Fairbanks area election winners settled into place Tuesday as a four-person board tabulated absentee and question ballots, taking the process one step closer to official results.
The absentee and question count didn’t draw as much attention as last year, when it proved decisive in the 2024 race for Fairbanks North Star Borough mayor and cleared up advantages in a couple of Borough Assembly races.
This time around, presumed winners had already emerged in most contested races on municipal election day Oct. 7, save one.
After election night results rolled in, Naomi Hewitt had a roughly 130-vote edge over incumbent and current Board of Education President Melissa Burnett in the race for School Board Seat D, which shaped up to be the tightest race in the borough election this year.
It was the only contested seat where the 1,450 outstanding borough absentee and question ballots – about 1,300 of which were counted Tuesday – stood much of any chance to flip-flop the candidates.
But in the Seat D race, the final tally widened the margin instead of shrinking it, handing Hewitt the victory. She won by about 330 votes.
Hewitt, who said she’s out of town, was not present Tuesday as the Borough’s Logic and Accuracy Testing Board scanned ballots inside the Assembly chambers. Reached by phone, Hewitt said she’s been fairly confident about her shot at winning the race.
“I would say before Oct. 7, I was hopeful, excited – same for after [Oct. 7],” she said. “I felt like I had a pretty good chance, and that regardless of the outcome, it was going to be good.”
The final count comes just days after the school district’s chief operating officer projected a maximum $5 million deficit for the next budget cycle. Hewitt said, if the board is again faced with cost-cutting decisions, she’ll aim to approach them with care.
“I would handle them with as much grace as possible, given the situation, and try to work with our partners in our communities to close that deficit and make changes that work for everyone – or, as many people as possible,” Hewitt said.
Burnett did attend the count on Tuesday but left the Assembly chambers before it was completed. She later declined an interview request. But in a text message to KUAC, she thanked the community for allowing her to serve on the board.
She said, “It has been a privilege to work alongside my fellow board members, and I’m grateful for the collaboration and dedication we’ve shared.”
Burnett also said she hopes the board “continues to put students first every single day,” and that she wishes Hewitt the very best.
Margins also widened in most other races in the borough and City of Fairbanks, and all election day leaders retained their advantages.
Instead, Tuesday’s count proved most consequential for the City of North Pole election. There, four candidates ran for four open seats, meaning the race was uncontested because they will all get a spot on the city council. But the candidates with the highest number of votes are getting longer terms; two of the available terms are shorter than the standard length because of former council members stepping away before their term had ended.
Election day results showed David Skipps and Sandra Rolfe tied for second place in the four-person race. The 18 outstanding North Pole ballots counted up on Tuesday gave Skipps the edge by one vote, at 141. That means he and Jordan Schuster, who came in first by three votes, will get the pair of 3-year terms. Rolfe will get a 2-year term, and David Brandt a 1-year term.
The results for all local races remain unofficial until certified by the respective legislative bodies later this month.