Tonight, the League of Women Voters on the Kenai Peninsula, Kenai Peninsula Votes, and the City of Homer will host an event focused on running for elected office. The event will feature a presentation on the topic, followed by a question-and-answer session with a panel of six former elected officials.
Kenai Peninsula Votes (KPV) is a non-partisan group of citizens who work to educate voters, host candidate forums, and inform the public about upcoming elections. Alex Koplin is a member of KPV. He said the event is geared toward teaching people how to run for State House, Homer City Council, Borough Assembly, and more.
“We want to educate the public about ways they can do civic duty. And one of those ways is running for office and being a representative to help our community grow,” Koplin said.
A panel made up of past elected officials in various positions will discuss the election process and answer questions from attendees about their experience running for office. The event will cover information relevant to many different districts, not just those open and up for election on the Lower Kenai Peninsula.
“Some people might not know about what they might be interested in running for. So it's complicated, there's a lot of information. But, we're going to cover that, and we'll have reference sheets so people can use that,” Koplin said.
Koplin said the event is not exclusively for people looking to run for office.
“If you're at all interested in learning more about how government works and how offices work, even if you're not thinking of running for public office, this could be a pretty cool opportunity to learn more, ask questions,” Koplin said.
The free “How to Run for Elected Office” event will take place at 5:30 p.m. at Homer City Hall Thursday, April 4.
You can find more information about the event and a list of panelists on KPV’s Facebook page. A live broadcast of the discussion will be available as well.
