Homer voters will decide on the road tax, a council race and an Assembly seat Nov. 3

Homer voters will decide Nov. 3 whether to keep the sales tax that pays for the city's roads and trails for another 20 years, and they'll pick two City Council members from three candidates and a Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly member from two, according to the borough's voter pamphlet.

Ballot propositions

Proposition A, on the ballot for city voters, would keep the three-fourths percent sales tax for the Homer Accelerated Roads and Trails program, known as HART, through 2047. The tax brings in about $2.3 million a year for reconstructing substandard roads, building new streets and trails, and maintenance, the pamphlet says.

Voters first approved HART in 1987 to rebuild local roads for 20 years. They renewed it in 2006 and added new roads and trails. Without another renewal, it ends Dec. 31, 2027.

The city is campaigning for it. State law bars a city from spending money to influence a ballot measure unless it sets the money aside by ordinance. The council appropriated $8,000 in June for information "that may influence the outcome of the election," and added $6,000 in September, as Alaska News reported. Through Friday, the city had reported $913 in staff time and an unpaid $500 logo bill to the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

Every borough voter, inside the city and out, will also decide Proposition 1, under which school board members who serve two consecutive full terms couldn't be reelected until 180 days have passed. Senate Bill 143, which became state law in August, allows it. Terms would count starting with this election, so the limit would first apply in 2032. Homer has no school board race this year.

City of Homer races

Homer will get a new mayor. Mayor Rachel Lord isn't on the ballot, and council member Shelly Erickson is the only candidate listed. Erickson, whose family has lived in Homer for five generations, has served three terms on the council.

Three candidates are running for two three-year council seats. Caroline Venuti, a longtime educator and school administrator, has served six years on the council and says she wants to encourage economic growth along with "a high quality of life." Bradley Parsons, an aging and disability advocate, has served two years and cites calls for "a vibrant and walkable downtown" and more affordable housing. Matt Bullard, a Navy veteran, volunteer firefighter and South Peninsula Hospital board member, says he'd focus on "safe roads, reliable water and sewer, plowed snow, a well-run harbor."

Kenai Peninsula Borough races

Larry Anthony and Theo Noomah are running for the Assembly District 8 seat, which covers Homer. Anthony, chief operations officer of Alaska Bus Company, retired after more than 20 years in Arizona law enforcement and says he'd protect taxpayer dollars and support public safety. Noomah grew up in Homer, moved back in 2024 and sits on the city's Economic Development Advisory Commission. He says he wants to support the hospital and schools and names school budgets and energy prices as the big challenges ahead.

Borough Mayor Peter Micciche is unopposed. Three seats on the South Kenai Peninsula Hospital Service Area board, which makes recommendations on the hospital's tax-funded capital spending and services, each have one candidate: Meg Wrightsmith, Francie Roberts and Tamara Fletcher.

Early in-person voting at Homer City Hall starts Tuesday.