Three candidates are in the running for Sitka mayor this October. Lisa Lane filed to run for the assembly’s top job last week (8-6-26).

Lane moved to Sitka nearly 40 years ago, and is now semi-retired. She currently works part-time greeting guests and offering information at the cruise ship terminal, and volunteers cutting hair for residents at the Pioneer Home. 

KCAW’s Hope McKenney sat down with Lane on Thursday (8-13-26) to discuss her bid for the seat and what she hopes to accomplish, if elected. 

TRANSCRIPT:

LANE: I arrived here in 1988 as an entertainer. I have lived here since that time. I bought my first home in 1991. I have three fine sons that all graduated from Sitka High School, and I’ve been part of the community as a small business owner, a vacation rental owner, a long-term rental person. I’ve worked for other people as well. I worked for a video production company for several years. Part of that time, we filmed the assembly meetings, and I became real familiar with the process and the people, and very interested in it at the time. At the time, I felt with three kids and three jobs, I probably didn’t have the time to focus on what needed to be done in order to do that job. Now I have time for the research and the process.

KCAW: And so you’re running for the mayor’s seat against two current assembly members. Tell me a bit about that decision.

LANE: Well, as I just said, I became interested when I was working for a video production company, and we were filming the assembly meetings. At the time, Bert Stedman was on. Thor [Christianson] had just been elected, and so I’ve watched the process for a long time. I’m very proud of how our community works together as a community. I think it’s real important that everyone is inclusive. I don’t want to see us be something like Skagway, where we’re only a community during the tourist season. I like that we’re a real community. We have a lot of things going. I want to see those options continue. I had a couple of conversations that concerned me that made me think that maybe now was the time for me to run for mayor, as my children have all grown up and I’ve retired. Even though we sold the city hospital and the property, I think it’s still important that as a community we have a voice as to what is being offered at SEARHC. It’s a beautiful, brand new, shiny building. I’d like to see it have content that was stable, so we’re not just dealing with travelers or different travelers randomly. I think we need a mental health department. It distresses me that when people are in their largest form of need, they have to be shipped to Bartlett [Regional Hospital] or Anchorage. Same with dialysis. It seems that we could be able to offer those services here in such a beautiful facility, and acquire people that could come on a regular basis, even if they couldn’t live here full time.

KCAW: Yeah, and you’re touching on some of these issues that are important to you. What do you see as some of the other large issues facing Sitkans right now, and if elected as mayor, how would you address those?

LANE: Of course, the largest issue is probably housing. We have to be able to facilitate for everyone, and we have to be concerned that everyone is taken care of. Can’t leave anything out just for easy access. It’s important that everyone has water. I’ve talked to some people who actually get their water from a hose out of the creek. I want to make sure that everyone has water and sewer and all the basic facilities that happen. [I] want to see the harbors be safe. I think it’s important that we address some of the issues when we do have large boats and stuff. I’d like to see something happen, so the tourists are herded to the crosswalk instead of yelled at. No one’s listening when you get yelled at, and the distance between Lincoln Street and the bridge and accessing the airport and the hospital, I think that’s important that they’re actually herded to the crosswalk, which sounds a little frivolous, but I do think that’s important. Major issues: taxes are an issue, always an issue. I want to make sure that property taxes — there’s got to be some way that when you buy a property and you maintain the property, you’re not punished just because your neighbor sells at a very much higher rate, especially for people with fixed incomes and stuff, we have to really examine that. I understand we need the money in the infrastructure. I also know that when people have made something their home for a long time, you don’t want to punish them because they’ve done the repairs that are necessary to keep it standing.

KCAW: Can you tell me a bit about any past civic engagement? For example, have you served on any commissions or boards either in Sitka or somewhere else?

LANE: No, I haven’t. As I said, I had three kids and three jobs, so I felt like it was important that my focus was raising a family that made the paper in a positive manner, not a negative manner. As a hairdresser, I’ve done hair at the Pioneer Home as necessitated before my last child was born, and now that I’ve returned, I also visit people who are unable to get out and do their hair if it’s necessary. [I] try to be available if people are need me. I’m not necessarily someone who — I don’t look for boards and stuff. I will listen to anyone and everyone, and I will try to do my research and make any kind of judgments that are needed from me in a thoughtful manner.

KCAW: Why should Sitkans vote for you?

