Three apply for the Homer City Council seat Shelly Erickson left to become mayor

The Homer City Council plans to interview three applicants Monday and appoint one to the seat Shelly Erickson gave up when voters elected her mayor Nov. 3.

Larry Anthony, Michael Heimbuch and Bob Shavelson had applied as of Thursday, according to a memo from City Clerk Amy Woodruff. Others can still apply until the meeting starts at 4:30 pm Monday.

The appointee will be sworn in on the spot and serve until November 2027.

Anthony spent 20 years with the Arizona Department of Public Safety, where he said he oversaw a budget of about $15 million to $20 million a year. He started 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 wrote that he would bring "an independent perspective, a collaborative approach, and a strong commitment to transparency, fiscal responsibility, and accountability."

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 push for the city's nine-month break from sales tax on food, because "the cost of peak summer city services should not be borne by taxing the food of winter residents." He listed the harbor expansion and a possible extension of city services into Kachemak City as interests.

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

Each applicant gets three minutes to make a pitch, and each council member can ask every applicant one question. Then members nominate by motion. It takes four votes to appoint, and motions continue until one gets there.

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