First Batch of Unofficial Results for Municipal Elections Released
The Clerk has released the first batch of unofficial results for today's Municipal Election.
As expected, incumbent members of the assembly are leading their respective races with the exception of District 6 representative John Weddleton, who is trailing Randy Sulte by a narrow margin of 153 votes. The unknown in Weddleton's race is whether outstanding mail-in ballots will break in high enough numbers that he can make up lost ground which, considering today's numbers don't include same-day ballots, may not bode well for the incumbent.
In the East Anchorage Assembly race, where literally a shit ton of money has been raised and spent, Assemblyman Forrest Dunbar leads right-wing radical challenger Stephanie Flynn Taylor by 1,194 votes.
I'll admit to being a little surprised that Midtown Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel, who defeated a malicious and asinine attempt to recall her last year by nearly 20 points, is only leading Save Anchorage-backed challenger Kathy Henslee by a narrow margin of 474 votes. It is believed, however, that yet to be counted ballots in Zaletel's race will likely lean in her favor.
Over in the District 3 race, Kameron Perez-Verdia is absolutely trouncing Liz Vazquez by a margin of 1,049 votes.
In the Anchorage School Board race for Seat A, Margo Bellamy leads with 50.42% of the vote. In the Seat B race, incumbent Kelly Lessens is also outpacing her challengers with 51.01% of the vote cast in her favor.
One thing seems clear: tonight's unofficial numbers are most certainly not being celebrated in the Save Anchorage echo chamber, where many group members had been expecting a rout in the assembly races.
Oh, and one more thing, Bronson's supporters are definitely upset about tonight's unofficial results, because even if Weddleton ultimately loses his race, and provided there are no dramatic shifts in the other Assembly races, the Assembly will still retain its supermajority and be able to override any of Mayor Bronson's vetoes — and that, is a beautiful and most necessary thing.