LANE: Well, I think that’s subjective. I don’t know that you should necessarily vote for me or anyone else. I do know that you should vote. It’s very important that you maintain your right to vote and you maintain your voice as a citizen. It’s very important that you read and make sure you understand what’s being said, and sometimes that is a little confusing. For instance, I was discussing the fact that it grieved me that we lost facilities like Raven’s Way because I think it’s important that when we’re trying to help the people that are in distress for whatever reason, we have more to offer than just methadone. I think we need to offer hope and education. I think that’s the real key to keeping younger people here, and keeping families together and stable, and keeping them safe.

The filing period for Sitka’s municipal election closed at 5 p.m. Friday (8-7-26), and three more candidates jumped into the race just ahead of the deadline.

Thursday evening, Lisa Lane filed to run for the mayor’s chair. She joins assembly members Kevin Mosher and Thor Christianson who filed earlier this month. 

Mary Ann Hall was the latest candidate to throw her hat in the ring Friday afternoon for one of two open seats on the Sitka Assembly. She joins Darrell Windsor, Sherri Blankenship, and incumbent JJ Carlson in the race.

Recent Sitka School Board member Matt Potter filed for a full term on the board Friday, joining fellow board members Phil Burdick and Kat Richards in the race for three open seats.

Raven News has reached out to all new candidates for interviews and will air those conversations over the next week.

Sitka’s Municipal Election is Tuesday, October 6.

Darrell Windsor filed to run for a seat on the Sitka Assembly on Wednesday. Windsor owns Sitka Appliance Repair and is a long-time member of the Sitka Planning Commission.

KCAW’s Hope McKenney sat down with Windsor on Friday (8-7-26) to talk to him about his bid for an assembly seat, and what he hopes to address, if elected. 

WINDSOR: Well, I’ve been in Sitka for 32 years. [I’ve] seen a lot of changes in 32 years. And I’ve been on the Planning Commission for 15 years. So, on the Planning Commission, we make recommendations to the Assembly. So, I thought I’d like to be on the other end for once, get the recommendations given to me.

KCAW: Yeah. So, I was going to ask you about that. You are a long-serving member on the Planning Commission, you’re the current chair as well, but this is your first time running for a seat on the Sitka Assembly. Why now? What are the issues affecting Sitkans that are making you want to to run?

WINDSOR: Of course, the biggest one is housing and the tourism. Those are two really hot items that we have to figure something out. I mean, I understand this is a tourist town, and that’s our main business. But it seems like half the population doesn’t want it, and the other half does. 

KCAW: Do you have specific policies you have in mind for how to address those issues?

WINDSOR: I do on the housing, but I really don’t want to say right now. But yeah, I’ve got an idea.

KCAW: So, why should Sitkans vote for you?

WINDSOR: I think Sitkans should vote for me because I’m level-headed. I like to hear both sides and try to make an intelligent decision. I just don’t jump off the bat because I feel this way or that way. I like to hear it all. So, I think if you want a balanced somebody to make a decision, I’d be good for that.

KCAW: What else should people know about you? We know that you’ve served on the Planning Commission for a long time, but what should people know about you before they vote in the municipal election this fall?

WINDSOR: Well, I think a lot of people know me. I do appliance repair, so I’ve met probably at least 40% of the population of Sitka, so they understand that I don’t jump in. You know, I try to think things through and I try to apply that with the same thing I do on my job with troubleshooting: figure out the problem, then try to fix the problem. I feel I’ll be the same way on the assembly.

KCAW: And so you mentioned these big issues of housing and tourism affecting Sitkans right now, and I know you don’t want to go into all the details. But if elected, how do you propose to address those longstanding challenges here in Sitka?

WINDSOR: Well, like I said, I’ve got an idea. I really don’t want to say it right here. [Find] a way to get some property out to people, and an affordable way of getting property out to people.

Recently appointed Sitka School Board member Kat Richards has filed to run for a full term. Richards works for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium as a nurse educator, and is a former Sitka School District employee. KCAW sat down with Richards to learn about her experience and interest in serving on the board. Listen here:

Transcript forthcoming

Long-time Sitka Assembly Member Thor Christianson filed to run for mayor Friday afternoon (7-31-26). 

Christianson is a resource manager at Southeast Region Emergency Medical Services — a local organization that aims to strengthen emergency care in remote areas of the state. He is currently serving his sixth term on the assembly, and is the longest-serving assembly member in Sitka history. 

Christianson is the second candidate to throw his hat in the ring for the mayor’s seat. Assembly Member Kevin Mosher filed earlier this month. 

KCAW’s Hope McKenney sat down with Christianson to talk about his priorities, if elected.

