Early voting continues in Cordova ahead of the March 4 General Election, where two candidates are running for mayor, the city’s top position. Multiple other candidates are also vying for seats on the City Council, School Board, and Hospital Service Board.
Residents have just over a week to cast early ballots. Early voting is open daily until March 3, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Cordova Center.
Below are the candidate profiles.
Note: Responses may be edited or shortened for clarity and brevity.
Emma Merritt
Q: Why did you decide to run for this seat?
A: Education is important to me and education is important to Cordovans. We want to develop our children’s potential. Whether they run a boat, open a business, go to college, stay in town, or go “outside,” the education we provide will prepare them for a successful future. Let’s give them a strong educational foundation.
I also want to support the great things our schools are doing. I have a child enrolled in the elementary school and we love it. I was impressed to learn that they made key reading curriculum changes even before the Alaska Reads Act went into law. I welcome more progress like this.
Q: What is your professional background?
A: I am the manager of finance at Cordova Electric Cooperative. I have a master’s degree in business administration and undergraduate degrees in political science and history. Prior to this I worked in business management for retail and construction operations. I was a Future Problem Solving coach for six years. I also developed the Miss Iceworm pageant to include a leadership and scholarship program. I had the pleasure of running this program for nine years.
Q: What achievements or skills from your experience make you the best candidate for this seat?
A: Like many of you, I was educated by Cordova schools. I understand the value of a well-rounded education we have historically provided by supporting swimming, music, sports, and extra-curricular activities. I understand the roles, responsibilities, and limitations of board governance. I have more than eight years of experience working with the CEC board of directors, and in a professional capacity I serve as a member on the Alaska Power Association audit and finance committee. I believe I will be an effective board member for you, right out of the gate.
Q: What are the top issues you want to address if elected?
A: Education. I will keep education at the center of my decision making by supporting ideas that improve education. Alaska ranks lowest in national reading and math scores. We cannot wait for the state’s solutions, we need a local game plan, and we need it now. Our schools did well staying open during COVID, but even so, it was an educational disruption that will have long-term effects. I would like to see leadership at the school board level to evaluate where our students are and where we need to spend time or resources. Our kids and community deserves it.
Governance. The school board represents the public. If elected to the school board I will listen to your experiences and concerns. I will ask questions of the administration on your behalf. I will offer different perspectives to fellow board members. I will promote transparency and provide clarity regarding board decisions.
Terri Stavig
*Running for re-election
Q: Why did you decide to run for this seat?
A: Three years ago, I ran and was elected to the School Board. My husband and I moved to Cordova in 1984 with our infant daughter. We quickly fell in love with this community and knew we wanted to make it our permanent home. We built careers, raised our children, and involved ourselves in all aspects of Cordova life over the past 40+ years. I view being on the School Board as an opportunity to “give back,” it’s an opportunity to serve the community that has given my family the lifestyle we enjoy.
Q: What is your professional background?
A: I am a retired teacher. I taught for two years in Haines, one year in the Mat-Su, and 26 years here in Cordova. I also worked as a consultant for the Alaska Department of Education & Early Development for three years.
Q: What achievements or skills from your experience makes you the best candidate for this seat?
A: Honestly, all four School Board candidates are excellent and whoever is elected will be effective. I have never felt comfortable promoting myself above anyone else, all I can speak to is my motivation and intentions. As a former teacher, I am familiar with the challenges and rewards found within the educational system. My motivation is the same one I had while teaching, and that is to provide our students the best K-12 education possible. My intention is, whether they pursue post-secondary education or not, they graduate with the tools they need to accomplish whatever personal and/or career goals they have. I am grateful to have been on the School Board and would like to serve another three-year term.
Q: What are the top issues you want to address if elected?
A: Here in Cordova, we consistently have had and continue to have a successful school district. Our strengths include a dedicated and highly committed staff, involved parents, a supportive city government, and every corner of Cordova celebrates our children. However, we are not immune to some of the educational trends that are impacting students nationwide.
