Borough assembly flip-flops on Two Rivers election certification, avoiding certain court defeat

The Fairbanks borough assembly, which had refused to certify the Two Rivers election creating a service area—after a crowd packed the room Thursday to complain—reversed itself and approved the election 5-3 Friday.

The assembly would have lost this case in court, a certainty that the right-wing majority refused to accept.

Two Rivers voters approved the fire service area 149-92 in a Nov. 15 election, but opponents of the result called on the borough assembly Thursday to overturn the election results.

Certification by the assembly is a technical action, signifying that the election was conducted according to borough rules. The election was conducted legally.

But right-wing assembly members Tammie Wilson, Barbara Haney, Brett Rotermund and Jimi Cash acceded to the loudest voices in the room and refused to certify the results.

Wilson and Haney claimed an error in a News-Miner story was enough to overturn the election, while Rotermund said he was willing to stand behind those who came to complain about the results.

“Just knowing one person came on Wednesday to vote because they saw that ad in the paper,” was enough to justify overturning the election and holding a new one, said Wilson.

It wasn’t an ad in the newspaper, it was a news story that was corrected. The date was correct in all the legal notices and the election was heavily publicized.

The assembly had been warned by its attorney that there was no reason to refuse to certify the vote that was in any way legal.

Presiding officer Aaron Lojewski said with a 4-4 vote, the opponents had prevailed.

The assembly did not complete its agenda Thursday and resumed Friday evening. At that time, the assembly learned that a tie vote failing to certify the election did not qualify as a final action, so the assembly brought it back up Friday.

In the end, Cash switched his vote and the assembly certified the election 5-3.

The five in favor were Cash, David Guttenberg, Aaron Lojewski, Savannah Fletcher and Mindy O’Neall.

It appears the new plan by opponents of the fire service area is for the assembly to back an ordinance to hold an election abolishing the new service area.

But don’t assume that the fire service area will be abolished.

The 149 people who voted for the fire service area will have something to say about this matter and what they want for their community.

Many of the people complaining about the election results are upset that although they own property in the area they couldn’t vote because they don’t live there. The residents of the area are eligible to vote, regardless of whether they own property. That will not change because of a clear constitutional precedent.

With the fire service election now approved, the new commission will have the chance to come up with a solid budget plan and give details to residents about what it would cost to run the Two Rivers department.

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