — keep up the good work.

“I think people are, overall, happy with the direction that we’ve been headed in and want us to continue in that direction,” she said.

For the next three years, Harris would like to see more economic development in the city.

“I’d like to see us continue in a direction where we can have some good growth for the city,” she said. “I’d like to see more business, more jobs. We need a new library, and I think we can do this without raising taxes.”

She said she also hopes the election won’t affect the dynamic of the council.

“We have to keep it rolling,” she said. “I don’t think we should let our emotions control what we do, because we have to look out for the best interest of the voters and the city.”

As for Nyberg, said he remains optimistic. There are still votes to be counted and he said he hopes enough of them will go his way to put him on the council.

“It ain’t over yet,” he said. “There are still some votes out there to count. I did my best, and I was kind of amazed I got that many votes. If it turns out I didn’t make it this time, which I probably won’t, oh yeah, I’m looking forward to the next time.”

Sullivan-Leonard also said she’s honored to win re-election, beating challenger Pat Brown 502 to 344.

“I’m just real pleased and very humbled that the residents have chosen me again for the council,” she said. “I think the people in the community are pleased with the direction we have been taking.”

Along with improving the city’s infrastructure, Sullivan-Leonard said she’s concerned about an increasing crime rate in Wasilla. She said she’s been working with Wasilla Police Chief Gene Belden to create a business watch effort, similar to Neighborhood Watch.

“Crime is up and we don’t like that,” she said. “The businesses are willing to band together to fight it.”

The election canvassing board is meeting to judge the validity of questioned, absentee, early and other special needs ballots and final results are expected to be out by the end of the day today, said city clerk Kristie Smithers.

Contact Greg Johnson at greg.johnson@frontiersman.com or 352-2269.