Fairbanks Area Now Open for Candidate Filings

By Matt Buxton | Fairbanks Daily News-Miner

FAIRBANKS — Friday was the first day for candidates to file to run for office in the Fairbanks area. Seats on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, the school board, the city of Fairbanks City Council and the board of the Interior Gas Utility all opened on Friday morning. Three candidates had filed by the end of the day.

For the borough assembly, Assemblyman John Davies filed to run for re-election and Larry Morris filed for the seat held by Assemblyman Michael Dukes, who is eligible for a second term. Dukes was appointed to his first term and has completed one full elected term. Michael O’Brien filed to run for the school board seat held by John Thies.

The borough assembly has one other seat, held by Assemblyman Guy Sattley, who is eligible to file for a second term. There are two more school board seats without candidates at this time. Those seats are held by John Rice and Wendy Dominique. The Fairbanks City Council has two seats up for election. Councilors Lloyd Hilling and Chris Anderson hold those seats.

Two seats on the Interior Gas Utility Board will be up for election. This is the first time the seats will be on the ballot since the municipal utility was formed through the cooperation of the three local governments.

Borough Clerk Nanci Ashford-Bingham said it’s important for candidates to know they must file their public financial disclosure forms online with the Alaska Public Offices Commission before filing with the borough.

“That needs to be filed and completely done before they hand their paperwork across the clerk’s desk at 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 15,” she said.

The filing period for the city of North Pole will open at 8 a.m. Monday. The municipal election is scheduled for Oct. 7.

Contact staff writer Matt Buxton at 459-7544. Follow him on Twitter: @FDNMpolitics.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect that Assemblyman Michael Dukes is eligible to run for a second term. He was appointed to his first partial term and then completed one full elected term.