Daily Sitka Sentinel

Absentee Ballots Ready For Oct. 1 City Election

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
    The city clerk’s office will start mailing out absentee ballots Tuesday for the Oct. 1 municipal election, the office said today.
    The ballot has two sides: one side lists candidates in the races for Assembly and School Board, and the other has a ballot question related to plastic bags.
    Five candidates are vying for the two Assembly seats: Thor Christianson, Kevin Knox, Steve Lee, Aaron Bean and Ben Miyasato. Knox and Bean are incumbents, and Christianson and Miyasato have served on the Assembly before. Lee is making his first run for city office.
    Paul Rioux and Cass Pook are the two candidates for the single School Board seat. The term of Jenn McNichol expires in October and she is not seeking re-election. Pook is a former School Board member.
    The plastic bag question was placed on the ballot through the initiative petition process.
    The question proposes a new chapter in Sitka General Code titled “Disposable Plastic Shopping Bag Prohibition.” It prohibits retailers from providing or distributing disposable plastic shopping bags, enacts a fee for alternative bags, and establishes a fine for violations. Plastic bags for such things as bakery items and fruit and vegetables inside the store would be allowed. The new rule would be effective April 22, 2020.
    “An affirmative vote of this ballot proposition would prohibit retail sellers in the municipality from providing or distributing disposable plastic shopping bags to customers for carrying purchases from the retail seller’s premises,” the informational section on the ballot states. Retailers may distribute “alternative bags (generally a paper bag),” for a fee of 10 cents, which may be kept by the retailer or donated “to a Sitka nonprofit entity.”
    Voters can obtain absentee ballots by mail by Sept. 24. The marked ballots must be returned or postmarked by Oct. 1.
    “I always encourage folks to get it back as soon as possible,” City Clerk Sara Peterson said.
    Absentee ballot forms are available on the city website, or may be requested by fax or in person at city hall. So far, the clerk’s office has received about a dozen requests.
    “I expect it will pick up,” Peterson said.
    Early voting for the election, in person at city hall, opens Sept. 16, and is available 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, through 5 p.m. Sept. 30 (Monday). The voting station is at the top of the stairs on the third floor of the city building at 100 Lincoln Street.
    Absentee ballots and those cast in the early voting process will be counted 3 p.m. Oct. 4 at Harrigan Centennial Hall.
    Last year’s election drew nearly 3,000 voters, including some 530 who cast ballots through early and absentee voting, the clerk’s office said.
    Those needing more information may call the office at 747-1811.