Nov. 5 was a good night for conservative candidates running for Mat-Su Borough Assembly and School Board. With a 42% voter turnout, the hand-count-only election yielded unofficial results about an hour after polls closed.
Voters reelected Assemblywoman Dee McKee, who had more than triple the votes of her opponent Luke Hyce – 3,915 to 1,292.
Likewise, fellow conservative Assembly member Ron Bernier defeated challenger Sheena Fort by a margin of 2,581 to 1,936.
Popular Borough Mayor Edna DeVries ran unopposed, as did Assemblyman Dmitri Fonov.
In the most high-profile school board race, conservative incumbent Thomas Bergey easily defeated his left-leaning challenger Ben Kolendo. Bergey more than doubled Kolendo’s votes – 2,581 to 1,936.
Two other school board races went to unopposed candidates – conservative incumbent Brooks Pitcher and newcomer Shane Andrew.
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Voters also approved a $58 million bond to build or expand three high-performing charter schools – Academy, American and Birchtree. All three schools have extensive waiting lists of students who want to enroll. The bond passed by a vote of 19,396 to 18,820.
Another $36 million bond was approved by a vote of 25,773 to 12,359 to fund 10 road and transportation upgrades across the borough.
In total, more than 40,000 residents voted in the borough election, which was held on the same day as the general election. The Mat-Su Election Canvass Board has now begun working to verify precinct results with the spreadsheet and review precinct ballot accountability reports. Eligibility review of all outstanding absentee and questioned ballots will follow before the Canvas Board counts all the confirmed outstanding ballots. The Borough Assembly is scheduled to certify the election during a special meeting on Nov. 19.
The Election Certification makes the 2024 Election official and is scheduled as a Special Assembly Meeting at 5 pm, November 19.
