DeVilbiss leads on election night for mayor

MAT-SU— Unofficially, voters at the polls tonight chose Larry DeVilbiss to fill the seat as mayor of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. The leader in the mayoral race needs more than 40 percent of the vote to win without a run off. For now, DeVilbiss has 57 percent compared to Brian Sullivan’s 36 percent. However, 1,418 votes remain to be counted.

Those votes are: 1,109 issued absentee ballots, 304 questioned ballots, and 5 special needs ballots. The Canvass Board begins canvassing or verifying the ballots tomorrow at 10 am.

Voter turnout—even with a high wind warning in the bottom of winter—was 10.02 percent. That’s higher than the last special election for mayor in 2009 when 8.73 percent of voters made it to the polls in June. “I’m pleasantly surprised,” said Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie.

The eight candidates for mayor are:

• Ken Clark

• Larry DeVilbiss (de-VIL-biss)

• Kurt Jarmer

• John Leiner (LINE-er)

• Brian Sullivan

• Bruce Walden

• Jeff Ward

• David Wilson

The mayor for the Borough is largely a ceremonial position. Borough operations are run by a borough manager. The new mayor’s term will end in October 2012.

Tonight’s election will be certified on January 20.

The election results came in fast tonight, concluding at 8:30 pm It is the first time in the history of the Clerk’s office that vote tallies were not written on a large viewing board for a small crowd at the Borough building. Instead, the results were projected onto a screen in a viewing room.

“I’m trying something new,” said McKechnie. “Instead of the old handwritten totals I tried to get them up there electronically as fast as you can see them on the Web.”

For more information call Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie at 746-9681 or Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan at 355-0103 This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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