TRANSCRIPT:

CHRISTIANSON: I’ve been doing this a long time. Somehow or another, I wound up being the longest-serving member of the assembly in the history of Sitka. So I think I know the job, and plus there are a number of projects, large and small, that I really want to see done. And I think that I will be able to facilitate that a bit better as mayor.

KCAW: You’ve seen a lot. You’ve served on the assembly on and off since the ’90s. Like you said, you’re the longest-serving assembly member in Sitka history. What are some of the biggest issues facing Sitkans right now? And if elected as mayor, how do you propose to address them?

CHRISTIANSON: Well, I think they all boil down to affordability, at this juncture, and quality of life, which are related but not exactly the same. Unfortunately, we’re limited in our ability to affect a lot of the issues of affordability. However, there are some things that the assembly can help with. One of the biggest, I think, is going to be getting city land on the market in the right way in such a fashion that it provides housing that is not crazy expensive, and we’ve got a few parcels of land that are in the works right now. One of them is a piece of land that we got from the Alaska Pulp [Corporation] that’s pretty good sized, and it has utilities nearby, roads nearby, but it’s going to take some real work to get that to the market. And working on getting utilities and things, and hopefully with some help from the feds or the state, so that we can get them to people at a reasonable amount. And it’s just going to take a lot of work, a lot of pushing and being creative, and collaborating, and it’s not going to happen tomorrow. But we have to keep working at it. We’ve got other things — obviously the childcare initiative we’re working on. We’ve got some other smaller things that we’re working on to get more economic activity in the winter, and those all are just going to require time and energy. And it’s kind of funny, but in the last few years, I’ve been re-energized. I have more energy now on the assembly than I did back 10 years ago, 15 years ago, mainly because I think I understand the job better, and that’s part of the reason I’m running for mayor because I believe I understand the things that a mayor can do to facilitate those conversations and facilitate those projects, bringing people together, getting divergent viewpoints, if not agreeing, at least agreeing to disagree, and making sure that everybody is heard, so that even if you don’t get exactly what you wanted, you know you got heard. I’ve learned a lot from other assembly members, other mayors, so I think I can bring to the table a lot of that together on my own. And I can say I run a lot of meetings, both professionally and at the assembly, and I think I can do good meetings and make sure I get everybody heard.

KCAW: What are some of the decisions you are most proud of during your time on the assembly?

CHRISTIANSON: Big and small. Way back [during] my first term, I worked to get the hoist put in down at the seawall, and at the time, I was kind of not laughed at, but they were like, “Okay, please shut up about this, and we’ll get it put in.” And I think it’s proved, you know, that’s a smaller one, but it’s proven useful. I think getting and supporting the schools over the years. We have a very school-supporting assembly right now, but it hasn’t always been that way. And I’m very proud of the fact that both of my girls were in the school or are in the school district, as was I. And so that’s a big one. Working right now on the childcare initiative. I don’t know if that’s going to go, but you won’t be able to say we didn’t try. Securing funding for SAFV was a big one, and that was, gosh, a while back. Although we still continue to do it. And honestly, this is going to sound funny, but I get phone calls sometimes late at night, and people want to talk about something, and I feel very comfortable doing that. And being able to talk to somebody, [I] may or may not be able to help or fix their problem, but making sure that they get heard and maybe sometimes helping them. I mean, I get off one of those phone calls and I feel even if I wasn’t able to make them happy, I feel good about the job I’m doing, and that’s one of the things I feel good about.

KCAW: What else should people know about you before they vote in the municipal election this October?

CHRISTIANSON: It’s kind of funny because at least people who pay attention to city stuff probably know me pretty well already. They should know that I’m willing to try things. You can’t be too afraid of failure to try and do something that’s a little bit different. So you know that I’d be willing to do that. You should know that I will listen to you, I may or may not agree with you, but if not, I’ll make sure that you know why. You’ll know that I’m going to be here. I know Sitka’s history, both politically and just in Sitka, because I’ve lived my whole life here — on again, off again when I was younger — But again, I’m no stranger to Sitka, and most people know me, and they should know that I will give everything I can to make Sitka work in all the different ways that means.

Three seats on the Sitka School Board, two Sitka Assembly seats, and the mayor’s chair are up for grabs this year. The deadline to file to run for local office is Friday, August 7. Sitka’s municipal election is Tuesday, October 6.

