Haines Borough Assembly candidate Karen Hess said she intends to file an appeal to Superior Court by the end of this week that will challenge the assembly’s decision to certify Greg Goodman’s election.
Goodman defeated write-in candidate Hess, 575-456, in the Oct. 5 election for a three-year term on the assembly. Hess maintains Goodman did not meet borough residency requirements following his 2008 move to Anchorage. The assembly sided with Goodman in a 4-2 vote on Oct. 26.
“According to the borough code, we have 10 days (to appeal), but the borough code was a bit ambiguous,” Hess said Wednesday. “It didn’t really say 10 business days, nor did it say 10 calendar days, that I could see. I’m going to plan on it being filed by Friday, which would be 10 calendar days.”
Hess said she has been working with an attorney from Baxter, Bruce & Sullivan in Juneau. Hess said she knew right away that she would appeal.
“I was not undecided,” she said. “It’s just everything takes time, and I had to get with the attorney and get all of the documentation to the attorney. I’ve done all of that.”
Hess said she has not been given a potential timeline for a Superior Court ruling on her appeal, but said she has more confidence in the court’s ability to evaluate her case.
“The Superior Court looks at the law and actually interprets the law, as opposed to the borough assembly members, I don’t know what they decide on, to tell you the truth,” Hess said. “I don’t know what makes them make their decision. I hardly think that they really look at the law and interpret the law, because none of them are lawyers and able to do that very well.”