Updated at 10:26 p.m.
Preliminary results from Tuesday’s borough elections have Gabe Thomas and Eben Sargent as the top vote getters for borough assembly, and Rachel Saitzyk and Dan Schultz in the lead for planning commission. A seasonal sales-tax rate passed, with 562 yes votes to 515 no votes.
Up to 36 votes had yet to be finalized at the time the preliminary results were released, borough manager Alekka Fullerton said, that includes 19 questioned and special needs ballots and 17 potential absentee ballots.
The preliminary assembly results had Thomas receiving 591 votes and Sargent 552. Candidates John Norton and Richard Clement trailed with 492 and 475 votes, respectively.
On the planning commission side, Saitzyk held a significant lead with 541 votes to Schultz’ 474 votes. The next two candidates, Nathanael Reams and Kimberly Rosado, hold 454 and 452 votes respectively. That means either or both could still potentially move ahead of Schultz once the count is officially finalized. A fifth candidate for planning commission, Joe Parnell, received 133 votes.
When Sargent does move up to the assembly, as looks likely, borough code requires that the planning commission will appoint someone to finish the remainder of his term.
The assembly vote looks to be somewhat of a “split-ticket,” after Thomas and Clement shared many of the same endorsements on one side, and Sargent and Norton shared endorsements on the other.
Thomas, however, on Tuesday night praised what he said was Sargent’s “level-headedness” and strong campaign. Sargent said he feels the new assembly is a “representative mix” of different viewpoints and backgrounds. As Sargent starts his first term on the assembly, Thomas will be returning as the longest-serving member of the body.
On the planning commission side, if Schultz’ result holds, the composition of the body will remain largely the same, except for Sargent’s vacant seat. Top vote getter Saitzyk said that continuity could be a boon.
“We’ve built something together so far, and now we see what we can do with it now that we have more experience,” Saitzyk said. “Now I think we all have a handle on the job and can be more proactive.”
An uncontested school board race will return the two incumbents, Keely Baumgartner and Michelle Sloper, to office.
The seasonal sales tax rate will go into effect starting January 1. It will drop the sales tax rate in the townsite to 4.5% from October through March, also exempting groceries from sales tax during that period. In the summer months, from April through September, the sales tax rate will rise to 7%. The summer-month bump is meant to target summer tourism spending.
The borough’s finance department has projected that the change will add roughly $290,000 in new revenue over a full year. The borough assembly has said they intend that money to go primarily towards funding the Haines Borough school district.
That has been pitched as a way to help close the borough’s looming budget deficit, which both Thomas and Sargent named as top priorities prior to the election, without increasing the overall tax-burden on year-round residents.
In total, 1,101 ballots were counted, slightly below last year’s total, but in line with the recent average.
Voting at the Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Tuesday included plenty of regulars — voters who said they had cast a ballot in every municipal election in recent memory.
That included Eric Ferrin, who described voting as “an obligation.”
“I never miss a year of voting,” Ferrin said. “If you don’t vote then you ain’t got a right to [complain], period,” Ferrin said.
He was joined at the polls by Julie Ferrin, who said she was hoping for continuity in government.
“I think people that have been elected before know what’s going on, and I hope they continue doing their work, instead of someone new coming in and starting over,” Ferrin said.
Others, like Lucy Nieboer, said they hoped for a change.
“I’m hoping to have Rachel and Eben in office, helping give younger families a chance to make it in Haines,” Nieboer said. Nieboer voted for both challengers on the assembly side, Sargent and Norton.
Outside of the frequent voters, overall turnout was buoyed by less-frequent municipal election voters, like Lucy Lundergan.
“In the past I might have felt a little intimidated voting in local elections,” Lundergan said. “But it also feels like you’re having a bigger impact (in Haines). It’s a way to show support for the community I love.”
Correction: A previous version of this story misstated the process by which a vacant seat on the planning commission is filled.