Election results for mostly uncontested Northwest Arctic Borough races are still flowing in

A day after Tuesday’s election, unofficial results for the Northwest Arctic Borough races — mostly uncontested — are still flowing in.

There are 34 absentee ballots, but the total number of questioned and special needs ballots in Northwest Arctic villages is still unknown, borough clerk Stella Atoruk said.

The borough also hasn’t received results from Selawik as of Wednesday morning, Atoruk said.

“Selawik had phone issues last night,” Atoruk said. “Bering Air was on hold this morning due to ice fog and awaiting bags from all the villages.”

This year, all Northwest Arctic Borough races except for one are uncontested.

In the sole race with more than one candidate — for assembly Seat H — Craig McConnell is leading Derek Haviland Lie by 95 votes. McConnell has 396 votes total so far, while Haviland Lie has 302. It’s not clear how many ballots remain uncounted, and whether they might affect the trajectory of this race.

McConnell, who has worked for the Northwest Arctic Borough School District for 35 years, is running to help residents lower their costs of fuel, electricity and freight. He also wants to bring an alternative air carrier to the borough and work to get more VPSOs to the villages.

Opponent Haviland Lie is currently a vice mayor of Kotzebue and a Kikiktagruk Inupiat Corp. board member, and also serves on the Northwest Arctic Borough Planning Commission. If elected, he wants to make sure the borough works out a plan for the scenario when Red Dog Mine reaches the end of its life.

In other assembly races, the sole candidate for Seat E, Raven Sheldon, has gained 644 votes. Hannah Paniyavluk Loon, who is running for Seat G unopposed, has 650 votes so far.

[Candidates for Northwest Arctic Borough and Kotzebue city races talk about road maintenance, Red Dog Mine and recreation]

Multiple candidates are also in uncontested races for seats on the Northwest Arctic Borough School District’s Board of Education.

Alice Melton-Barr is running unopposed for Seat H and has 655 votes. Melton-Barr has served on the Board of Education from 2017 to 2021, representing Buckland, Deering and Selawik. She said she wants to continue advocating for more homegrown teachers and support Inupiaq language revitalization in the classroom.

Margaret Hansen, running for Seat J, gained 664 votes. She previously worked for the state of Alaska as a local government specialist and said she now wants to help improve schools in the Northwest Arctic by advocating for more funding, growing local teachers and prioritizing a well-rounded, culturally aware education.

Marie N. Green is running for Seat G unopposed and has 660 votes so far. Carol “Bunny” Schaeffer is the only candidate for Seat K with 665 votes.

Canvass is scheduled for Friday at 9 a.m., and the borough plans to certify results on Monday at 1 p.m.