An incumbent and a first-time candidate are running for two seats on Utqiagvik City Council

Two candidates are running for the two seats opening up on the Utqiagvik City Council.

Incumbent Martina Hopson is running for Seat D. Hopson is a lifelong resident of Utqiagvik. She previously worked as housing director at Inupiat Community of the Arctic and is currently serving as an advisor to borough Mayor Josiah Patkotak. In addition to her city councilmember role, Hopson is also a council member for the Native Village of Barrow and serves on the Board of Directors for Ukpeagvik Inupiat Corporation.

“My life revolves around volunteerism and dedication to my community, especially focusing on our youth,” she said. “I also enjoy giving back as a basketball coach.”

Hopson said that serving her first term on the city council was an introduction to policy and “the inner workings of our municipality” where she worked alongside women who are community leaders. She said she is proud of the council’s work in funding opportunities for children in sports and education.

“We’ve seen some remarkable results, such as helping a young girl attend wrestling camp, where she was later recruited by a top wrestling school and awarded a sports scholarship,” Hopson said. “We also supported a group of high school students who spent a week in Washington, D.C., through the Close-Up program, and assisted our elementary choir in performing at Disney.”

She said that now that she has a solid grasp of what it takes to serve on the council, she is eager to continue the work and better the community. If elected, she said she wants to focus on updating city code of ordinances to make it more functional and better serve our community.

Hopson said the most important issue for her is completing the Piuraagvik addition, specifically — exploring funding opportunities to kickstart the first phase of this project.

“We currently have a shortage of recreational spaces for both children and adults,” she said. “With winter approaching, the lack of indoor options for our residents becomes even more pressing.”

Hopson is raising three daughters with her wife Jamie Malabed.

Craig Moore Jr. is running for Seat C on the city council to improve the mental health services in the community.

Moore is originally from the Northwest Arctic region but has lived in Utqiagvik for the past eight years. He previously ran for the city mayor position and is now a stay-at-home father. In the past, Moore helped open the first marijuana store in town.

Moore said he decided to run for the city council position to increase accountability and transparency in the city government and make sure the profits the city receives from such businesses as the two local marijuana stores are spent on improving city infrastructure.

“These kids don’t have a playground to go to,” he said. “All the parks are run down.”

Moore said that for a municipality, relying on the North Slope Borough solely for revenue is not self-sufficient. He suggested that opening a liquor store, like the one in Kotzebue, could also be a way to bring in more revenue and address the city’s needs.

[Utqiaġvik might consider allowing alcohol sales on city premises]

He added that with the abundance of local resources, there are opportunities to better the community and make services, such as Utqiagvik’s DMV office, more efficient.

“We got to do things the right way in anything we do, any type of business,” he said. “The bar needs to be set.”

Moore has a big reach on social media where he is promoting mental health among the youth. In 2020, Moore said he suffered from depression and underwent alcohol treatment.

“I was out of control, and I was on the verge of losing my family and everything I had,” he said. “A lot of these people are on the same boat that I was on.”

Addressing the high suicide rates is one of his main priorities as a candidate.

“That’s our big problem right now, and nobody’s addressing it,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong, it’s across the state, but our local leadership needs to step up and provide those resources that people so desperately need.”

Moore shared a recent story where he saw an Utqiagvik resident — his friend — sharing on social media that they were going to kill themselves. He said he went to visit the friend and de-escalate the situation. Moore said he felt frustrated there were no services available at the city level to further support his friend.

“We have no resources,” he said. “There’s so much that needs to be done, and nobody’s doing anything. That’s what motivates me every day. And then, of course, my kids — I just want them to grow up in a better place.”

“My motto is, ‘Let’s do better,’” Moore said.