Sitkans will consider amending the city’s Home Rule Charter in the upcoming municipal election. At its meeting Tuesday night (5-26-26), the Sitka Assembly voted to put a question to voters this fall that would give the assembly more discretion over when to schedule a special election.
In Sitka, citizen initiatives can go out to voters in a special election, provided that the sponsors can secure enough signatures. Once they’ve gotten the signatures, the city’s charter requires a special election within the next 40 to 90 days. The new ordinance would eliminate that requirement, and instead give the assembly the authority to decide whether to hold a special election, if it thinks it would be in the best interest of the city. If not, the petition would go before voters at the next scheduled regular or special election.
Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson said if approved by voters this fall, the amendment would bring Sitka more into alignment with other communities across the state. She said the amount of money and staff time it takes to put on a special election is what prompted the proposed change. The 2025 special election that would have capped cruise ship traffic cost the city more than $18,000.
Larry Edwards with Small Town Soul, a local advocacy group that authored the visitor cap proposition, said the group supports the charter’s requirement, and urged the assembly to vote no on the amendment.
“In practice, democracy sometimes comes with a cost, and sometimes comes with inconveniences, and sometimes both, but those are not reasons to restrict it,” Edwards said. “It is important for citizens to be able to trigger an initiative special election on a major issue that is time sensitive.”
Assembly Member Katie Riley was concerned it could leave petitioners waiting a long time between filing and voting. She said while she isn’t against putting an amendment forward to Sitka voters, this isn’t the amendment she would go with.
“There’s a lot of fear out there right now, and there’s a lot of fear about changes that are happening rapidly in our country, and that’s very real perceived fear for some folks,” she said. “I think that this is a pretty technical fix, but it’s occurring in a context in which people have a heightened sense of things that are happening around them and how that might impact their personal lives and their ability to make their voice heard.”
Assembly Member Tim Pike said he doesn’t think the change would hurt the democratic process. He said the state statute language is “battle tested,” and he thinks they should put the question to the voters.
“I think it’s an opportunity for us to hear from the people and see what they’re feeling. We are not the deciders on this, we are just presenting a question to the public, and as such, I think the risk to democracy is quite low, because democracy will speak and decide whether or not this is a good idea or a bad idea,” Pike said.
Ultimately, the amendment passed 4-2, with assembly members Riley and Scott Saline opposed. The proposition will be included on the Oct. 6 election ballot.