Academic performance in both reading and math are a concern nationally, in Alaska and here in Cordova. Efforts have begun locally to address these concerns. Even before the Alaska Reads Act, our elementary teachers began the process of selecting new reading curriculum, developed new teaching strategies, and have implemented it in grades K-6. The elementary principal plans to have the staff begin exploring new math curriculum. At the high school, the principal and teachers are working to develop a plan to provide interventions for students that are more than one year behind academically. If reelected, I will work to ensure that proactive efforts to help our students academically continues and expands.
Katherine Trudeau
Q: Why did you decide to run for this seat?
A: I care deeply about the wellbeing of children and families in this community and want to contribute my time to creating an environment where youth can reach their full potential.
Q: What is your professional background?
A: I have a master’s in education from the University of Northern Colorado and 10+ years of teaching experience that touches upon all age levels. I taught high school life skills and outdoor leadership for the Chugach School District from 2016-2018. While getting my master’s degree I continued teaching outdoor education in 2018-2020. During the pandemic I worked as both a teacher and after school facilitator with most of my time in the kindergarten (2020-2022). Now as an educator at the Prince William Sound Science Center, I work with every student at Mt. Eccles providing STEM enrichment programs. Through the Discovery Room Program I am in the classrooms three to four days a week.
Additionally, my free time is devoted to helping foster healthy kids and families. I have volunteered for four years at the Covenant House youth shelter in Anchorage, served as a Girl Scout leader, and currently head the Cordova Imagination Library, which promotes literacy for children under age 5.
Q: What achievements or skills from your experience makes you the best candidate for this seat?
A: Through my job as a partner with the school district, I am in the school three to four days a week. I have developed relationships with all of the children and teachers and care deeply about providing an environment where they can all reach their full potential. I take pride in the fact that I can greet almost all the Mt. Eccles students by name.
My professional and volunteer life has helped me develop an understanding of youth needs and priorities at all ages. My experience teaching and in the classroom has helped me develop a comfort working with curriculum and an understanding of the challenges teachers and administrators face.
Q: What are the top issues you want to address if elected?
A: The budget and state funding difficulties are the most pressing. I want to see the children taught by well-trained and professional staff who experience job satisfaction. I want the students to be fed nutritious food. I hope for the youth to be given the opportunity for extracurricular activities that promote growth. All of these things take funding. I hope to contribute to creative problem solving with the community to reach these goals.
Grafton Schikora
Q: Why did you decide to run for this seat?
A: My main motivation to run for school board is to ensure that every child in Cordova has access to the best possible education, a safe and inclusive environment for learning, and access to educational programs that fit their needs.
Q: What is your professional background?
A: My career started in the fishing industry in 2005 at age 14 here in Cordova. I fished up and down the West Coast until my son was born in 2019. I finished out my last season and in 2020, I made the decision to find a job that allowed me to stay in Cordova year-round with my family. I spent the next three years working at a local nonprofit as a captain/mariculture program manager. The lack of family healthcare at the nonprofit led me to look for a better opportunity that was more suitable for me to be present with my family and provide for them the best that I can. I found that opportunity at CTC in February 2024, when I started my current job in a network engineer position.
Q: What achievements or skills from your experience makes you the best candidate for this seat?
I will not say I am the best candidate, I think all the candidates for these seats are qualified and each would bring strengths to the table. I will say I am dedicated and invested in the future of the district and the community. I am the father of a kindergartener and the husband of a former preschool teacher. I am a CHS graduate, a Cordova homeowner, and I plan on staying in Cordova.
Q: What are the top issues you want to address if elected?
A: Funding and budget. Every year new issues will come up and will need to be addressed as they arise, but flat funding from the state is causing more problems for the district than anything else. The current board does a great job with outreach to senators and representatives, and I would help to loudly continue that work.
The municipal election is on March 4. The Cordova Center Community Room A polling site will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Election Day. For more information, visit the city’s election page.
