By Jeff Goodhart

Some local races got more interesting in the 24 hours leading up to Tuesday’s candidate filing deadline for the Oct. 2 election.

The bid for borough mayor was shaping up to be showdown between three candidates. But incumbent Jerry Lapp’s eleventh-hour decision not to run gives voters a choice of two candidates for the borough’s highest seat.

Filing for the post are borough assembly member Jan Hill and local businessman and former borough mayor Fred Shields.

Although local political observers saw a split vote between Lapp and Hill in a three-way race with Shields, Lapp said he didn’t discuss strategy with Hill before pulling out. He said he would support her bid for mayor. "I’ll endorse Jan because she’s more conservative than Fred."

Hill said her decision to run was based on the encouragement of many residents.

"Beyond that, I want to participate further in the local community," Hill said, "because the future is important."

She said she would work to improve the working relationship between the borough and city, and explore options for combining the two local governments.

Hill has been on the assembly for six years, is a member of the Klukwan ANS and is a tribal member and employee of the Chilkoot Indian Association.

She says she will offer fair representation to everyone and take a common sense approach to the office.

Shields says he put his bid in for borough mayor because, " I think I can have a positive influence on the future direction of the borough."

Borough mayor from 1988 to 1992, former assembly member, city councilman and planning commission member, Shields says he will bring experience to the office, as well as a respect for differing opinions.

Shields says he believes in fiscal responsibility and will work to prevent contentiousness and lawsuits witnessed in the borough over the last several years.

"We can do better than that," he said. "And I believe I can have a positive effect for a brighter future."

Other borough filings include those for borough assembly and for the Mud Bay land Use Service Area Board.

The race for one of the two open city council seats, created after incumbents Lynda Walker and Gregg Richmond decided not to seek re-election, also changed significantly in the day before the filing deadline.

Kathleen Menke, Herb VanCleve and Greg Brask are vying for one of the open three-year-term seats.

The remaining three-year council seat is being sought unopposed by Mike Case.

Candidates filing for city mayor include former borough mayor Carl Lehman, retired local businessman David Black and local tour operator David Button. Incumbent Don Otis has decided not to seek re-election.

In the borough, two three-year seats on the assembly are up for grabs.

Wings of Alaska manager and Chamber of Commerce president Rich Kaloostian has filed for the seat now held by Shirley Willard, who will not seek re-election.

Former assembly member Heather Lende has filed for the seat now held by Terry Pardee, who is seeking a second term.

Three seats also are open on the Mud Bay Land Use Service Area Board.

Bobbi Figdor is seeking election to the board’s open two-year seat, and Ellen Carey and David Long each filed for open three-year seats.

Tourism Planning Committee and borough assembly member Jan Hill said the reference to management was included to pressure local governments to regulate the industry. "People want it managed, and I believe if it passes with the word "manage" it will put a burden on us to manage it."

At the committee’s request, Hill brought the advisory vote proposal, developed during two commission meetings, to the assembly for consideration.

Commission members in meetings last Friday and Monday agreed an areawide vote should be held over commercial helicopter tours.

Chair Chip Lende said results of a 1996 advisory vote rejecting regularly-scheduled helicopter tours should stand, and that a new areawide vote could sanction borough regulation of heli-skiing.

The borough has asked the U.S. Department of Justice to clear the way for voters in the borough to decide whether a service area should be formed to regulate commercial helicopter flight-seeing. Borough clerk Karen Harvey certified a citizen’s initiative petition to hold the vote Oct. 2.

The measure came under criticism at Tuesday’s assembly meeting. Alaska Native Bill Thomas asserts that most of Haines’ Native community unfairly will be unable to vote on the measure because balloting will be held outside city limits.

Thomas asked borough mayor Jerry Lapp to request that the Justice Department reject the measure as a violation of the federal Voting Rights Act.

But Harvey said the borough won’t endorse Thomas’ claim. "Bill’s asking us to oppose the ballot question to the Justice Department and we won’t do that. We’re asking the Justice Department to look at Bill’s issue and decide based on that."

On Tuesday, Lapp asked petition sponsor Peter Enticknap to submit a substitute measure that would include city voters, and still comply with state law that prohibits areawide planning and zoning in the third-class borough.

Lapp said the borough may seek to force service area residents to pay costs of possible legal challenges to the measure. "If this enters a lawsuit, then the members of the service area should be held responsible for the legal fees. Perhaps the petitioners should consider this."

Enticknap said after the meeting he won’t withdraw the original petition. "That would be physically impossible because it would push it past the deadline to get it on the October 2 ballot. Out goal is to support establishment of an enforceable mechanism to regulate helicopter tourism.

"This isn’t an effort to exclude anyone. The city already has planning and zoning and if city residents want to vote on this, they should ask the city to hold a vote. What we’re seeing is a well-orchestrated effort to overturn the 1996 vote to ban helicopter tours."

Initiative opponents assert the measure, which would prohibit new helicopter operations from starting up and seeks to regulate helicopter use on private lands, sets too many rules that should be determined by the service area board.