Longtime official says low participation in Delta Junction City Council races is likely because 'there’s no contest’
Three small communities in the eastern Interior will hold municipal elections on Oct. 7. And all but two of the seats up for grabs are uncontested -- one in Delta Junction and the other in Eagle. And voters in Nenana also will consider a ballot measure.
Delta Junction City Clerk Pat White says it’s sort of unusual for a City Council seat to be contested in the biennial municipal elections held on the first Tuesday of October. She says part of the problem is that, too often, nobody challenges incumbent council members.
“Typically,” she said, “we only have 60 or 70 ballots cast, so we have a very low, like 7 or 8% turnout. Pretty low. And it’s because there’s no contest.”
White says there’s often an uptick in voter turnout every other year, during statewide elections, and during presidential elections every four years. But it seems the only thing that consistently boosts voter turnout is the possibility of electing a new councilmember. Or removing one – that’s what happened earlier this year, when Delta voters recalled Councilmember Stormie Mitchell.
“The voter turnout for that April recall was 18%, when we typically only look at 7 or 8 (percent), right?” she said.
Mitchell is now running for a different seat on the City Council. And she’s got an opponent – Rena Case. White expects those two factors will attract more voters to the polls next month.
“So, will it generate a bigger turnout? I certainly hope so.”
The other two Delta City Council seats are uncontested. Michael Phelan, who the council appointed to fill Mitchell’s former seat, is running for election. And Mayor Igor Zaremba is seeking re-election.
In the small town of Eagle, over near the Yukon border, voters will choose between incumbent Dennis Layman and Bernard Fay for Seat F. And Jacqueline Helmer is uncontested in her bid for Seat G.
The contested seat may not affect Eagle’s turnout, which in recent elections has been pretty high. Mayor Daniel Helmer said that last year, nearly half of the town’s 100 or so residents turned out to vote in the city election.
Nenana voters will see several uncontested races on their ballots in their Oct. 7 election. Charles Stevens is running for Seat B, Tallon Shreeve is running for Seat F and Karen Harvey is running for Seat E. There are two candidates for seats on the city-operated school district board. Jeremiah Baker is running for Seat B and Maryellen Robinson for Seat C. No one signed up for Seat A.
There’s also a ballot measure that would limit the mayor to three consecutive terms in office.
The Denali Borough will hold its municipal election on Nov. 4. Clerk Amber Renshaw says only incumbents are running.
“All four incumbents, the two on the Assembly and the two on the school board, have submitted their paperwork,” Renshaw said. “And so their names will be on the ballot. And as of right now, there are no contested seats.”
Renshaw says its voter turnout varies from 30% to 40%, but turnout tends to be lower during the municipal election years.
“It is discouraging when you get very few people engaged,” she said. “At the same time, when there’s just four incumbents on the ballot, it’s hard for voters to get excited.”
That means, unless there’s a surge of votes for write-in candidates, Jeremy Stanfield and Walt Warner will continue to serve on the Assembly. And Lauren Bruns and Tami Ohland will remain on the school board.
