Alaska Family Action has released its 2026 Values Voter Guide for Fairbanks-area races, asking candidates for City Council, Borough Assembly and the School Board where they stand on parental rights, sex-specific restrooms and locker rooms, controversial library materials, taxation of religious groups and more.
The Oct. 6 election will fill two Fairbanks City Council seats, three Assembly seats and three School Board seats. While these seats are officially “nonpartisan,” political ideology has played a major role in the leftward tilt of Fairbanks over the last few election cycles.
The Values Voter Guide aims to clearly identify the candidates political and ideological leanings. Early voting begins Sept. 21, and polls on Oct. 6 Election Day are scheduled to be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Alaska Family Action is one of the most prominent pro-life and pro-family advocacy groups in Alaska. As in past years, the most left-leaning candidates refused to share their views with voters in the survey.
FAIRBANKS CITY COUNCIL
Three candidates are running for Seat E. Incumbent John Ringstad is unopposed for Seat F.
The city questionnaire asked three questions: whether city restrooms and locker rooms should be designated by biological sex rather than gender identity; whether candidates oppose expanding local anti-discrimination rules beyond existing federal and state law; and whether they support protecting the tax-exempt status of churches and charities by opposing new city taxes on them.
Conservative Aaron Lojewski answered yes to all three questions.
Laura Houger was more of a mixed bag. She opposes expanding local discrimination rules beyond existing law but is “undecided” on sex-designated restrooms and locker rooms and on new city taxes on churches and charities.
Tom Allen, also running for Seat E, and Ringstad, running for Seat F, refused to respond.
BOROUGH ASSEMBLY
The Assembly survey asked four questions: whether candidates support biological sex-specific restrooms, locker rooms, showers and changing areas; whether they support preserving property-tax exemptions for churches, charities and nonprofits; whether they support tax caps and other limits on local spending growth; and whether they support keeping sexually explicit material out of children’s areas in borough libraries.
Seat D pits Alexis Howell against Miguel Ramirez. Conservative Ramirez answered yes to all four questions. Howell chose not to respond.
Seat E is a contest between Nick LaJiness and Shelly Shupe. Conservative Shupe answered yes on all four. LaJiness failed to respond.
Seat H matches incumbent left-wing Scott W. Crass against conservative Joshua Leaders. Leaders answered yes on all four. Crass, who the Planned Parenthood abortion industry has endorsed in the past, did not respond.
SCHOOL BOARD
School Board candidates were asked whether parents should be told if a student requests changes at school related to gender identity, names or pronouns; whether parents and the public should be able to review curriculum, classroom reading lists and library catalogs; whether schools should keep restrooms, locker rooms, showers and changing areas designated by biological sex; and whether schools should emphasize reading, writing, arithmetic and science while leaving instruction on values, morality and social issues primarily to parents.
For Seat E, conservative Sally Gant answered yes to all four questions. Hard-left incumbent Tim Doran did not respond. He has previously been endorsed by Planned Parenthood.
Seat F has three candidates. Conservatives Robert Herrick and Jaimee Coon each answered yes to all four questions. LGBTQ activist Bobby Burgess, who has also been backed by Planned Parenthood in the past, did not respond.
Seat G is a race between Sean Holland and conservative Bridger Terra. Terra answered yes to all four. Holland did not respond.
OTHER ISSUES
The voter guide focused on critical social issues, not every item on the October ballot. Borough voters will separately consider citizen initiatives, including a measure to preserve limits on tax revenues, another that moves the regular municipal election from October to November, and a third measure that would require hand counting of all ballots in local elections. Those items are not part of the voter guide.
Official candidate lists, ballot measures, polling locations, absentee-voting rules and more are available here. Newly elected officials are scheduled to be sworn in Oct. 26.
LEARN MORE
Below is the complete Values Voter Guide with full responses from candidates who agreed to participate. This file can be downloaded and shared.
