Four new faces are set to join the Anchorage Assembly according to initial election results Tuesday night.
With 39,142 ballots counted, Yarrow Silvers, Erin Baldwin Day and Keith McCormick are the leading candidates to represent East, Midtown and South Anchorage respectively, while Jared Goecker is poised to represent Eagle River/Chugiak.
Meanwhile the two incumbents, North Anchorage's Daniel Volland and West Anchorage's Kameron Perez-Verdia, are leading in their bids for reelection.
Reached by phone Tuesday night, Volland said he’s not declaring victory just yet, but he’s thankful for the support he has received.
“Gratitude for my supporters, volunteers, people who contributed, and people who believe in the work that I’ve been doing,” Volland said.
Perez-Verdia said he's looking forward to working with the new Assembly members, and hopes that the mayor and the Assembly will be able to work together to tackle the city's issues.
"I think it's a really key time for us to make progress on economic development, on homelessness, on public safety and really starting to have a feeling of resurgence in our city," he said.
The Assembly has maintained a center-left majority in recent years, and newcomer Goecker is set to represent his district as one of a few conservatives on the body. However, Goecker said he’s looking forward to forming relationships with the Assembly members and working on the city’s mostly nonpartisan issues.
“It crosses party lines," Goecker said Tuesday night. "We’re talking about zoning, we’re talking about permit reform, we’re talking about all that stuff. And that’s not something that’s strictly Republican, strictly Democrat."
Fellow newcomer McCormick said one of his primary focuses on the Assembly, should his lead hold, will be improving public safety.
"We need people to feel safe in their homes," McCormick said. "And especially in my district, and I feel like around most districts in Anchorage, the fire risk this summer is a part of that as well. It's huge."
Silvers and Day could not immediately be reached by phone Tuesday night.
Here’s how the vote is breaking down so far:
- District 1, North Anchorage: Volland has 56% of the vote to Daniel George’s 29% and Nicholas Danger’s 9% percent.
- District 2, Chugiak/Eagle River: Goecker faces two challengers, Kyle Walker and David Littleton, and currently has just under 50% of the vote.
- District 3, West Anchorage: Perez-Verdia was challenged by Amie Steen and Jonathan Duckworth, and has 60% of the vote.
- District 4, Midtown: Day is leading Don Smith with 60% of the vote.
- District 5, East Anchorage: Silvers currently leads challengers Angela Frank and John Stiegele with 48% of the vote. Frank and Stiegele both have about 21% each, with Frank narrowly ahead.
- District 6, South Anchorage: McCormick has 83% of ballots compared to Darin Colbry’s 8%.
The six elected Assembly members will each serve three-year terms on the 12-member body
Election officials will post additional results over the next two weeks, with results set to be certified on April 22.
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