424 voters cast their ballots at Old St. Joe’s Church Tuesday as blustery winds from a fall storm whipped town.
Only one seat, mayor, had more than one candidate printed on the ballot.
According to preliminary results, longtime Nome-resident Kenny Hughes beat out the incumbent, John Handeland, with 62% of the vote. Hughes has mayoral experience, having served as mayor of Teller. He currently chairs the Nome Planning Commission and is president of the Nome Chamber of Commerce.
In a text message to KNOM, Hughes thanked the electorate for their votes.
"I'm very grateful for the outpouring of support. Now the work begins. Who's with me?" Hughes said. "We need at least two more planning commission members...."
In the days before the election, Hughes said his first priority as mayor would be encouraging “citizen participation”.
“My first big deal would be to say hello to all the organizations, and also say hello to the citizens and say hey, we need more people to become involved in our boards and commissions and different places and try and make them feel supported and appreciated,” Hughes said.
An increase to the local sales tax from 5% to 6% passed. 216 votes were in favor of the increase, 208 voted no. The proposition was brought in front of voters by the Nome Common Council as a means to help balance the city’s beleaguered budget.
2022 was the last time a change to sales tax was voted on. In that election, voters opted to repeal a seasonal sales tax of 7% that ran from May through August. The measure returned Nome’s sales tax to 5% year round.
With the increase, Nome joined 10 other communities in Alaska that have sales tax rates of 6% or higher.
Common Council seat E, previously held by Cameron Piscoya, was won by Adam Lust. The 20-year resident of Nome ran unopposed and will serve a three-year term. Lust received 366 votes. There were 33 write-ins.
Mark Johnson successfully retained seat F on the council. Johnson received 383 votes. There were 19 write-ins.
Two seats on the Nome School Board were won by Darlene Trigg and Marjorie Kunaq Tahbone. Both were running for reelection and are set to serve additional three-year terms. Trigg received 360 votes and Tahbone received 377.
One seat on the utility board was up for grabs. Larry Pederson was the only name on the ballot and retained his seat with 362 votes. There were 37 write ins.
The election results will be formally canvassed and certified Thursday at 5:30 p.m. during a special session of the Nome Common Council. The meeting will be livestreamed on KNOM's Facebook and YouTube pages.
