Preliminary results of the Prince of Wales Island election

Many Prince of Wales Island residents went to the polls on Tuesday to take part in local elections in their communities.

Craig

Over in Craig, the island’s largest city, residents voted on three ballot propositions and two seats on the city council and school board. Only one of those seats, a full term on the City Council, was a contested race between two candidates. Unofficial results show candidate Jan Trojan received 145 votes for the seat, beating his competitor Aaron Bean, who ended up with 58 votes.

The uncontested City Council seat went to Shauna Thomas, even though there were 32 write-in votes. A three-year term on the Craig School Board went to Bonnie Morris and a two-year term was claimed by Hans Hjort.

Craig voters also approved a ballot proposal that would double the hotel tax for guests traveling through the city from $5 per day to $10 per day starting next year.

Proposition 2 on Craig’s ballot was more heavily contested. A seasonal sales tax increase has been proposed next year to 7% during peak tourism season and 6% for the rest of the year. The city’s current sales tax is 5%. The reason for this ordinance is that the Craig City School District is facing a $1.2 million budget deficit for this school year. City Manager Brian Templin said in May that they needed a quick and efficient way to increase the city’s revenue to cover it, and the proposed sales tax increase would most likely accomplish that. Unofficial results showed the increase was by 5 votes. However, it is still up in the air. According to Templin, the city still has 42 mail-in ballots and 6 question papers left to count at Thursday night’s City Council meeting.

The final proposal Craig voted on involved the long-controversial Ward Cove Cannery Site. The city recently sold the historic piece of land to the Craig Tribal Association. The proposed ordinance requires any future sale of property on the cannery site to be approved by the citizens of Craig. This ordinance passed with 46 votes, making it possible that the remaining absentee votes could overturn it, but statistically unlikely.

Klawock

The city council in nearby Klawock will certify the results of its local election on Monday, Oct. 7. Just over 100 voters in the small community cast ballots in three races. Janelle Macasaet-Friday took the full-term seat on the City Council, receiving 76 votes to her competitor Paul England’s 65 votes. She also ran for the three-year seat on the Klawock School Board, but lost to Amanda Armour. Samantha Ponce ran unopposed for a one-year seat on the school board

Hydaburg

Further south, the community of Hydaburg elected Anthony Christianson as its new mayor. Andrea Peele and William Lockhart won full terms on the city council and Anthony Edenshaw claimed a one-year term on the city council. Edenshaw also claimed a partial term on the Hydaburg school board alongside Laura Peele and Mary Anna Grant, who were elected to three-year seats on the school board.

However, these are also unofficial results. Hydaburg will confirm and swear in its new elected officials following a special meeting on Monday, October 7.

Thorne Bay

Thorne Bay residents voted on four open seats on the city council. Preliminary results show those seats going to candidates Timber Pesterfield, Anthony Lovell, Trevor Killian and Shane Nyquest.

Voters also weighed in on the decision to establish in-person absentee voting in future municipal elections at Davidson Landing in Thorne Bay. It was approved with 50 votes.

The city will poll the community for absentee ballots on Friday, Oct. 4, before announcing the official results.

Coffman Cove

In Coffman Cove, a community of just over 100 residents north of Thorne Bay, 78 residents voted for three city council seats. In total, 11 candidates ran for these three seats and the unofficial results show three clear winners: Gregory Husten, William Shane Nixon and William Bawden.

The nearby community of Whale Pass doesn’t hold its local elections until Nov. 5, coinciding with the state and federal elections. Election officials in Naukati, Hollis and Kasaan were not available to announce the results.