The Kenai Assembly will fill the vacant Kalifornsky seat Tuesday

Kalifornsky voters could have a seated assembly member again by Tuesday night, when the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly is set to appoint someone to the vacant District 1 seat and swear them in. The seat opened when Scott Griebel resigned in July.

Three people applied, and the assembly will interview all three before voting. They are Annarose "Noelle" Phillips, a school district speech-language pathologist; Brent Hibbert, who sat on the assembly from 2017 to 2024; and Teresa Mullican, a former mayor of Elk City, Oklahoma. Whoever is appointed starts voting immediately.

The appointment doesn't settle the seat for long. The appointed term expires in November 2026, so District 1 voters will choose who finishes it on the Nov. 3 ballot. District 7 remains vacant as well, leaving the nine-member body two seats short heading into the meeting.