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, so far, 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.
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.
Jay Celli, an employee with Highmark Marine Fabrication, is running for a city council seat. He ran last year, too, and lost by about 80 votes behind Councilmember Rich Walker.
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 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 Tuesday, Aug. 5, 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.
