Three candidates have filed to run for four open seats on Bethel City Council this year.
Vice-Mayor Teresa Keller and current council member Mark Springer have filed to run for reelection, and new candidate Kelsi Kime has also filed to run for a seat on the council.
Current council member Mikayla Miller did not file to run for reelection. And John Lloyd, who was appointed to fill an empty seat earlier this year, did not file for reelection to that position. Three other current council members have seats that aren’t up for election until next year.
Three of the seats up for election on the council are for two-year terms, and one is for a one-year term. Terms will be determined by vote counts. The top three vote-getters will serve two-year terms on the city council, and a fourth-place vote-getter would serve the one-year term.
With three candidates running for seats and four open seats, a write-in candidate could fill the remaining open seat on the council.
Votes for write-in candidates can not be counted unless the candidate is officially registered as a write-in candidate. Write-in candidates can register at Bethel City Hall until 5:00 p.m. on Oct. 2.
Early voting, absentee-in-person, and by mail voting for the local election will open on Sept. 22.
Bethel’s municipal election will take place on Oct. 7, the same day as the Regional Education Attendance Area (REAA) election to determine school board seats.
For communities that don’t have a local election on Oct. 7, voting for REAA elections will take place by mail. Those ballots will be mailed by Sept. 15. Find information about REAA elections at elections.alaska.gov.
