Bethel council elects mayor Tuesday after election brings in Joseph Klejka

The Bethel City Council will elect a mayor and vice mayor on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at a special meeting to organize the council after the Oct. 6 city election. It will also name council representatives to seven city committees and commissions and to Yuut Elitnaurviat.

Council members choose the mayor from among themselves by secret ballot for a one-year term, according to the clerk's calendar in the Oct. 13 council packet. Rose Henderson holds the post going into the meeting, and Teresa Keller is vice mayor.

It will be the first organizing vote for a council with one new member. Voters returned Henderson, Pamela Conrad and Alicia Miner and elected Joseph Klejka to the fourth open seat, according to the certifying resolution in that packet. Henderson led with 201 votes, followed by Conrad with 195, Miner with 181 and Klejka with 165. Lillian Okpaleke had 150, and council member Greg Schiedler finished last with 73. Turnout was about 7%, with 281 ballots cast among 4,017 registered voters.

Tuesday's agenda lists Klejka on the council in Schiedler's place, alongside Henderson, Keller, Conrad, Miner, Mark Springer and Kelsi Kime. At least one assignment has to change: Schiedler was the council's representative on the Finance Committee.

The appointments also cover the Planning Commission, Public Safety and Transportation Commission, Port Commission, Public Works Committee, Community Parks and Recreation Committee and Community Action Grant Committee. Some of those panels have struggled to meet. The Port Commission, which reviews the budget of the port that receives fuel and barged freight for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, had not reached a quorum in 11 straight months, Alaska News reported July 15. The Public Safety and Transportation Commission had fallen to two of six members, Alaska News reported July 31.

City code calls for the new council to organize the first Monday after certification, which this year fell on Oct. 19, the city's observed Alaska Day holiday, Alaska News reported Oct. 8. The council voted unanimously Sept. 22 to let meetings move off holidays, according to the meeting minutes, and Tuesday's meeting starts at 6 pm at City Hall.