Wasilla residents can apply to fill vacant council seat

What you need to know:

• Wasilla will accept applications Nov. 9-20 to fill the City Council’s vacant Seat F until the October 2027 general election.
• Applicants must be registered city voters, live within Wasilla city limits and have been residents for at least one year. They may not hold an elected boroughwide or state office.
• The council will interview applicants and vote on a selection Nov. 30.
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WASILLA — Wasilla residents can apply to fill a seat on the City Council left vacant when former council member Alina Rubeo won the race for mayor earlier this month.

City code requires the council to fill the seat through an application process and vote. The winner will serve in Seat F for about a year, until the next city general election in October 2027.

Applications open Nov. 9 and will be accepted by the city clerk during regular business hours through Nov. 20. The City Council will interview applicants and vote on a selection Nov. 30.

Applications will be posted on the city’s website and will also be available at Wasilla City Hall.

Applicants must be registered to vote in the city, live within Wasilla city limits and have been residents for at least one year, according to city code. They may not simultaneously hold an elected boroughwide or state office.

Interview questions will not be provided in advance. Applicants will wait in a private room during individual interviews and then appear before the council one at a time, according to city policy. After the interviews, the council will deliberate in a closed session before taking a public vote to select the new member.

The council last filled a vacancy early last year, when Council member Timothy Johnson resigned from Seat C because of family and health concerns.

The council selected Mark Schmidt through an uncontested interview process. Schmidt then won a three-year term in Seat E during last year’s general election, while Johnson returned to the ballot and was elected to serve a one-year term in Seat C.

Johnson did not run for reelection this year and was replaced on the council by newcomer Bruce Webb.

But Johnson, 75, said Monday that he may apply to fill the vacant seat for the one-year term. Although he is in good health now, he said one-year commitments better suit his age and lifestyle than three-year terms.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com