The City of Soldotna has provided a notice to the general public regarding the upcoming regular municipal election on October 3rd. The office of the mayor, as well as council seats B and F are up for election.
Soldotna City Clerk, Johni Blankenship explained the election process;
“Starting in July, we put the candidate packets out there so that folks have time to get all the paperwork done, and the filing is from August 1st through August 15th. After the filing is over, then those folks who filed for the different seats, which are Mayor, Council Seat B, and Council seat F, then those folks’ names’ get put onto the ballot, and then absentee voting will start mid-September, and the actual Election Day is October 3rd.”
According to the brief provided by the city, terms for the offices to be filled are:
- Mayor — To be elected for a three-year term expiring October 2026.
- Council seat B — To be elected for a three-year term expiring October 2026.
- Council seat F — To be elected for a three-year term expiring October 2026
Soldotna Mayor Paul Whitney, who is approaching the end of his first term as city mayor, stated his intent to file for reelection;
“I will be filing for reelection as mayor. There’s a couple of great projects we have going right now, and I’d like to see them through to the finish. That would be, of course, the field house, riverfront development and a lot of little things we have going on in the city right now.”
Councilmember Dan Nelson, who currently holds council seat B, is undecided as to whether he will seek reelection;
“I’ve enjoyed my time on Soldotna City Council, and certainly wish to continue doing a lot of the work, and dealing with the important issues of the city. However, at this point I have not decided whether I will run again. So, prior to the filing period I’ll make that decision.”
The seat F holder, councilmember Chera Weckler has also confirmed her intent to run for reelection.
To be eligible to run for City office, potential candidates must meet the following qualifications:
- Must be a resident of the city for at least one year preceding the date of declaration, a citizen of the United States, and a qualified voter of the City.
- Must fill out a public official financial disclosure statement with the City Clerk at the time of filing a Declaration of Candidacy. (AS 39.50)
- Must file the required campaign disclosure statements with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, as all candidates for public office are subject to the requirements of AS 15.13 Campaign Disclosure Law.
Candidates must file a declaration of candidacy with the Soldotna City Clerk, 177 N Birch St. Soldotna, Alaska.
Candidate filing period begins on August 1st, 2023 at 8:00 a.m., and closes on August 15th, 2023 at 4:30 p.m..
Candidate packets containing all required forms will be available no later than July 14th, 2023 at the City Clerks Office, or online at www.soldotna.org. Office hours are 8:00, a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday.
For additional information, call the City Clerk 907-262-9107.