Incumbents dominate the North Slope Borough Assembly races, all uncontested

Six seats on the North Slope Borough Assembly are up for election this fall. Each of them has only a single candidate running.

Joseph Ahmagoak is running for Seat A-2, representing Wainwright. Ahmagoak has been a lifelong resident of Wainwright and has diverse professional experience, ranging between construction and electrical jobs and grant writing and business management. He has been a general manager for the Olgoonik Hotel and Restaurant and has been involved in local city government and Olgoonik Corp.

“I’ve been, for the last 10 years, working along with our local governments and our tribe to try to better the lives of the people that we serve in the community that I love and I was raised in,” he said.

If elected for the assembly seat, Ahmagoak said he wants to help each North Slope community address its priority issue, whether that’s improving water and sewer infrastructure, making sure the power source is secure and renovating local schools.

“Finding ways to improve the lives of our communities is one of the more important reasons I joined” the race, he said.

He added that on a larger scale, he would like to encourage more young people to work toward and apply for leadership positions in their communities and across the region.

Incumbent Trina Brower Paul is running for Utqiagvik Seat A-3D. She did not respond to questions about her decision to run.

Incumbent Michael Donovan is running for Seat A-3F, representing Utqiagvik. Donovan said he first became interested in becoming an assemblyman to better understand the municipal codes and how the borough government operates and manages tax money.

“It’s been a pretty awesome learning curve for me,” said Donovan who is also a whaling captain.

He said his decision to run again for the seat is driven by the desire to hold leadership accountable and promote honesty and transparency in the local government.

Donovan added that he also wants to make sure young borough residents have access to education and professional development opportunities.

“Something I really want to continue is to fight for our youth,” he said. “Whatever we can do to help support them from the assembly level, I think that’s something I really want to pursue or push for.”

Incumbent Avaiyak Burnell is running for seats A-3, representing Utqiagvik. He declined to comment on his candidacy.

Burnell serves as the first vice president on Arctic Slope Regional Corporation’s board of directors and is the CEO of Eskimos, Inc., a subsidiary of ASRC that distributes fuel and automotive parts to North Slope communities.

Burnell also sits on the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission’s Weapons Improvement Program Committee.

According to the ASRC website, Burnell is an Iraq War veteran who lives in Utqiaġvik with his wife and six children, enjoying subsistence hunting and spending time with his family.

Yet another incumbent Thomas Napageak running for Nuiqsut seat A-4 could not be reached for this story.

Another incumbent Douglas Whiteman is tunning for Seat A-5, representing Atqasuk and Point Lay, and declined to respond to questions about his priorities and the decision to run.

North Slope Borough Board of Education

Incumbent Nora Jane Burns is running for Seat J at the North Slope Borough Board of Education to continue her efforts to support language preservation and to make sure that students receive high-quality education that will foster leadership skills.

“Preserving our language is important to me. We work hard to get our language to be taught in our school system,” she said, “making sure the education is delivered in all our schools with the best educators. ... Working to get there takes time and work. My job is not quite done.”

Incumbent John Hopson is running for Seat E on the board of education. Hopson hasn’t responded to questions about his candidacy. He has served multiple years as the Wainwright City Mayor and Council Member, as well as the North Slope Borough Assembly member representing the villages of Wainwright and Atqasuk. In 2020 and in 2023, Hopson ran for the borough mayor seat and placed second both times.