Every available seat for Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly and Board of Education will be contested this year, unless candidates decide to withdraw. City of Fairbanks and City of North Pole races are on track to see some competition, as well, though the incumbent in one Fairbanks City Council race will be running unopposed.
There are six spots up for grabs between the borough Assembly and school board in the 2026 municipal elections. All of them are at-large seats, meaning they represent the entire borough, not a specific area within it.
Fairbanks law firm owner Alexis Howell and U.S. military veteran Miguel Ramirez are squaring off for Seat D on the Assembly. That’s the one currently held by Liz Reeves. Reeves served one term and isn’t seeking reelection. Ramirez ran in and lost in a bid for Assembly in 2024.
Incumbent Nick LaJiness is also set to take on Shelly Shupe, who serves on the borough commission for the Moose Creek Service Area. And in the third Assembly race, real estate agent and Army veteran Joshua Leaders is challenging current Presiding Officer Scott Crass. Those are for seats E and H, respectively.
Over on the school board, it’s incumbent Tim Doran looking for a Seat E win over two-time past candidate Sally Gant, who ran unsuccessfully in 2021 and 2024. Army veteran Bridger Terra and Sean Holland, the associate director of learning innovation at the University of Alaska Fairbanks eCampus, are facing off for Seat G. That currently belongs to Meredith Maple, who didn’t file for reelection after serving one term.
There’s only one three-way contest among the boroughwide races. Current School Board President Bobby Burgess has a pair of challengers for Seat F: UAF Institute of Northern Engineering Research Professor Robert Herrick and former Fairbanks public school teacher Jamiee Coon.
The borough administers elections for the cities of Fairbanks and North Pole, as well, and they’re also at large – though not all contested this year.
Two spots are up on Fairbanks City Council. Incumbent John Ringstad is running unopposed for Seat F. Tom Allen, Laura Houger and former borough Assemblymember Aaron Lojewski filed to run for the other. That’s Seat E, now held by Councilmember Lonny Marney, who’s termed out after a six-year stint on the council.
In North Pole, council races don’t happen seat by seat. The top two vote-getters out of the three people who filed will get one of the two open spots on the council. Candidates include photographer Aubrey Barnett, former Councilmember Thomas McGhee and incumbent Benny Williams. Current member David Brandt is not in the running.
Wednesday was the deadline for candidates to file to enter the local races. Aug. 5 is the last day they can officially withdraw, and the municipal election is Oct. 6. The term for all of the borough and city seats is three years.