Sitka School Board President Phil Burdick filed to run for a second term last week. Burdick worked as a teacher in the Sitka School District for 15 years and an administrator for a decade. He says consistency on the school board will ultimately lead to better outcomes for kids. Listen to our interview with Burdick here:

KCAW: If you’re reelected, this would be your second term on the school board. Why have you decided to throw your hat in the ring again, Phil?

Burdick: I think last time I threw my hat in the ring because there were some very specific tasks. We needed to hire a superintendent. We needed to get ahead of the budget. Those things have been taken care of. I’m throwing my hat in the ring for consistency. We all know that everything in education is about consistency, and so to have a consistent school board for a number of years is really beneficial to kids ultimately because we set policy, we set budget priorities, and if that continually turns over, you know, staff don’t really know what’s coming down the pike, and that causes stress, and then that rolls downhill to the kids. So I think a consistent school board ultimately leads to better outcomes for children.

KCAW: What experiences on the board shape your decision making the most, and and how do they shape it?

Burdick: I think for me, my experience as an educator, so 25 years, 15 as a teacher, 10 as an administrator, all in Sitka, and so I’m very committed to this community. I’m very committed to our schools and our children and our families, and I come to the school board table with that experience and that that relationship, the relationship that I built with families in my schools. So, so for me, being on the school board is just extending that relationship that I’ve been able to build for the last 30 years.

KCAW: Should you be reelected, you talk about consistency and and maintaining those relationships that you’ve already built. What other goals are are rising to the top for you, you know, for your for your next term?

Burdick: For the next three years, what I want to focus on is we had a board goal last year of improving external communication, and I want to continue that goal because I want to hear from the community what it is that they want our students to know and be able to do, and where those priorities are. Then the board should budget those priorities. And so I’m really hoping that we can create those priorities from community input, and be able to budget strategically instead of budgeting chaotically, which is what it is with educational funding and the way that the system is set up and the way the timelines are set up, and, you know, all of the stress that goes around budgeting for a school district. If we can be strategic about how we do that, I think we could take some of that stress, again, off of staff, off of teachers, off of kids.

KCAW: The last time you ran, you stepped in kind of in the 11th hour as a write-in candidate, and and the school board, oftentimes you have about the same number of candidates as there are seats, maybe one more in a really good year. What would you say to folks who are considering running for the for the board to to encourage them to to try their hand at it?

Burdick: It’s difficult to run for public office. It takes time. It takes energy, but I think what I would remind people is that we’re in it together and we’ll support you. I think that we can have differing opinions and viewpoints and still come at the work in a collaborative way. I think some people shy away from the fact that ‘I’m not this enough, I’m not that enough, I don’t have enough time.’ I would say you are enough, and you could do enough. I think anybody who’s got an interest in community and family and schools would be a perfect candidate, and that’s probably everybody who’s listening.

KCAW: Anything else that you think the voters should know about you or about the work that the school board’s been doing over the last three years?

Burdick: I think less about me and more about the school board because this group, Mr. Rioux has a bunch of experience, and…this is really only my third year of experience on a board, while I have educational experience. Ms. Amundson is new, Mr. Potter is new, Ms. Richards is new, and that seems to be the trend over the last five or 10 years, is that we keep struggling to to build when it’s always refreshed every year and sometimes mid-year. I think it’s important for people to know that there’s a learning curve when you get on that board. Even though I had 25 years of experience in education, when I got to the school board, I knew nothing, and so I’m learning as I go. If we can remember to come to that, you know, we’re learning and growing in our positions and our roles on the school board, then I believe that we can really do great things for kids, which is the ultimate goal.

Burdick is the first to file for one of three open school board seats. Two assembly seats and the mayor’s chair are also up for grabs this year. The deadline to file to run for local office is Friday, August 7.  KCAW will interview candidates as they file. Then, in September, we’ll host several candidate forums, and publish a local election guide which will include interviews and questionnaires, so voters can learn where candidates stand on local issues. 

Sitka Assembly Member JJ Carlson filed Thursday (7-23-26) to run for a second full term. She’s the first to bid for an assembly seat this year. 

Carlson works for Friends of Sheldon Jackson Museum. She’s served on the assembly since she was appointed in the fall of 2022 to fill a vacancy left by Rebecca Himschoot, who was elected to the state legislature. Carlson was elected to a full term in 2023. 

KCAW’s Hope McKenney sat down with Carlson to talk about her decision to run again.

