City of Kodiak Mayor Pat Branson announced Monday, Aug. 4, that she is retiring from public service after holding local elected offices for nearly three decades.
She held a seat on the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly for 12 years as well as one year on the City Council.
Branson has been the mayor for the last 14 years and her final term concludes at the end of October. In a press release Monday Branson said she would, “continue to advocate for Kodiak,” after her term ends, and said she has no plans on leaving the island.
During her tenure as mayor, the city has almost finished a brand new fire station, overhauled its indoor hockey rink and recreation facility, and embarked on a new housing project with RurAL CAP.
Branson’s retirement also means that, as of today, Alan Seale is currently an uncontested candidate for the next two-year term as mayor. Seale ran against Mayor Branson in 2023 and lost by less than 30 votes. As of Friday, Aug. 8, City Councilmember Terry Haines and longtime resident Mark Anderson have also filed to run for the city mayor position.
If Haines were to win then he would no longer be able to serve on the city council and his seat would be open. The council and mayor would then select someone to temporarily fill that seat, likely until the next election in 2026.
Anderson was previously on the board for the Kodiak Economic Development Corporation and he previously ran for election to the board of directors for the Kodiak Electric Association in 2022 but lost.
Interested candidates have until Aug. 15 to file paperwork with the city to run for any of the open seats in this year’s municipal election. Two city council seats and two Kodiak Island Borough Assembly seats will also be on the ballot.
Incumbent City Councilmember John Whiddon told the Kodiak Daily Mirror that he also won’t seek reelection. He’s been on the city council for 16 years and his latest three-year term ends in October.
And, incumbent City Councilmember Charlie Davidson told KMXT on Tuesday, Aug. 5, he is still deciding whether or not to seek reelection. He’s served on the council off and on since 1993. By Friday, Aug. 8, Davidson had officially filed for candidacy for one of two council seats.
Jay Celli, an employee with Highmark Marine Fabrication, is running for a city council seat as well. He ran last year, too, and lost by about 80 votes behind Councilmember Rich Walker.
By end of day Monday, Aug. 11, Djuna Davidson had also filed for one of the two council seats, making it a three-way race so far.
Registered voters who live within the city can select two candidates for the council and the top two vote getters will win seats.
And as for the Kodiak Island Borough, the race for borough mayor will be contested. So far, it’s between the incumbent Scott Arndt and Assembly member Jared Griffin. For transparency, Griffin is the general manager of KMXT Radio. He does not have any editorial influence over news stories and he did not review this story before it was published.
Griffin said he plans to not run for his Assembly seat and he won't be able to do both once he officially files his paperwork to run for borough mayor.
So far, no one has filed paperwork or announced a candidacy for Griffin’s Assembly seat or incumbent Larry LeDoux’s. As of Friday, Aug. 8, LeDoux has not filed to seek re-election for his Borough Assembly seat.
Candidates who miss the Aug. 15 filing deadline can still run as a write-in. This year’s municipal election is on Oct. 7.
Editor's Note: This article was updated to reflect the fact that Assembly member Griffin is not running for both Assembly and the Mayor seats. He is only running for borough mayor.
UPDATE: As of Aug. 8, two more candidates have filed to run for the city mayor position and on Aug. 11 Djuna Davidson threw her name in for a city council seat.
