After Oct. 5’s voting, the unofficial results of the Regional Educational Attendance area elections are in.
In the REAA II’s Bering Strait election, Marcus Barr is currently ahead in the race for Section II’s seat C. If Barr is still winning when the votes are finalized, he will represent the communities of Brevig Mission, Teller, Wales, and White Mountain. At last update, Barr was beating the seat’s incumbent, Olanna Winfred Jr. by one vote.
Barr himself is from Brevig Mission and has stated that he believes teacher housing to be an important issue to address in his region.
In section III of the Bering Strait Division, Willow Olson is the unofficial winner for seat D. She ran uncontested, the incumbent, Irene Navarro, having withdrawn from the campaign earlier in the year. Once results are certified Olson will represent the communities of Elim, Golovin, Koyuk, and Shaktoolik.
Olson stated that she intends to focus her time in office on preparing students for college life once they graduate from REAA’s schools. She believes that her region has done excellent work in improving the areas graduation rates, and she sees preparing students for college as the natural next step.
In Section IV seat H, Anthony Haugen is currently leading a field of four other candidates to represent the communities of Stebbins, St. Michael, and Unalakleet. As of the latest update, Haugen is ahead of runner up, Richard Elachik Sr. by twenty-one votes.
In his campaign, Haugen stressed the importance of keeping and retaining good, qualified teachers in the area. He suggested various methods to accomplish this goal, such as improving teacher housing.
In the REAA III’s Lower Yukon election, incumbent Caroline Ulak ran uncontested for seat D. Unofficial results show her capturing 537 of 557 votes counted thus far.
Susie Makaily is leading four other candidates in the race for seat G. She is ahead of runner up, Fred Beans, by one vote according to the latest update. Makaily stressed the importance of investing in reading programs for young children and improving teacher turnover.
For seat H in the Lower Yukon, Brenda Brown leads Charles Greene by 144 votes. They were the only two candidates running for seat H. Brown expressed a desire to ready students in the area for a college career.
All three new members of the REAA Lower Yukon will represent Marshall, Russian Mission, Alakanuk, Emmonak, Hooper Bay, Kotlik, Mountain Village, Nunam Iqua, Pilot Station, and Scammon Bay. Elections results are considered unofficial until certified by the Alaska Division of Elections.
This article previously reported these election results as official despite the final votes not being certified yet. The article has been updated to reflect the “unofficial” results as they currently stand. KNOM regrets the error.
Image at top: Aerial shot of both Teller and Brevig Mission, two communities impacted by the REAA elections. Photo courtesy of KNOM Media Libraries.
