Daily Sitka Sentinel

Mosher Files for Second Term

By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer

Kevin Mosher filed Thursday to run for a second term on the Sitka City and Borough Assembly.

He became the first candidate to file for office in the Oct. 5 election, in which two members will be elected to the Assembly.

The other incumbent on the Assembly, Valorie Nelson, has said she does not plan to seek another term.

Also open are two positions on the Sitka School Board. Incumbent Amy Morrison said she plans to run for re-election, but the other incumbent, Eric Van Cise, said he does not.

The filing period opened Monday and ends 5 p.m. August 6.

Mosher, 47, has been on the Assembly three years, and said he’s ready for three more.

“It’s been a huge learning curve since I’ve been on; I’m just starting to understand how city government works,” he said. “We’ve gotten a lot of good things done and we want to continue the work.”

He added that he also offers a “good balance” on the Assembly, and that he has received only positive responses about seeking reelection.

“I’ve had many people encourage me and when I told them I was running, they said they were grateful,” Mosher said.

Mosher has lived in Sitka almost 30 years. He and his wife, Theresa, have five kids, with the youngest three still at home.

Mosher said the community has faced numerous challenges in the past few years, including the pandemic. He believes the city has responded well, and gave credit to City Administrator John Leach, SEARHC and others for organizing a leadership team to respond. He said the community has responded well with their actions, including a high vaccination rate.

Mosher said he has also made some hard decisions on the Assembly, including supporting proposed budget cuts for the past couple of years, revenue generating ideas and “huge efficiencies.” That includes collecting on leases that hadn’t yet been paid.

“I want to stay the course,” he said, “and continue to be fiscally sound and responsible, trying to foster economic development and activity. There’s a lot of things we can’t control, but we have to be careful about what we can.”

Mosher said he’s supported utility rate increases in the last two years, to cover infrastructure, and ordinances to refinance debt on the Blue and Green Lake dams, resulting in savings.

“I want to keep rates as low as possible,” he said.

Mosher is a staff accountant at Shee Atika Inc.

Candidates for Assembly and School Board need to submit a petition with signatures of at least 25 registered voters. Assembly candidates must have resided in Sitka for at least one year prior to the election. School Board candidates must be registered Sitka voters at the time of the election.

Those planning to run are asked to schedule an appointment with City Clerk Sara Peterson, 747-1811, to pick up a packet and receive filing instructions.