Looking to lead? Seats open

Candidates, including a few incumbents, are beginning to line up to vie for borough and service area elected offices in the Oct. 5 municipal election, now just two months away.

The filing period began Monday and continues until noon Aug. 16. Declarations of candidacy may be filed at the Borough Clerk's Office at 144 . Binkley St. in Soldotna.

Three seats are up on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, including those from District 3 (Nikiski) currently held by Gary Superman, District 4 (Soldotna) currently held by Assembly President Pete Sprague, and District 7 (Central) presently held by Paul Fischer. All three seats are for three-year terms. Superman already has filed for re-election in District 3, while Sprague has filed to run in District 4.

Three seats are open on the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District's Board of Education, as well. They include District 1 (Kalifornsky) held by Sammy Crawford, District 6 (East Peninsula) held by Sandra Wassilie, and District 9 (South Peninsula) held by Sunni Hilts.

Crawford already has filed to run again in District 1, as has longtime candidate Gene Dyson.

Numerous seats are up for grabs on various service area boards, including:

Anchor Point Fire Service Area Board Seat C (two-year term) and Seat B (three-year term).

Bear Creek Fire Service Board Seat A (three years) and Seat B (three years).

Central Peninsula Hospital Service Area Board Seat A (one year), Seat B (one year), Seat F (three years), Seat G (three years) and Seat E (two years).

Central Peninsula Emergency Medical Service Area and Central Emergency Service Area Joint Operations Board Seat A (three years) and Seat B (three years).

Kachemak Emergency Service Area Board Seat D (three years) and Seat E (three years).

Nikiski Fire Service Area Board Seat A (three years), Seat B (three years) and Seat C (three years).

Nikiski Senior Service Area Board Seat B (three years), Seat C (three years) and Seat E (three years).

Nikiski Law Enforcement Service Board Seat A (one year), Seat B (two years), Seat C (two years), Seat D (three years) and Seat E (three years).

North Peninsula Recreation Service Area Board Seat A (three years) and Seat B (three years).

South Peninsula Hospital Service Area Board Seat B (two years), Seat C (two years), Seat G (three years), Seat H (three years), Seat I (three years).

Seward-Bear Creek Flood Service Area Board Seat A (one year), Seat B (two years), Seat C (three years), Seat D (one year), Seat E (two years), Seat F (three years) and Seat G (three years).

For information about who has filed for various seats, visit the Kenai Peninsula Borough Web site under "Assembly/ clerk," then "elections."

To be qualified to run for public offices, a voter must have lived in the assembly or school district for 180 days. A prospective candidate for a service area board must have lived within the service area for 180 days.

Also up for election Oct. 5 are a handful of city leadership positions. In Kenai, voters will elect a new mayor and fill two city council seats. Mayor John Williams has chosen not to run again, and current council members Jim Bookey and Pat Porter have filed to run for his office. City council seats held by Bookey and Joe Moore also are up for election. Kenai candidates have until 5 p.m. Aug. 16 to file with the city clerk.

In Soldotna, city council seat D, held by Jane M. Stein, and seat E, held by Audrey A. Porter, are up for election. Both are three-year terms. Stein has filed for re-election. Candidacy for those seats must be filed with the City Clerk's Office by 5 p.m. Aug. 13.