TRANSCRIPT:

CARLSON: I think I learned a lot in my first four years. I was appointed and then elected, and you know, there’s just a learning curve. There’s a lot that this municipality does. We run all of our own utilities, and it takes a bit to understand how that all fits together and see that big picture. I think at this point, I have a really good grasp of that big picture, and so now in my second term, I think I’d be very good at piecing together details that see a multi-level approach to getting some good decision making and some good things moving forward for this community.

KCAW: And tell me a little bit more about yourself.

CARLSON: Yeah, the other side of the story, right? You guys probably all know me as the assembly member JJ, but I do a lot around. I have a nonprofit management job. I volunteer quite a bit. I’m in the running community. You maybe see me painting crosswalks, being in the arts community here, doing stuff with kids, participating in some programs for our elders as well. It’s really hard to really pin me down. You know that’s the Sitkan. We’re always wearing multiple hats and serving our neighbors in different ways, and I really fit into that. So thanks for that question because that’s what Sitka is: that kind of community approach, and you might see someone in one light, but you know there’s so many different angles.

KCAW: What do you see as some of the biggest issues facing Sitkans right now? And if elected to a second term, how would you address those?

CARLSON: There’s a lot of cost of living concerns. There’s a lot of things facing my generation, the kind of working middle, and it’s an expensive place to be. It’s a lovely place to be. We have a great community. There’s so many attributes. It’s the financial side that is really stressing people out and causing maybe some unnecessary moves out of town. And the place of an assembly member can be to balance some of that. We have to cover our costs, but maybe we can do it in a way that doesn’t burden, you know, that working family.

KCAW: During your four years on the assembly so far, what are some of the things that you’re most proud of?

CARLSON: So many little things, but the big ones were kind of starting that tourism task force, and then starting that tourism commission to really look at how to best manage the situation that we found ourselves in in the last five years with that visitation from the cruise industry. And you know it’s something to be worked with. Limiting ourselves was an option. The town decided not to do that, so the management approach was what we went with, and I was a big part of bringing that to fruition.

KCAW: And you’re from Sitka. Does that play a role into you running for the assembly?

CARLSON: Absolutely. Born and raised here, an ’80s kid in Alaska was just a dream of so many, and I was able to live it. And you know, having that background, seeing really what we come from and the challenges that developed over time, that could have maybe been addressed a little bit sooner, I’m looking at that as a lens, seeing what was going on now and how to kind of adapt and and create solutions that don’t perpetuate forward. This is a great place to raise a family. I was blessed with that as a kid, and I’d like to see my neighbors, my classmates from high school, you know, myself being able to do that here. And there’s a lot of that kind of stuff that you wouldn’t quite pick up on as a potential concern or an immediate concern if you didn’t have kind of some decades here in this state, and I just want to be able to bring all of that knowledge that’s just kind of embedded in me forward to best serve this community. I think being on the assembly is a good way for me to kind of balance my skills that I developed that decade or two that I was gone and brought back, and really using that decision-making capacity that my master’s degree of decision-making is basically what architecture school is, and apply that to the place I love and the place I want to be and the place I want to succeed, you know, most in this world.

KCAW: Well, I don’t know that I have more questions right now. Is there anything else that I should have asked you, or you’d like to share?

CARLSON: Sitka is a great spot, and I think if we all work together, we can keep this place being the dream that we live. And I’m just wishing that Sitkans can trust and see that I did a good job in the last four years with the detailed work and with the big picture work. You know, I’m a steady voice. My decision making, my record shows, is pretty solid. I add to the conversations and deliberation, and sponsor a few things here and there too that really, really bring some good things to Sitka. And you know I’m very open to listening and hearing what the community wants, and then considering that and folding it into how I vote at the table.

Current Sitka Assembly Member Kevin Mosher has filed to run for mayor. Mosher, who is two years into serving his third term on the assembly, has served as an assembly member since 2018. He also threw his hat in the ring for the mayor’s seat in 2022, but lost to incumbent Steven Eisenbeisz. 

Mosher has lived in Sitka for more than three decades and has worked as a staff accountant at Sitka’s urban Native corporation, Shee Atiká, for 15 years. 

KCAW’s Hope McKenney sat down with Mosher on Tuesday (7-21-26) to talk about why he’s making another run for elected office. 

