At a meeting that lasted just 2 minutes and 41 seconds, the Nome Common Council canvassed and certified the 2026 municipal election Thursday night.
Each election, the council is responsible for reviewing questioned ballots and certifying the results. There were just two questioned ballots out of the 251 cast. The council approved recommendations from Nome City Clerk Dan Grimmer to accept one ballot and reject the other.
The questioned ballots wouldn’t have moved the needle much, with all six seats up for election this cycle having just one filed candidate. The Utility Board seat held by Derek McLarty had the least number of affirmative votes, 205, and the most write-ins, 25. Fellow Utility Board member, Carl Emmons, had the most affirmative votes on the municipal ballot with 231.
Randy Oles earned 228 votes to join the Common Council. He will replace outgoing Councilmember Maggie Miller, who opted to not run for reelection. Adam Martinson ran unopposed to retain his seat. He was first elected to the council in 2017 and is set to begin his fourth three-year term.
Watch a replay of the meeting:
Megan Sigvanna Tapqaq earned 222 votes en route to retaining her spot on the school board. David O’Neill received 228 votes to keep his relatively-new seat on the school board. O’Neill became a school board member earlier this year after replacing Nancy Mendenhall, who retired from the board in May.
On the NSEDC ballot, James T. Sherman retained his seat with 246 votes.
The general election, featuring races for governor, U.S. House and Senate, and Alaska House District 39 is Nov. 3. The deadline to register to vote in the general election was Oct. 4.
