Former mayor Harry Brower Jr. files to run against Patkotak for North Slope Borough mayor

Harry Brower Jr. has filed to run against Josiah Aullaqsruaq Patkotak for North Slope Borough mayor, setting up a head-to-head race between the man who holds the office and the man who held it before him.

Both are eligible under the borough charter, which limits the mayor to two consecutive three-year terms. Patkotak, elected in October 2023, is running for a second. Brower served two terms and could not run in 2023, but the limit applies only to consecutive terms, so sitting out one cycle restored his eligibility.

Brower first took the office in 2016, succeeding Charlotte Brower after she had been recalled, and then won it in his own right in 2017 and again in 2020. He led the borough for seven years, a period that included significant decisions about oil development on the Slope and the borough's dealings with the companies operating there.

Patkotak came to the job from the Alaska House, resigning his seat (HD-40) in Juneau after winning the 2023 election over three experienced opponents.

Both candidates are from Utqiagvik. The North Slope Borough covers eight communities, and while most of its residents live in Utqiagvik, voters in the other communities will be choosing between two candidates from the same town.

Neither filing includes a platform statement. Brower is listed as his own committee chair and treasurer.