Homer City Council to interview three applicants and fill Erickson's old seat Monday

The Homer City Council plans to interview three applicants Monday, Nov. 16, and appoint one to the council seat Shelly Erickson left when she was elected mayor in the Nov. 3 election.

Larry Anthony, Michael Heimbuch and Bob Shavelson had applied as of a Nov. 12 memo from City Clerk Amy Woodruff. Applications stay open until 4:30 pm Monday, when the meeting begins, the memo says. City code gives the council 30 days to fill the vacancy.

The appointee will be sworn in immediately and will serve a partial term ending in November 2027.

Anthony retired after 20 years with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, where he said he oversaw an annual budget of about $15 million to $20 million. He founded a youth sports nonprofit in Arizona, and he and his wife own Still North Legal Solutions in Homer. He ran for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly this year. He would bring "an independent perspective, a collaborative approach, and a strong commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility, and accountability," he wrote.

Heimbuch has lived in Homer since 1975 and served on the council from 2005 to 2009. He lists commercial fishing and a term on the state Board of Fisheries in his background, and he has served on the city's Port and Harbor Commission and library board. He wrote that he led the council effort for the city's nine-month break from sales tax on food, which reflects his belief that "the cost of peak summer city services should not be borne by taxing the food of winter residents." He named the harbor expansion project and a possible expansion of city services into Kachemak City as interests.

Shavelson, a 30-year resident, served on the city Port and Harbor Commission from 2022 to 2024 and worked at Cook Inletkeeper from 1995 to 2020. He has worked with Mako's Water Taxi since 2020. His goal would be "to work toward whatever outcomes are in the best interest of current and future residents of Homer," he wrote.

Each applicant gets three minutes to present. Each council member may ask every applicant one question.

Nominations come by motion, and four votes are needed to appoint. If a motion fails, new motions follow until one gets four votes.

The meeting is at Homer City Hall and online. Residents may comment on agenda items before the council takes up the appointment.