A late laydown to the agenda for Tuesday night’s Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly resulted in deliberations and a subsequent 7-2 vote over appointing Mike Navarre as Interim Borough Mayor for the Kenai Peninsula Borough. This comes after Charlie Pierce announced that he will resign from office to focus on his gubernatorial campaign.
Navarre steps into the role after having previously held the role of Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor in the 1990s and 2010s. Most recently, he was the State of Alaska Department of Commerce Commissioner in 2017. Navarre was also in the Alaska State Legislature as Representative from 1985 to 1996.
Assembly Member Tyson Cox, who motioned to appoint Navarre as Interim Mayor, cited KPB Attorney Sean Kelley’s recent memo regarding the vacancy and the transition and succession process for the office of Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor, adding, ‘He is one of very few number of people who can “hit the road running” as Mayor with as minimal of a learning curve as could be asked for in such a position.’
In a closing address the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, outgoing Mayor Pierce said:
“I’ve had the honor to serve as mayor of the Kenai Peninsula Borough over the last five years and I owe thanks to so many. A special thanks to my three chiefs of staff that I have served with. I give thanks and credit to the dedicated borough employees that have taken ownership required to produce such favorable results. They should be smiling, and I hope they will smile in the future, too, because there are so many blessings bestowed upon us every day. I wish the assembly and the new administration the very best in the future. Have fun. Try to be nice to each other. Good luck to the entire Kenai Peninsula Borough. Be safe and be well always. It’s been an honor to serve, and I have other things to worry about and carry on and so I wish you all the very, very best. Good luck.”
Mayor Pierce’s resignation will become effective at 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 30, 2022.