Kenai Peninsula assembly president proposes rewrite of rules for filling assembly vacancies

The Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly would change how it fills an empty seat under an ordinance sponsored by Assembly President Ryan Tunseth. Ordinance 2026-34 would repeal the borough code section that now governs those appointments, KPB 22.30.060, and replace it with a new section, KPB 22.30.055. The agenda does not spell out what the new section would change. The ordinance text and a memo are attached to the item.

The assembly is scheduled to introduce the ordinance at its Tuesday, Sept. 15 meeting in the Betty J. Glick Assembly Chambers in Soldotna and refer it to the Policies and Procedures Committee. The public hearing is set for Oct. 20. Introduction is not adoption. The item sits on the consent agenda, where any member may pull it for separate discussion.

The borough has used the current rule repeatedly this year. Under KPB 22.30.060, the assembly appoints a successor, who is sworn in at the meeting where the appointment is made. Alaska News covered the Committee of the Whole's Aug. 18 interviews of three applicants for the District 1 Kalifornsky seat and the Sept. 1 consideration of Nathan A. Berga, the lone applicant for the vacant District 7 Central seat. Assembly Member Scott Griebel resigned before the July 7 meeting, and Assembly Member Michael Hicks resigned ahead of the Aug. 4 meeting in Homer. A January 2025 clerk's notice for the District 5 seat vacated by Bill Elam invited any qualified voter who had lived in the district for one year to apply.

Residents of a district with a vacant seat go without an elected representative until the assembly appoints one. No comment from affected residents or past applicants was available before the meeting.

Tunseth is also sponsoring a companion ordinance amending Title 22 on how assembly meetings themselves are run. It carries the same Oct. 20 hearing date.

Kodiak Island Borough also is considering changes to its vacancy rules. At an Aug. 27 work session there, Chris French said, "And we had a little hiccup this time around, so I'm glad we're right on it to address it."

Residents may testify on the Kenai ordinances at the Oct. 20 hearing or submit comments through the borough's eComment system, which enters written comments into the public record alongside in-person testimony.