TRANSCRIPT:

MOSHER: I ran for mayor one time, and I did not win, and that’s okay. And I’m kind of glad I didn’t win at that time. I don’t think I was ready for it. But the reason why I’ve decided to run for mayor this time is because, well, one, I think I’m qualified now. I think I have the experience, the wisdom, the city leadership skills, and I feel like there’s a lot of change happening. You know, our current municipal administrator won’t be there for much longer, and that’s a huge change. And I feel like I have good working relationships with the assembly members, with the staff. Over all these years, I built trust, because that’s a part of effective governance as well as building trust within the community and with the staff. And I’ve done that, and I understand how the structure goes. You know, I usually communicate with [Municipal Administrator] John [Leach], and then we get another sponsor on something. We have a meeting, we collaborate together, and then the staff gets involved. So I’m very proud of the work I’ve done. I think the biggest compliment I’ve gotten so far for all these years is that I come in with an open mind, and I do my homework, I do my research, meet with people, listen — a lot of listening, and when I come into an assembly meeting, if I’m presented with different information or a different point of view, and I’m willing to change my mind, and I have several times, I think it’s really important to have an open mind. So that kind of leadership, I think, is necessary, and I am looking forward to this opportunity to serve the community.

KCAW: And so, like you said, you’ve served on the assembly for nearly a decade now. What are some of the biggest issues facing Sitkins right now? And if elected as mayor, how do you propose to address those?

MOSHER: Well, the mayor is one vote of seven, so that’s something to keep in mind. There’s lots of issues. The cost of living is looming large over people. Housing is huge. Childcare is huge. We’re working on that right now. There’s lots of other things like that. Some big things. You know, people want to live here, and sometimes they can’t afford to live here. Whether they’re born here or get a job here to come here, they can’t find a place to live, and they can’t find childcare. I mean, I talked to my wife about this. We could probably sell our house for a pretty penny, but then we’re going to turn around and we won’t have a place to live. So there’s no real mobility there. So you know, basically the cost of living and the quality of life. And we have a very beautiful town, and we do have overall a very nice quality of life, but it takes a lot of hard work to maintain that. A lot of our infrastructure in town is aging, and so that has to be paid for. A lot of this infrastructure was built with state or federal money, so the current tax base doesn’t have the funds to pay for those repairs and maintenance. And so we’re trying to get federal and state grants. We’re trying to be business friendly to have responsible business growth, so we can have the tax revenue to help pay for these things [like] basic services like police, fire, roads, things like that, as well as supporting the schools, which is a basic requirement in my mind. I think the entire assembly agrees with that. So, in my mind, being mayor will be listening and guiding gently the assembly and the public to maintain the good things that are happening. There are a lot of good things. We’ve gotten some grants, we’ve got lots of infrastructure projects planned and also ongoing, and also we’re growing in other ways. We’re trying to make better communication within the city. There’s a communication plan. So there’s always room for improvement and grow. So in my mind, there’s two things. One is to help maintain the things that are good that are going on, especially in a time of big change, and then also at the same time to help facilitate pathways forward to help see if we can address things like childcare or housing affordability and things like that. And those are big things. And so they are things that community is going to have to decide if they want to work on together and tackle together. And I’m willing to work on that with other assembly members, and there’s a lot of excitement on the assembly to move forward with things like that, and I believe I have the skills now, at this point in my life, to be able to lead in this way.

Former Assembly Member Chris Ystad will serve on the Sitka Assembly until the next municipal election. This comes after former Assembly Member Tim Pike stepped down last month. 

Ystad, a local fisherman, served on the assembly from 2022 to 2025. He said while he’s enjoyed his time off the assembly, there are still things he wants to see through, like finding a solution for hauling uninsured boats at the new, city-owned, contractor-operated shipyard.  

“I still want to serve the community,” Ystad told the Sitka Assembly on Tuesday. “It’s a community I care for very much, and I do have some unfinished items that I would like to see across the finish line, [and] at least help get there if it doesn’t happen within these three months. [During] my time away, I’ve also thought of a few other things that I’d like to try to address. Three months is a tight timeline, but maybe I can at least get the ball rolling and the discussions started.”

The assembly unanimously voted to appoint Ystad over Jeremy Plank, a local accountant and business owner who currently serves as the chair of the city’s tourism commission.

Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said he voted for Ystad because of his previous experience on the assembly, and said he supports keeping Plank in his seat on the tourism commission. 

“I find his operation and running of the tourism commission to be extremely valuable, and I think that we would be benefited the most by keeping him in that role, and then having Chris serve out the remainder of the term,” Eisenbeisz said.

Ystad was sworn in at the assembly meeting on Tuesday, where he was also appointed as vice deputy mayor. He said he does not plan to run for re-election in the upcoming municipal election.