Anchorage Assembly, school board incumbents hold early leads in municipal election

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Incumbents Christopher Constant and Felix Rivera led in their respective Anchorage Assembly races after the first round of preliminary results of the Regular Municipal Election was released on Tuesday night.

The election featured races in six Assembly districts (two in District 5), as well as seats C and D of the Anchorage School Board. Only the North Anchorage and Midtown Anchorage seats had races with incumbents as the other five seats opened after Assembly members either stepped down, hit their term limit or were elected to a different position.

Constant, hoping to continue serving Seat B in District 1 (North Anchorage), led by a wide margin in the first round of election results. Challenged by candidates Nick Danger and John Trueblood, Constant received 2,006 votes or 60% of the total vote. Trueblood received 707 votes and Danger received 360 votes.

Rivera’s race for Seat G in District 4 (Midtown) against challenger Travis Szanto was closer. Rivera, who is running for this third term on the Assembly, received 2,767 votes (56%) compared to Szanto’s 2,172 votes.

The the race for Anchorage School Board Seat C, incumbent Dave Donley led Irene Boll 16,272 to 12,099, while incumbent Andy Holleman led Mark Anthony Cox 15,512 to 12,613 in School Board Seat D.

Fifteen propositions were also up for a vote Tuesday, with 11 of them showing on the ballots for all municipal residents. Four propositions were specific to certain areas of town. All but one were passing in the preliminary results.

Chief among them was Prop 1, which would use over $37 million in school bonds to pay for security improvements in schools and structural integrity in school district buildings. That proposition was passing Tuesday night with 55% of the vote, with 16,379 ballots currently in favor for a lead of roughly 2,700 votes.

Another question of high interest on the ballot, Prop 13, was failing as of Tuesday night, with 52% of the votes against it, a lead of almost 1,200 votes over the “yes” ballots (14,416 to 13,235).

The measure would clarify the timelines and processes for when special elections are held for filling a vacancy in the office of the mayor, as well as seats on the Anchorage Assembly, and would exclude special election costs from the tax cap. It would also restructure what will happen in the event that a mayor can no longer serve.

Prop 14, which would set aside funding for child care and early education by using retail marijuana sales tax revenue, is passing with 57% of the vote (16,595 to 12,472).

For a full list of election results, visit Alaska’s News Source Election Results Page.

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