Elections

A Board of Fisheries member is planning to challenge Rep. Paul Seaton (R-Homer) for his seat in the Alaska Legislature.

Voters choose between candidates Charlie Pierce and Linda Hutchings in a runoff election in the Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor’s race to be held Tuesday, Oct. 24. Polls are open from 7 a.m.-8 p.m.

A candidate for borough mayor has threatened legal action over comments regarding a 2000 court case, while his opponent says the comments did not come from her or her campaign.

Norm Blakeley, Brent Hibbert, Hal Smalley, Kelly Cooper and Kenn Carpenter will fill five of the nine seats on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, according to unofficial election results.

A new face will be representing Nikiski and Tyonek on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education.

Cannabis businesses in the borough outside the cities can continue operations as usual with the failure of Kenai Peninsula Borough Proposition 1, according to Tuesday’s unofficial election results.

Charlie Pierce and Linda Hutchings are headed to a runoff election in the race for Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor, according to unofficial results of Tuesday’s election.

Roads, the recall, taxes, business and budgets dominated discussion at two Homer City Council candidate forums held the past two weeks. On Sept. 21, KBBI Public Radio and Homer News reporters moderated a meeting at Kachemak Bay Campus. On Sept. 28 at the Homer Elks Lodge, the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center sponsored another forum.

What a beautiful day! A big minus tide and a barefoot walk in the sunshine, an idea of a future I have chosen for myself still unknown. My mom called me crazy, and I never would’ve thought of it, but I am able to allow myself a public position of leadership.

Many philosophers in ancient history had a plethora of inspiring and intriguing schools of thought about life. Perhaps one of the most mysterious ones was a Greek philosopher of the late 6th century BCE, named Heraclitus. Heraclitus had two particular beliefs that I feel are essential and applicable to our community and the issues going on within it. He believed that in a sense, all things are one and that opposites are necessary for life, but unified for a system of balanced exchanges. In fact, Heraclitus criticized his predecessors and contemporaries for failing to see the unity in their experience. I feel this is important for community members to think about as we look at our political dynamics within Homer and the events that transpired this past summer. Many of us may appear to be on opposite sides of the spectrum when it comes to political ideologies. However, regardless of each individual’s political beliefs or lack thereof, or our differences on issues within our city, I feel it is important for us to note that each of us cares about Homer and it’s future. This is a fact that indeed unifies all of us. No matter if we agree on anything else, I think we can all agree on one commonality - our passionate love for our city and community. For the health of ourselves and our city, I feel it’s time we all start listening openly to one another, agree to disagree, and still work together collaborating our insights and ideas to define problems then figure out solutions that is for the betterment of all of us.

When I drive away from my home the first intersection that I encounter is Pioneer Avenue. As many of us know, trying to make a left turn, or even a right turn there can at times be challenging, especially in the early morning and after school or work rush hours: However, it is not uncommon during mid-day in the summer when looking east or west, there will not be a moving vehicle in sight. By contrast, if I then go down to the post office, the Sterling Highway will at the very same time be simply bustling with traffic, most of it headed to the spit. The name Homer Bypass really does describe this route through Homer. It is easy to see how a newcomer driving into Homer on the Sterling Highway would naturally assume that the road is headed into Homer and completely miss the turn onto Pioneer Avenue. In some ways, the Bypass has become too effective. It primarily directs traffic to those businesses located further east of downtown or out on the spit.

When I was in graduate school in Fairbanks I was a “Big Sister” through Big Brothers Big Sisters (BBBS). My “Little Brother” was autistic, and one of three kids with a hard working single mom. She sought out BBBS to allow her kids more positive adults in their lives, and more strong individual connections in the community. I loved my Little, and sorely missed him when I moved to Homer several years later. I quickly sought out Homer”s BBBS and was matched with a vibrant and energetic six year old living in an incredibly chaotic and unstable situation.

Growing up here in Homer has given me a love for this community that has shaped my worldview. This love has empowered me to invest in our future as a leader who can bridge the gap of division and bring harmony.

My decision to run for a seat on the Homer City Council comes from a desire to leave Homer better than I found it — I owe it to my children and grandchildren. In a time when the financial needs of our City outweigh the funds that are coming in, our Council must put their heads together to find a solution to these shrinking resources as well as carefully scrutinize what is being spent.

Homer’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly member Kelly Cooper will have smooth sailing into her next term, as she’s running unopposed to keep her seat.

While attending the September 11, 2017 Homer City Council Meeting, it became blatantly obvious that the wounds sustained by the citizens of Homer as a result of the build up to the “inclusivity” resolution and the resulting recall election are a long way from healing. Many among us are still hurting badly. Additionally, there are segments of our population on both sides that “just don’t want to let this go.”

In a Kenai Peninsula Borough mayoral candidate forum sponsored by the Homer Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center, Dale Bagley, Linda Farnsworth Hutchings and Charlie Pierce all distinguished themselves as capable candidates for the borough’s top administrative position.

The Homer News submitted these questions to all the candidates actively running for two 3-year seats on the Homer City Council. Their answers are printed as submitted. Andrew Kita did not return answers.

In the Oct. 3 municipal election, Kenai Peninsula Borough residents will elect a new borough mayor and vote on school board and assembly members. Residents in the unincorporated areas of the city also will consider a ban on commercial cannabis with Proposition 1, where a “yes” vote approves the ban (see story, page 1, Business &Real Estate).

If the elephant in the room in the Homer City Council race is the recall campaign, candidate Sarah Vance could be considered the elephant trainer. She served as one of the co-chairs of Heartbeat of Homer, the group organized to back the attempted recall against council members Donna Aderhold, David Lewis and Catriona Reynolds, and became the spokesperson for the recall group.