Kenai Peninsula residents interested in running for local office in the upcoming municipal election can start filing tomorrow. This year, seats are open on the Kenai and Soldotna city councils, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly and the local school board. The candidate filing period will close on Aug. 15 at 4:30 p.m.
In Kenai, the two city council seats currently held by James Baisden and Deborah Sounart will be on the ballot. To run for Kenai City Council, a candidate must be at least 21 years old, be a qualified state voter, have lived in Kenai for one year preceding Election Day and submit a complete nomination petition.
In Soldotna, voters will cast ballots in two city council races. Council members Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings and Jordan Chilson have terms that end this year. To run for Soldotna City Council, a candidate must have lived in Soldotna for one year preceding their declaration date, be a qualified city voter and be a U.S. citizen.
There are three seats up for grabs on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly: the Kalifornsky seat currently held by Brent Hibbert (HIB-ert), the east peninsula seat held by Cindy Ecklund and the south peninsula seat held by Mike Tupper. Assembly members serve three-year terms.
On the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Board of Education, there are also three seats open: the Kenai seat held by Matt Morse, the Sterling/Funny River seat held by Kelley Cizek and the Homer seat held by Tim Daugharty. School board members also serve three-year terms.
Although Cizek was elected to her seat last year, she is currently only finishing out the remainder of someone else’s term. Jennifer Waller was elected to the school board’s Sterling/Funny River seat in 2021, but resigned in 2022. Then, the board appointed Beverley Romanin to fill in until the next regular election. Cizek won that election.
The voter registration deadline for this year’s municipal election is Aug. 31. Election Day is Oct. 1.
