A contest for the top job in the Association of Village Council Presidents ended Wednesday with another two-year term for Myron Naneng, who except for one break from 2000 to 2002 has been in the president's post since 1990.
Naneng, 63, said he wanted to keep working on issues for the Alaska Native regional nonprofit, from fisheries management to economic development.
At the AVCP annual conference this week in Bethel, Naneng was challenged by several leaders from the region including Johnny Evan, a Calista Corp. board member, and Raymond Watson, who had been AVCP chairman the last eight years and who works for the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corp. as coordinator of the alcohol treatment center. Some Native leaders said they just felt it was time for a change.
Each village with an official delegate at the conference cast one vote. The final round of voting was between Naneng and Watson. Naneng won by a single ballot, 23-to-22.
Also on Wednesday, Henry Hunter was elected AVCP chairman for the next two years.