Ballots for Alaska’s Nov. 3 general election are set, and Alaska Public Media, in partnership with the Alaska Beacon, Anchorage Daily News and KTOO, put together this voter guide to help you learn about the candidates and compare their positions on various issues.

You’ll see fresh Q&As with the candidates who made the ballot in the three statewide races: U.S. Senate, U.S. House and governor and lieutenant governor.

And for the state House and Senate races, we’ve carried forward the Q&As we did with those candidates ahead of the August primary election, but cleaned up the candidate lists to reflect who didn’t advance or has dropped out.

Sitka’s new mayor and assembly members took their oaths of office at the Sitka Assembly meeting Tuesday night (10-13-26). The group also said farewell to outgoing mayor Steven Eisenbeisz, who served in the role since 2020.

Eisenbeisz served two terms on the assembly before he was elected to the mayor’s chair. After three terms at the helm, he did not seek re-election this year. 

At Tuesday’s meeting, he read from a prepared speech. In it, he thanked city staff, fellow assembly members, and his family for their support. He said people often run for a seat on the assembly to change the world, but the first budget cycle hits hard. Then, over time, they slowly realize the system isn’t broken.  

“Every administration leaves a small mark in the process,” Eisenbeisz said. “I’ve always looked at it with a lens of longevity. It is my intent to grow old and die here, and the decisions that I have made will directly affect the quality of life in the hopefully faraway future.”

Eisenbeisz’s departure was met with some tears. Assembly Member JJ Carlson, who has served as deputy mayor under Eisenbeisz, said they’ve both grown a lot since they met in the second grade. She thanked him for his leadership and said he leaves big shoes to fill.   

“You’ve built this team,” Carlson said. “You’ve built us to be the leaders of this community. And I really appreciate that time and that patience you’ve had with us to find our way, and not just do it as a mirror to you, but that support that you’ve given, and I’ve seen you do it to all of us, and there’s just lots of appreciation.”

Following Eisenbeisz’s recognition and a short recess to share cake, Sitka’s newly-elected mayor Kevin Mosher was sworn into office. He said he learned a lot from Eisenbeisz and expects the new body to continue to make respect a priority.

“I’ve been so fortunate to work with the assemblies I have, especially these last couple years,” he said. “It has been an absolute honor. You know, you look around and you see other assemblies or city councils, and they bicker, and that doesn’t happen [here]. We speak and discuss fervently for our opinions, but at the end of the day, we agree and we are kind and friendly to each other. And I just want to thank the assembly for that.” 

Mosher has served on the assembly since 2018, and ran one unsuccessful bid for mayor in 2022. He won the mayor’s seat with nearly 58% of the vote in last week’s municipal election. 

Incumbent JJ Carlson and newcomer Sherri Blankenship were also sworn in at Tuesday’s meeting. The assembly then voted 5 to 1 to appoint runner-up Darrell Windsor to fill Mosher’s vacant assembly seat until next year’s municipal election. Carlson voted against the appointment, saying she preferred to advertise for letters of interest. 

View the updated results here

Kevin Mosher will take his seat as Sitka’s mayor, JJ Carlson will retain her assembly seat alongside newcomer Sherri Blankenship. Mayor-elect Mosher is a sitting assembly member with one year left on his term, so tonight the assembly must decide how they want to fill the vacant seat. They could either advertise for letters of interest or appoint someone at the meeting tonight, but the seat must be filled within 20 days of the vacancy. 

The Sitka Assembly meets at 6 p.m. tonight at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Raven News will broadcast the meeting live following Alaska News Nightly. 

A proposition to change a city law governing special elections was rejected by voters Tuesday night. Under Sitka’s charter, if a citizen-led referendum gets enough signatures, it triggers a mandatory special election. That’s how a local advocacy group’s initiative to limit cruise visitation went to a special election last year. 

Proposition 1, which was approved for the ballot by the Sitka Assembly in May, sought to change that rule, pushing any future citizen initiatives to the next regular municipal election, unless the Sitka Assembly decides to hold a special election sooner.

