Cyrus Harris defeated incumbent Derek Haviland Lie, and Craig McConnell kept his seat, in the only two contested races for the Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly. The assembly unanimously certified the results of the Oct. 6 municipal election at a special meeting Monday.
Both contested races were for District 4 seats, which represent Kotzebue.
Harris won Seat G with 497 votes, about 61%, over Haviland Lie, who received 306 votes. Haviland Lie took over the seat after former assembly member Hannah Paniyavluk Loon resigned in late 2023, shortly after she was elected.
Harris led in all 11 communities. His closest margins were in Buckland, 36-34, and Kotzebue, 130-121. Haviland Lie ran unopposed for Kotzebue City Council Seat B on the same day and is set to keep that seat, according to unofficial city results.
Harris, who was born in Kotzebue and raised at Sisualik, has long led Maniilaq Association’s Hunter Support Program and runs the Siġḷauq, a facility that processes traditional foods for elders at Utuqqanaat Inaat, Maniilaq Health Center’s elder care facility. He has also served on the Native Village of Kotzebue tribal council and is vice chair of the Western Arctic Caribou Herd Working Group.
McConnell won reelection to Seat H with 564 votes, about 71%, over Joshua Eilghuk Hadley, who received 225 votes. McConnell led in all 11 communities, including Selawik, where he won 67-7.
McConnell, first elected in 2023, retired in 2022 after 35 years with the Northwest Arctic Borough School District. He campaigned on improving water and sewer service, funding education and sports, expanding the Village Public Safety Officer program and reducing energy costs.
Incumbent Raven Sheldon ran unopposed for District 3, Seat E, which represents Selawik, Buckland and Deering.
School Board results
All four Northwest Arctic Borough School District board candidates ran unopposed. Marie Swanson-Greene won Seat G, Shelly Nordlum Seat H, Margaret Hansen Seat J and Carol “Bunny” Schaeffer Seat K.
Turnout
Of the borough’s 4,277 registered voters, 822 cast ballots, for a turnout of about 19%. Turnout was highest in Kobuk, at about 37%, and lowest in Deering, at about 11%. In Kotzebue, the borough’s largest community, about 14% of registered voters cast ballots.
Disclosure: Derek Haviland Lie is KOTZ’s general manager.
