Leslie Morton was appointed by a 5-3 vote to the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly During Tuesday night’s meeting. Morton will represent the Sterling and Funny River areas for District 5.
The seat was vacated earlier this year when Bill Elam officially took his post in Juneau as the State House representative for Alaska District 8.
In addition to Morton, seven other candidates put their names in for the seat: Marty Anderson, Jill Craig, Dale Eicher, Dr. Paul Marks, Ed Oberts, Greg Olcott, and Craig Schwartz. Each of the candidates was given time to make their case for appointment before the assembly.
Assembly president Peter Ribbens praised the number of candidates seeking the position. “Some of you who listen to these Assembly meetings may have heard me bemoan the lack of public participation, and I think this is another case in my life where I have to watch out what I wish for because District 5 responded strongly with eight candidates,” Ribbens said before candidates took the podium to address the assembly.
“My husband and I raised our daughters here, and I do have an agenda. I want to help the peninsula continue to be a place that people choose to live and work,” Morton said to the assembly. “We chose this place, and I want other people to do that also and to feel as welcome as we did when we got here.”
Morton’s appointment lasts until October 2025, when the District 5 seat will be up for election. The individual elected at that time will serve through the end of Elam’s original term of 2026.
