By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
With two days to go before the deadline to file for municipal offices, only three candidates have signed up to run in the Oct. 6 election, the city clerk’s office said.
“It’s do-able – there’s still time to file,” City Clerk Sara Peterson said. Left unchanged, the present lineup offers walk-off wins for Assembly and mayor candidates. No one is running for School Board.
The filing period will close at 5 p.m. Friday.
So far, Mayor Gary Paxton filed for re-election; and Steve Lee and Leo Jimmy have filed to run for Assembly, where two seats are open. All three filed soon after the filing period opened on July 20, but Peterson said it’s been quiet since then.
There are two open positions on the Sitka School Board, where Andrew Hames and Blossom Twitchell are appointees filling out the terms of two members who resigned: Elias Erickson and Dionne Brady-Howard.
From the clerk’s office, Peterson said it’s difficult to predict when candidates will file, but sometimes there is a last-minute rush.
“When it gets this close I like to remind folks not to wait till 5 p.m. on the last day,” she said. “We have to go through the packets to certify signatures and make sure the packets are complete, and that takes time.”
Those running for office need to file a petition with signatures of 25 registered Sitka voters, and provide other paperwork. Peterson said sometimes signatures are ruled invalid for various reasons, and if candidates wait until the last minute, they may not have time to collect more.
Further information about filing for office is available by calling Peterson at 747-1811.
