Wasilla voters elect familiar faces, reject APOC question

WASILLA — Even though there was only one incumbent running this year, all three people picked to serve on Wasilla City Council have experience there.

First, the incumbent: Dianne Woodruff walloped challenger Michael Carson 459 to 228.

“We’re still a very, very small community and a lot of it is about personal relationships with people,” Woodruff said when asked why she felt voters chose her.

She said the margin of victory was nice; she won’t have to spend the next week on the edge of her seat as absentee votes are counted.

In the race for Seat D, which would fill the unexpired term of Nancy Hall, who left to live in Argentina, Colleen Sullivan-Leonard beat Gary Hale with 419 votes to Hale’s 242. She has served both on the council and on the city’s planning commission. She currently works as an independent consultant to policy makers. She said she is excited to get back to work.

“I think we ran a good, strong race and I’m very pleased with the results and look forward to rolling up my sleeves and getting to work as soon as I can,” Sullivan-Leonard said Tuesday night.

Another returnee to the council appears to be Steve Menard, whose total of 245 votes put him 34 votes ahead of his closest competitor in a squeaker of a five-way race in the election to replace Kristofer Larson on the council.

Menard’s closest competitor was beauty shop owner Glenda Ledford, who took 211 votes. Next was David Nyberg with 103, then Jeff Ward with 70 and finally Patrick Brown with 56.

This race in particular could swing with the absentee, early, questioned and special needs ballots, around 140 of which are still outstanding. But Menard said, for now, he’s happy.

“Any time you’re elected I think it’s a humbling experience and I’m just glad to represent,” Menard said. “I’m just really honored.”

APOC fails

Wasilla had one proposition on its ballot this year — a question about whether the city wanted to exempt its politicians from filing Alaska Public Offices Commission reports. Voters decided they were fine with APOC, voting 448 to 323 to keep things the way they are.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.