Kasey Kinsman and Lee Collins will fill out the City Council, after winning the two open seats Tuesday night.
Kinsman, who ran for re-election, will assume his own seat for another three-year term. Collins will take over for Council Member Cathy Sherman, who term-limited out this month.
Both Kinsman and Collins have said they want to work on alleviating some of the city’s financial woes while on the council.
This past year, the city held six grueling budget work sessions in an effort to overcome a $1.6 million budget deficit. In the end, the City Council made sweeping cuts to city operations and personnel, the school district, the hospital, the chamber of commerce, the Cordova Family Resource Center, and the ski hill.
“I am filled with humility for the opportunity to continue to serve the community as a member of the City Council,” Kinsman told The Cordova Times Wednesday morning. “I will continue to serve the residents of the City of Cordova to the best of my abilities.”
The council member also expressed gratitude for Collins, as well as Sonya Hagmüller and John Renner, the other two council candidates.
Kinsman has been a staunch voice for fiscal responsibility during his time on the council, and often a proponent of new business proposals and generating revenue through municipal land disposal. After last year’s budget cycle he noted the city should rely less on state and federal funding.
“We’ve laid a really good foundation for years to come,” he said in December. “I don’t want that to be lost on (the) council, and really, the community.”
Collins manages the Cordova Community Garden, and leads guided recreation activities with Explore Cordova. Earlier this year, he also organized a bike ride demonstration for Alex Pretti, the man federal immigration agents shot and killed in Minneapolis, Minnesota back in January.
On the council, Collins says he hopes to help create a balanced budget that still prioritizes community services and assets, noting that creating affordable housing is among his top concerns.
“I feel very grateful and overwhelmed by all the support I received from voters,” he said after the election. “My next step is to do the best I can to serve Cordova by immersing myself in the council process and offering my perspective on issues before the council.”
Cordovans on March 3 also approved a ballot proposition that will allow the city to accept a loan of up to $870,000 to build an electric bear fence at the Cordova Mile 17 Landfill.
The Alaska Department of Conservation (DEC) has mandated the project, as over the years the landfill has become a dangerous hotspot of bear activity. Cordova will receive a 1%-2% interest rate loan of up to $870,000, which has already been green lit through an Alaska loan initiative called the State Revolving Fund Program.
Additionally, longtime Cordovan Malani Towle, a local fisher and board member of the Cordova 4H Music Camp, ran unopposed and was elected to the school board on Tuesday. She’ll take over for current board President Dave Glasen, whose term expires this month.
Kelsey Hayden – operations director and SERVS fishing vessel administrator of Cordova District Fishermen United (CDFU) – also ran uncontested for the city’s only open Hospital Services Board seat.
There were 425 ballots cast in the March 3 election – 306 on Election Day, 106 during the early voting period, and 13 mail-in ballots.
The election results will be certified during the March 18 regular City Council meeting.
This story was last updated on March 6.
