Unofficial election results are in for Sitka and communities around the region
Voters in Sitka approved a measure Tuesday (10-7-25) to fund future recreation and athletic facilities. What those facilities will look like and how much the project will cost is still unclear, but Proposition 1 removes restrictions on a city hospital fund to pay for the upgrades.
Right now, the money is set aside to cover retirement costs for former employees of Sitka Community Hospital, which was sold to the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium [SEARHC] in 2019. The fund also takes in about $800,000 a year from the tobacco tax, and city staff anticipate in the coming years there will be a surplus. The measure passed with nearly 61% of the vote on a 720 to 464 vote.
Ballot Proposition 2 would have required sponsors of future citizen initiatives to fund economic impact studies. It was sponsored by organizers of Safeguard Sitka’s Future, a pro-tourism group of local businesses that previously opposed a citizen initiative to limit cruise tourism earlier this year. The sponsors said requiring economic impact studies from expert, third-party consultants would help make elections more transparent, but some critics said the requirement would “put a price tag on the democratic process.” The measure failed with only 36% of Sitkans voting in favor on a 278 to 485 vote.
As for candidates, one clear frontrunner swept the Sitka Assembly race. Katie Riley — a local fisherwoman who heads up the Sitka Conservation Society — beat out the five other candidates with 1,300 votes — that’s more than 32% of votes cast. Incumbent Thor Christianson scored 770 votes, followed very closely by local business owner Sherri Blankenship, who trails Christianson by just 14 votes, leaving the second open assembly seat too close to call. As for the other three candidates, Jonathan Wolf received 589 votes, Austin Cranford received 277, and Tracie Castle received 126.
https://www.kcaw.org/2025/10/07/unofficial-election-results-are-in-for-sitka-and-communities-around-the-region/