981 Sitkans, roughly 55% of voters, rejected the proposition, so the charter will remain unchanged.   

In the mayor’s race, current Assembly Member Kevin Mosher secured the seat with 1062 votes. Assembly Member Thor Christianson came in second with 495 votes, and political newcomer Lisa Lane came in third with 263 votes.

“I’m humbled and grateful for the support I have,” Mosher told KCAW following Tuesday’s election results. “Lots of people have texted me today their thoughts of support, and I really appreciate it. And I also thank everyone for voting, regardless if they voted for me or not. It’s a great thing about our country. We all get a voice, and Sitkans love to make their voice heard, and I think that’s a beautiful thing.” 

For Sitka Assembly, incumbent JJ Carlson and Sherri Blankenship were neck and neck with 1117 and 1111 votes respectively, each earning one of two available assembly seats.  Darrell Windsor trailed close behind with 1022 votes, and 55 votes were cast for write-in candidates.

“I feel like there’s so much more to learn,” Blankenship said. “I know that it’s going to be a steep hill to climb in the first couple of months, but I’m excited about learning. A lot of people wanted to mentor me, and I’m very appreciative of that.”

New assembly members will join a group in the middle of tackling issues like childcare, housing, and affordability for Sitkans. The assembly is considering putting a question about funding a public/private childcare program out to voters in a special election next spring. It will also be working with a new administrator — John Leach steps down in December and an offer to a finalist is in the works.

For Sitka School Board, Kat Richards took the lead with 1445 votes, followed by Phil Burdick with 1441 votes, and Matt Potter with 1308 votes. The top two vote earners will be elected to three-year terms, while Potter will serve a one-year term.

While over 60 votes remain uncounted, that number is too low to change any of the preliminary results. The Municipal Clerk’s office will tally the votes on Friday, cementing the election results, which will be certified by the Sitka Assembly on October 13.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on 10/7/2026 at 3 p.m.

In Pelican, two city council positions were up for grabs. 28 ballots were cast. Derek Stewart was the only candidate to file for the three-year term. He received 23 votes. Celeste Weller got 21 votes as a write-in.

Two school board seats were also on the Pelican ballot – both three year terms. School board seat 2 was won by Sarah Stewart with 10 votes, and Phil Spencer won school board seat 3 with 7 votes.

In Port Alexander, there were seven one-year council seats looking to be filled with write-in candidates. 15 ballots were counted, with 21 names cast as write-ins. The top seven vote-getters were Ryan Martin (15), Cory Gifford (14), Keith Larsen (14), Bud Durdle (12), Tom Corso (12), Michaela Larsen (11), and Trick Trischman (9).

In Angoon, Jesse Daniels and Frank Jack III both received 60 votes for city council seats C and D, respectively.

In Kake, Tessa Cavanaugh tallied 98 votes and Ashley Padgett received 79 votes for two open city council positions. Lloyd Davis and Sean Johnson scored the two open school board seats, with 74 and 23 votes, respectively.

For Tenakee Springs’ city council, Rudy Ziel received 24 votes and Dan Horwath received 14 as a write-in for the two open seats.

All results are unofficial until certified.

Yakutat’s election for mayor, assembly, and school board will be Oct. 20

Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 12:22 p.m. on Oct. 9 to include results from Tenakee Springs’ municipal election.

Editor’s Note: This post was updated at 1:15 p.m. on Oct. 7 to include results from Kake’s municipal election.

“I was a little worried last night. I was laying in bed and I heard the the rain and the wind and thought, ‘Oh no, please don’t let there be a storm and a power outage on election day,” Peterson recalled. “But the sun’s out. It’s been great, and people have been trickling in all day. Yeah, it’s been a steady pace since we opened at 7.”

It’s a three-way race for the mayor’s chair–assembly members Thor Christianson and Kevin Mosher are in the running alongside political newcomer Lisa Lane. Assembly member JJ Carlson, Sherri Blankenship and Darrell Windsor are the three candidates on the ballot vying for two open assembly seats. Mary Ann Hall is running as the only official write-in candidate. For school board, it’s a three-way race for three open seats between board members Phil Burdick, Matt Potter and Kat Richards. 

