City of Whittier is the municipal government of Whittier, a Prince William Sound port reached through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. Its city council sets policy on personnel and harbor operations for this cruise, ferry and freight gateway in Southcentral Alaska.
Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
whittieralaska.gov ↗Whittier, AK 99693, USA
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Photo: Quintin Soloviev via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 4.0
Whittier weighs ending seat-by-seat council races and charging to challenge results
Whittier candidates would no longer need voter signatures to get on the ballot, and voters would no longer pick City Council members seat by seat, under a draft rewrite of the city's election code the council discusses Monday.
The draft would also charge $1,000 to contest an election and $500 to ask for a recount, and write voter ID rules into city code.
Nothing has been introduced. Monday's meeting is a work session, and the city's memo says another memo will come before the council considers the ordinance and holds a public hearing.
Whittier elects its seven council members at large, but each candidate runs for one lettered seat, A through G. The draft would end the lettered seats, and the ballot would tell voters to "vote for not more than" the number of open seats.
Acting City Clerk Shelby Carlson and City Attorney Holly Wells argue in a joint memo that designated seats do "not make sense in Whittier" because residents live close together and are all represented at large. Whittier has about 270 residents, most of whom live in one 14-story building, Begich Towers.
The draft adds that some seats draw more than one candidate and others none. Nobody filed for Seat E before the Oct. 6 election. David Pinquoch won it as a write-in.
Candidates now file a petition signed by 10 registered voters. The draft would replace that with a sworn declaration. One section makes it due 45 calendar days before a regular election and another says 45 business days.
Today, a candidate who is disqualified can ask for a hearing before an independent officer the council appoints. The draft would make the clerk's decision final, though the clerk could name a hearing officer.
Voters would show ID, anything from a driver's license to a utility bill, or cast a ballot the election board reviews. The memo says the rules mirror requirements the Legislature recently adopted but doesn't name the law. The current code already incorporates state election law.
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Public notice
About City of Whittier
Photo: Forest Service Alaska Region, USDA via Wikimedia Commons · Photo source · CC BY 2.0
whittieralaska.gov ↗Whittier, AK 99693, USA
The City of Whittier is the municipal government of Whittier, a Prince William Sound port reached through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. Whittier serves as a cruise, ferry and freight gateway for Southcentral Alaska.
Its city council sets policy on harbor and port operations, personnel and city property. Recurring questions include buying land in town from the Alaska Railroad, replacing the old Army-built dock, the future of the empty Buckner Building, equipment for the fire department, and the hiring and oversight of the city manager and fire chief. The council often takes up personnel and legal matters in closed session.
Council seats are filled in local elections, where write-in candidates have played a part. The city works alongside federal agencies that fund port projects and the state, which operates the tunnel that links Whittier to the Seward Highway.