Wasilla council considers Nov. 9-20 application window to fill Rubeo's old seat

The Wasilla City Council is scheduled to consider a resolution Monday, Oct. 26, that would open applications Nov. 9 for the council seat Mayor Alina Rubeo left when she took office. Applications would close at 5 pm Nov. 20, and the council would interview applicants at a special meeting Nov. 30.

The appointee would hold Seat F until a successor elected at the 2027 regular city election is qualified. That successor would finish the term, which ends in October 2028. City code requires the council to appoint someone to fill a vacancy within 45 days, subject to some exceptions, according to the resolution.

Rubeo took the mayor's office Oct. 19. City code bars the mayor from also serving on the council, and the resolution states her move vacated Seat F that day. Rubeo won Seat F in 2025 with 251 votes. She won the mayor's race Oct. 6 with 585 votes, or 67.2%. The council certified that result Oct. 14 and started the process of filling her council seat, Alaska News reported Oct. 15.

Rubeo sponsored the resolution on behalf of City Clerk Jamie Newman, who would run the process. Under the resolution, notice of the vacancy would appear on the city website and official social media starting Oct. 27. Applications would be accepted weekdays from 8 am to 5 pm. City Hall will be closed Wednesday, Nov. 11, for Veterans Day.

Interviews and deliberations would follow the Alaska Open Meetings Act. The council could go into executive session, a closed-door discussion, only with a lawful basis. Any applicant discussed there would keep the right to ask that the discussion happen in open session.

After interviews, the council would appoint a qualified applicant by motion and the vote required by law.