This year’s ballot will also include one proposition, which asks voters whether to update the city’s charter to adjust the triggers for a special election. If approved, future citizen initiatives would go before voters at the next regular election unless the assembly decides to hold a special election. 

Peterson said 801 Sitkans voted early in this year’s municipal election. The early in-person votes will be counted along with today’s ballots from Precincts 1 and 2.

Tune in tonight as Raven News brings you live coverage from Harrigan Centennial Hall when polls close at 8 p.m. 

This year, voters will decide a three-way race for mayor, and choose two new assembly members and three school board members. This year’s ballot also includes one proposition. Voters will be asked whether to update the city’s charter to adjust the triggers for a special election. 

Currently, if a citizen petition gets enough signatures, it will require a mandatory special election. That’s how Small Town Soul’s citizen initiative to limit cruise visitation went to a special election in May of 2025.

“That was the first time that this provision of the charter had ever been triggered, and I had several questions from the public,” Municipal Clerk Sara Peterson said in an interview on September 18. “I got questions from the assembly. People wanted to know how much a special election is, and so I decided to to to bring the topic forward to the assembly and ultimately the voters.” 

Peterson said the new charter language would align with state law and how most other municipalities handle special elections. If voters approve the amendment, it would change how citizen initiatives are handled in the future.  

“If the amendment passes, then the initiative or referendum would be placed on that upcoming October ballot,” she said. “And at the same time, when I notify the assembly and say, ‘Hey, we got this. It’s going to go on the October ballot unless the assembly wants to hold a special election before then on the motion.'”

Early, in-person voting is available at Harrigan Centennial Hall on weekdays from 8:30-4:30 and Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon through October 5. Sitka’s municipal election is Tuesday, October 6. 

KCAW partnered with the Daily Sitka Sentinel this year to produce our election hub, which is now live. There, you’ll find early and absentee voting information, candidates interviews, questionnaires, and forum audio. 

Editor’s note: This story was updated to correct that early voting is available on Saturdays, not Sundays.

Election season is underway, and local organizations, Raven Radio included, have been holding candidate forums to familiarize voters with who and what will be on the upcoming municipal election ballot. 

One candidate Sitkans haven’t had a chance to hear from much is assembly write-in candidate Mary Ann Hall. 

During a Greater Sitka Chamber of Commerce forum on Wednesday (9-16-26), assembly candidates were asked pre-provided questions on housing, childcare, and economic development. 

Hall, who serves on the local emergency planning committee said if elected, her experience in Sitka will help her on the assembly. When asked what role the city should play in improving the availability and sustainability of childcare in Sitka, Hall said elders should be part of the solution. 

“I heard about this community in the Northeast, and what they do is they use older people as volunteers to come into the childcare center and help with them, like coloring books and reading stories and teaching them art and stuff like that,” Hall said. “These retired people can teach these kids something that they know, and you could have two groups: one group [of] the older people come in four hours, and then the second group come in in the next four hours. So I think that would work.”

You can find interviews with candidates, questionnaires, forums, and a sample ballot on KCAW’s Election Hub. The Chamber is hosting a mayoral forum on Wednesday, September 23.

Sitka’s municipal election is Tuesday, October 6.

Full mayoral and assembly forum audio is available on our election hub. You’ll also find candidate interviews, questionnaires, and voting information. Early voting kicks off on Monday, September 21/today at Harrigan Centennial Hall. Sitka’s municipal election is Tuesday October 6.

Candidates running for mayor or a seat on the Sitka Assembly joined Raven Radio and the Daily Sitka Sentinel Tuesday night (9-15-26) to answer community members’ questions ahead of the municipal election this October. 

In back-to-back, hour-long forums, assembly and mayoral candidates laid out their stances on everything from diversifying Sitka’s economy to cell towers and tourism growth.

Outmigration in the region is a rising concern. Sitka has lost nearly a thousand people in the past decade — mostly children and working age residents.

