The filing period for two Homer City Council seats closed Tuesday. Eight candidates are in the running for current council members’ David Lewis and Catriona Reynolds positions on the council.
Three candidates entered the race Monday. Stephen Mueller is among the new group of candidates. Mueller currently works as a pharmacist in Homer. In his candidate statement, he says he brings over 25 years of corporate management experience to the table. He has also served as an officer at the Homer Elks Lodge.
Andrew Kita also entered the race Monday. Kita is a Navy veteran and a line cook at Café Cups. In his statement, Kita notes he has no experience in government.
Dwayne Nustvold Jr. declared his candidacy as well. According to his statement, Nustvold moved to Homer in 2008 and has worked in the commercial fishing industry. Prior to Homer, he says he owned several businesses. Nustvold is currently retired, and adds in his statement that his days “are numbered” in Homer.
Since filing opened on Aug. 1, five additional candidates have filed.
Kimberly Ketter filed to run for her second time. Ketter received 181 votes in 2016.
Caroline Venuti is also in the running. She has served on the Library Advisory Board, the City Transportation Committee and sat on the founding board of the Homer Boys and Girls Club.
Homer resident and stay-at-mother Sarah Vance is running for her first time. Vance became a local public figure when she took on the role of spokeswoman for Heartbeat of Homer, the political action committee that pushed for the recall of three council members.
Rachel Lord is also running for her first time. Lord is a small business owner and is the current commissioner on the City’s Economic Development Commission. She also sits on the Harbor Safety Committee and is an executive secretary for Alaska’s Harbormasters Association.
Annie Poso also announced her intention to run. She has worked in the commercial fishing industry for 20 years and just retired from the business. Poso sits on the Old Town Professional Center Home Owners Association Board, and she has served on the student association at the Kachemak Bay Campus.
All the candidates’ statements can be found on the city’s website.
On the borough side, the filing period also came to a close. Five positions on the Kenai Borough Assembly are open this year, including Homer’s seat. Homer representative and current Assembly President Kelly Cooper has filed for re-election. If re-elected, it would be Cooper’s second term.
She has served as assembly president since 2016, and is currently on the Alaska Municipal League’s board. She has also served on the South Peninsula Hospital’s Operating Area Board, as president on the Homer Chamber of Commerce’s Board of Directors and on the borough’s Health Care Task Force. She is running unopposed.
One of Homer’s seats on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education is also open. Incumbent Mike Illg is running for reelection and is also running unopposed.
