Seven to run for MEA board

MAT-SU -- Seven candidates are running for three seats on the Matanuska Electric Association board of directors this year, in an election that could determine the balance of power on the MEA board.

Current board president Larry DeVilbiss will be running against Palmer resident Michelle Huen to retain his Palmer-area seat, which he was appointed to after board member Rose Marie "Tiny" DePriest resigned from the board in October 2001. DePriest's seat was first filled by former MEA board member Aaron Downing, who later also resigned. DeVilbiss' nomination for the 2004 election was confirmed by the MEA nominating committee, and Huen filed to run by petition. MEA candidates are eligible to run, according to co-op bylaws, if they gather signatures from 100 MEA members.

Eagle River-area board member Linda Shattuck will run against two candidates in her race -- perennial candidate Tom Staudenmaier and newcomer Robert "Bob" Wells. Both Wells and Staudenmaier applied to run through petition, and Shattuck was confirmed by the nominating committee.

In a runoff for the Wasilla-area race in the 2004 election will be board member Michael Janecek and Alaska State Trooper Dallas Massie. Both candidates filed to run via petition.

Although all candidates were, as of Thursday, confirmed as eligible to run, MEA spokesman Mike Pauley said candidates may still withdraw from the race up until Feb. 21, so a final list of candidates will not be available until Monday.

The 2004 election marks the second contest in which MEA board members did not run at large to retain or gain membership on the board. In 2000, members passed a change to the co-op bylaws creating three districts, and specifying that, once every three years, new board members representing the three districts would be elected.

As a result of the divided election, MEA members living in Palmer, Wasilla and Eagle River will receive different ballots -- each will list only the candidates up for election in the member's district. So although the field of board candidates is larger than it has been in recent years, members will only be asked to choose from two or three names, depending on which district they live in.

"It'll be a smaller microcosm of voters," Pauley said. "There are a lot of candidates, but members won't perceive it that way."

The three districts were created through bylaw amendments adopted by voters in 2000, and went into effect at the 2001 election. Their creation, according to information presented at the time, was an attempt to ensure geographical representation throughout MEA's broad coverage area.

Ballots for the 2004 election are set to be mailed out by March 14, Pauley said. There are no ballot propositions on the ballot this year, so MEA voters should be able to complete their ballots relatively quickly. Local community groups have already scheduled forums for MEA board members to discuss their stance on utility-related issues and answer questions. Pauley said a forum is scheduled at the Eagle River Chamber of Commerce for noon on March 17 at the North Slope Restaurant in Eagle River. The Palmer Chamber of Commerce will hold a forum at noon on March 24 at the Palmer Moose Lodge, and the Wasilla Chamber of Commerce has scheduled a forum for noon on March 30 at Mat-Su Resort. The MEA annual meeting is scheduled for April 3 at Colony High.