Updated 10-10-25 at 4 p.m.
Incumbent Thor Christianson narrowly scored the second open seat on the Sitka Assembly, following the city’s count of absentee ballots Friday afternoon (10-10-25). Read the full story here.
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Original Report 10-10-25 at 11:30 p.m.
Voters in Sitka approved a measure Tuesday (10-7-25) to fund future recreation and athletic facilities. What those facilities will look like and how much the project will cost is still unclear, but Proposition 1 removes restrictions on a city hospital fund to pay for the upgrades.
Right now, the money is set aside to cover retirement costs for former employees of Sitka Community Hospital, which was sold to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium [SEARHC] in 2019. The fund also takes in about $800,000 a year from the tobacco tax, and city staff anticipate in the coming years there will be a surplus. The measure passed with nearly 61% of the vote on a 720 to 464 vote.
Ballot Proposition 2 would have required sponsors of future citizen initiatives to fund economic impact studies. It was sponsored by organizers of Safeguard Sitka’s Future, a pro-tourism group of local businesses that previously opposed a citizen initiative to limit cruise tourism earlier this year. The sponsors said requiring economic impact studies from expert, third-party consultants would help make elections more transparent, but some critics said the requirement would “put a price tag on the democratic process.” The measure failed with only 36% of Sitkans voting in favor on a 278 to 485 vote.
As for candidates, one clear frontrunner swept the Sitka Assembly race. Katie Riley — a local fisherwoman and the Sitka Conservation Society’s deputy director— beat out the five other candidates with 1,300 votes — that’s more than 32% of votes cast. Incumbent Thor Christianson scored 770 votes, followed very closely by local business owner Sherri Blankenship, who trails Christianson by just 14 votes, leaving the second open assembly seat too close to call. As for the other three candidates, Jonathan Wolf received 589 votes, Austin Cranford received 277, and Tracie Castle received 126.
Incumbent Paul Rioux led the race for two open seats on the Sitka School Board with just over 1,500 [1,504] votes. Newcomer Courtney Amundson will also join the board — she came in second with 1,052 votes. The third candidate, Lance Ewers, earned 743 votes.
Following returns Tuesday night, Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson thanked the 17 poll workers who helped out with the election.
“I always tell them, without them, I wouldn’t be able to do this, but it’s the truth,” Peterson said. “This would not happen without them. So it really takes a village. So I’m so happy and grateful. They did a great job, and everything went smooth, and we had a great turnout. It was steady all day, and it was great to see people. And so it went well.”
The results are unofficial until the Municipal Clerk counts the remaining absentee ballots on Friday, October 10. The results will be certified at the Sitka Assembly meeting next Tuesday (10-14-25).
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify Katie Riley’s role at the Sitka Conservation Society.