Thor Christianson, a long-time assembly member making his second bid for the mayor’s chair, said to address the demographic shift, the city needs to work to develop land for affordable housing, continue to look for ways to fund childcare facilities, and support economic development. He said there are also some “big ticket items” he’s been looking into recently.

“The [U.S.] Coast Guard’s going to have to put those 11 new icebreakers they just are getting someplace, and they’re going to need to be on the West Coast up north,” Christianson said. “So there’s a decent chance if we work at it, we might be able to get one of them. Also, the [U.S.] Navy is looking at a large repair facility they want to have in Alaska at a deep water port. That’s something that maybe we could work on here. I don’t know if that would come to fruition, but we’ve got to work on everything and anything.” 

Lisa Lane, a first-time candidate for public office, said she’d bring a “new and different voice” to the table. When asked what she would do as Sitka’s mayor to streamline government processes to make decisions faster, she said sometimes decisions take time. 

“Sometimes you can’t make fast decisions,” she said. “You have to look at the long game. It’s like playing chess. If [you’re] rash or make a decision too quickly, you might be making something that’s gonna make a ripple that turns into a tsunami. I think everything needs to be researched and planned, even though sometimes that’s painful. Most people aren’t very patient. But a long, deep breath through your nose and a glass of water helps.” 

Mayoral candidates were also asked what role the city government should play in preparing for upcoming changes to the federal food assistance program (SNAP), access to health insurance and Medicaid, and rising heating fuel costs that could impact Sitkans. Longtime assembly member and mayoral candidate Kevin Mosher said that he’s no stranger to financial struggles, and while the city can’t directly influence many of those state and federal programs, it can point people towards resources. 

“We can make sure our utility subsidization fund is fully funded, and people know about it. We can direct people to outside help,” he said. “And I know it seems counterintuitive to work on childcare with the tax, but the housing and childcare go hand-in-hand, and it’s a long-term solution that can, in the end, help with the cost of living. And those are the kind of things we need to work on. So we need to really dig our heads in and really work hard on these things to try to help people.” 

Local business owner Sherri Blankenship narrowly lost her bid for a seat on the assembly last year, and has thrown her hat in the ring a second time. When asked whether she supports a seasonal sales tax increase to fund childcare solutions, she said as a parent to four children, the issue is dear to her heart. She said while she doesn’t yet know where she stands on a tax increase, the issue is “multi-faceted” and the business community should be part of the solution. 

“Childcare is workforce development, and it is essential to retaining employees and in retaining our population,” Blankenship said. “I think that we should aggressively pursue a private funding model, and also take our largest employers in town, such as SEARHC, bring them to the table and ask them to participate in these talks, and help the community out, and then aggressively go after federal and state funding as well, and see where our shortfall falls.” 

Candidates were also asked if a Memorandum of Understanding between the city and cruise dock company that establishes guidelines for cruise ships is working. Incumbent assembly candidate JJ Carlson said the agreement should be reviewed and more stakeholders need to be brought into the fold.  

“The MOU is an MOU. It’s a Memorandum of Understanding. It’s not binding. It’s not a contract. It’s a handshake,” she said. “But to really have it be more impactful, we need to get more people at the table. Currently, the MOU is between the City and Borough of Sitka and the Sitka Dock Company. Adding in the schedulers and the larger international organization for the cruise industry will make it even stronger. We’ve learned from it, and we’re seeing that it’s a bigger picture that we need to move towards.”

Darrell Windsor has served on Sitka’s Planning Commission for 15 years and this is his first bid for an assembly seat. He said 100% of any future housing developed on city land should be affordable. 

“Affordable for me is not affordable for you, or affordable for the CEO of SEARHC,” he said. “We were looking at these properties [at] our last Planning Commission meeting, and the big question was high density or low density? I mean, can we cram as many houses in these places as we can, or spread it out? I think in the [area behind the] high school, it should be about a 50-50 on that. Affordable housing? Yeah, [it] should all be affordable.”

The fourth candidate running for a seat on the assembly, Mary Ann Hall, did not attend the forum.