Former mayor, newcomers win in Palmer; Houston gets three new council members
Final results in Houston, Wasilla and Palmer city elections were released Friday evening.
What you need to know:
- Jim Cooper was elected Palmer mayor in a five-way race, returning to the role he last held from 2001 to 2004, according to election results released Friday. Palmer voters also elected three new council members and approved a ballot measure allowing the city manager to live within five miles of city limits.
- Houston voters elected three new council members, rejected three controversial ballot measures and approved a new city holiday.
- Wasilla voters reelected incumbents and filled uncontested seats.
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PALMER — Palmer Council Member and former Mayor Jim Cooper is returning to the city’s top seat following Tuesday’s election, according to final vote tallies released Friday, while the Houston City Council will get three new members and Wasilla voters reelected incumbents.
Tallies released Friday for Palmer, Wasilla and Houston include early voting, absentee ballots and votes cast on Election Day. All three cities are scheduled to certify their election results during meetings Monday.
In Palmer, Cooper received 277 votes in a five-way race for mayor that included three other council members and one newcomer. Council Member John Alcantra received 151 votes, Council Member Josh Tudor received 105 votes, Council Member Victoria Hudson received 58 votes, and Cachet Garrett received 16 votes, according to the results.
Cooper last ran for Palmer mayor in 2019, when now-Borough Mayor Edna DeVries narrowly defeated him. He previously served as Palmer’s mayor from 2001 to 2004, when he chose not to seek reelection.
Palmer voters also elected three new council members.
Newcomers Allison Collins and Amanda Graham won three-year terms with 382 and 275 votes, respectively, defeating incumbent Carolina Graver, who received 241 votes. Sherry Carrington was elected to a one-year term with 370 votes, defeating Aundra “Omega” Jackson, who received 162 votes.
A Palmer ballot measure asking whether to allow the city manager to live within five miles of city limits passed, 389 to 213.
In Houston, Jason Kahn defeated Seat E incumbent David Childs, 164 to 141. Callie Courtney beat Ron Bass, 200 to 103, in the race for Seat F, and Dan Lewis defeated Laurie Faubert, 203 to 106, for Seat G.
Houston voters also rejected three controversial ballot measures. A proposal to designate Houston Thunder Festival as a city holiday failed, 262 to 53. A measure to temporarily increase the city’s sales tax to fund road construction was defeated, 229 to 87. A proposal asking whether the city should establish an airport was voted down, 232 to 83.
A proposal to designate Houston Founders Day as the city’s first official holiday passed 257 to 65.
In Wasilla, races for Seats C and F were uncontested. Timothy Johnson and Alina Rubio received 246 and 251 votes, respectively, according to results. In the race for Seat E, incumbent Mark Schmidt defeated Sue-Sue “Sue2” Scott, 189 to 96.
Cooper’s election as Palmer mayor leaves his current City Council seat vacant.
According to Palmer city code, vacated council seats are filled by mayoral appointment after a 14-day application period. That means Cooper will likely appoint a Palmer resident early next month to serve until the October 2026 election. Applications are expected to open next week.
Voter turnout was about 12.3% in Palmer, 17% in Houston and 3.8% in Wasilla.
This story was updated Oct. 11 to correct the tally for votes against the Houston airport ballot measure.
-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com