The preliminary results for the 2023 local elections came in on Tuesday night. The scores appear mostly settled in Haines, but the race in Skagway is not quite over.

 

Poll workers in Skagway worked late into the night. A high number of write-in candidates on the ballot added to their workload. And when the preliminary results were announced, they were inconclusive. Some races are close, and up to 65 more ballots will be canvassed by the Election Board on Thursday.

Sam Bass is 20 votes ahead of Orion Hanson in the race for mayor. Their relative positions could switch after Thursday’s count.

Closer still is the race for two assembly seats. Alex Weddell has a comfortable lead of 28 votes. But Kate Kolodi and write-in candidate Charles Doland are in a virtual tie, with Doland leading by two votes. The 65 votes yet to be counted could give the seats to any two of those three candidates.

For school board, Melinda Munson has won a one-year term. Two three-year seats are up for grabs, and three candidates are close enough that either two could win. Jason Verhaeghe has 166 votes, Sterling Rachal has 152, and Phil Wagner 131.

Less ambiguous are the answers to the questions that were put to the Skagway voters. Voters overwhelmingly approved a 35-year lease of about two acres of tideland properties to the local fuel provider. Voters also overwhelmingly approved an increase in property tax exemption for seniors and disabled veterans. And voters broadly rejected an increase in sales tax. It was the second time this year that a sales tax increase was put to a vote, and turned down.

These are the results of 432 ballots cast in Skagway, The local borough assembly will consider certifying the election results at its meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 5, after canvassing the 65 absentee and questionable ballots.

The preliminary results for the Haines local election came in less than two hours after the closing of the poll. Over 1100 ballots have been counted, and up to 29 absentee, questioned or special needs ballots could be counted at the canvass that is scheduled for October 10th, during the borough assembly meeting. The margins in all but one case are large enough that these outstanding ballots can not change the results announced here.

Tom Morphet won the mayoral race, 72 votes ahead of Jan Hill.

Kevin Forster, and Craig Loomis won three-year terms on the assembly. Natalie Dawson won a one-year term.

This is the first time Haines voters chose their Planning Commission members. There were seven seats to fill – three seats for three-year terms, two for two-year terms, and two for one-year terms. Ten candidates ran. The following candidates’ names are listed in descending number of votes. Patty Brown, Erika Merklin, Derek Poinsette, Rachel Saitzyk, Dan Schultz, Brian O’Reilly, and Eben Sargent.

Sargent has a six-vote lead on Scott Hansen, and Hansen could overtake him when the 29 outstanding ballots are canvassed.

For the school board, Kevin Shove and Mark Jamison each won seats in a noncompetitive race. There is one open seat left on the school board, anyone interested in filling it should contact the Haines Borough School District.

The election marks a big shift in Haines’ politics. The issue of mining looms large in the public sphere. Mayor-elect Tom Morphet recognizes this. He says he puts his trust in the democratic process.

Morphet: “I think the mine was probably the top thing on people’s minds. As I said in my campaign,  I’d like to see a local vote on where people stand on the mine. We have a representative democracy, but some questions I think need to be decided by direct democracy. I think the government should follow the people. And we need to know where the people stand.

Many elected and appointed representatives in the Haines Borough are part of the Alaska Miner’s Association, an industry group. But voters did not favor candidates who were also members of this group – not a single one was elected. 

There is a lot of work ahead for the newly elected officials. A number of appeals still need to be looke at after a controversial property assessment process. Federal funding for road work up the valley has become uncertain. 

Morphet says he wants to hear ideas from his opponent, and the entire community.

Morphet: “I want to extend a hand to Jan Hill, and anybody else, to come talk to me. Nobody has monopoly on what’s best for Hianes. It’s going to take all of us working together to make a better town.”

At a time when many may feel raw emotions, Morphet emphasizes unity.

I want to say to the people who didn’t vote for me, or whose candidates didn’t win, that you didn’t lose. A majority of voters just chose to take a different path to what I think is a shared goal we have of having a functional community, and a good, fun, safe place to live and work and make a living.”

The Haines election results will be certified later this month.