Tew sworn in as assemblyman

PALMER — More than three weeks after election day on Nov. 3, Clayton ‘Mokie’ Tew was sworn in as the Mat-Su Borough Assemblyman for District 5 at a special meeting of the Borough Assembly on Friday.

Tew led the pledge at the beginning of the meeting and Dan Mayfield, who still represented District 5 at the time, made the motion to certify the election results for District 5 which passed without opposition.

“I know that you’ve had a dream of a goal of becoming an assembly member and I really celebrate your tenacity and your perseverance in making that dream come true I think that’s an absolutely great thing and I look forward, as one of your constituents I look forward to your leadership and I just encourage you as an assembly member read as much as you can,” said Mayfield.

Tew received 1,312 votes which was confirmed by the Canvass Board after a recount was requested by Lisa Behrens who received 1,301 votes. Both numbers were unchanged and the only vote total changed was one additional vote cast for third place finisher Mike Alexander. Tew requested a recount in 2017 and ultimately lost that race, but withstood the recount that occurred on Tuesday. Tew took the oath of office administered by Mat-Su Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie and will begin serving as an assemblyman at the regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 1.

“Mr. Tew, I’ll see you on Tuesday,” said District 4 Assemblyman Rob Yundt.

Tew’s campaign director Beth Fread praised the clerk’s office and Canvass Board for their accuracy as a viewer of the counting process.

“It was an amazing thing to watch. It was thorough, I had total confidence in what they were doing,” said Fread. “I just want to tell you how proud I was to be a member of the Mat-Su Borough and be able to watch that process come off. Congratulations to the Clerk’s office.”

After making the motion to certify the results of the election, Mayfield made his last comments from the dias after six years as an assemblyman.

“You hit the ground running as an Assembly member, got up to speed on things very quickly and you were always engaged and knowledgeable when you had questions and we had very good conversations. I’m going to miss you, again I can’t believe it’s been six years. It doesn’t seem like it’s been that long so it has but it’s going to be weird not having you around,” said Mat-Su Borough Attorney Nick Spiropolous.

In his closing comments, Mayfield thanked the staff of the Mat-Su Borough, commending Acting Manager Hays, Finance Director Cheyenne Heindel, Public Information Officer Stefan Hinman, IT Director Eric Wyatt, and Clerk Lonnie McKechnie.

“I appreciate all you’ve done for the Borough and I know that’s a lot. You’ve made it a better place to live, to work, and I really appreciate that,” said Hays.

District 7 Assemblywoman Tam Boeve told a story of meeting Mayfield for the first time at a meeting at the Willow Fire Department, which Mayfield attended despite not being in his district.

“He cares deeply about the Mat-Su Borough, not just his district but the entire borough. All those days I came into the office early or on a day we didn’t have a meeting, Dan was already here, on the phone with staff or constituents working tirelessly for our communities. You are my role model and. I’m going to miss you,” said Boeve.

After Mayfield’s final comments, the meeting was briefly interrupted by an outburst of applause.

“Our successes are collaborative successes, so thank you very much for the six years that I’ve been here and thank you for supporting my district and thank you for supporting the Borough as a whole,” said Mayfield. “With that, I will conclude my statements and conclude my six years of service. Thank you.”