Schorr ahead by one vote
Seat on School Board is up for grabs until Tuesday deadline
Longtime Juneau School Board member Alan Schorr leads William Peters by one vote for the final open seat on the board, according to results from Friday afternoon's tally of absentee and questioned ballots.
However, the city will accept ballots postmarked by Oct. 7 until 1 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 14, when the canvassing board meets to certify the election, City Clerk Laurie Sica said.
The city mailed out 305 ballots and had received 218 by Friday, she said.
After ballots were counted on Election Day - which included those cast that day and the absentee ballots cast by the day before - Peters led Schorr by four votes.
The seat contested by Schorr, a publisher, and Peters, a credit union vice president, is for one year because it completes the term of a member who resigned.
Peters, who watched the ballot count at the Assembly chambers on Friday, said afterward, "Oh, my God, he beat me by one vote."
Peters said later Friday that he would not ask for a recount.
Schorr, pointing out that some ballots still may be received and counted, declined to comment.
The unofficial results from Friday apparently settled that Julie Morris would serve a full three-year term on the School Board and Rhonda Befort would serve a two-year term. Befort will complete the term of a member who resigned after serving one year.
Morris had led Befort by two votes after Tuesday's count. She now holds a 16-vote lead.
The top three vote-getters for the School Board won full three-year terms. The fourth highest vote-getter won a two-year term. And the fifth-highest vote-getter won a one-year term.
The tally of 537 absentee and 647 questioned ballots Friday did not affect the outcome of any other races. Fifty-eight ballots were rejected, mostly because the voters were not registered in Juneau or had not registered prior to the city deadline of Sept. 7, Sica said.
The unofficial results as of Friday's tally are:
• For mayor: Bruce Botelho 5,006; Dick Knapp 4,398.
• For Assembly District 1: David Stone 6,259 (uncontested).
• For Assembly District 2: Dan Peterson 4,860; Dale Anderson 3,915.
• For the School Board: Andrea Story 5,461; Phyllis Carlson 4,538; Julie Morris 3,361; Rhonda Befort 3,345; Alan Schorr 2,872; William Peters 2,871; Chuck Cohen 2,551; Dave Williams 2,426; Sam Guthrie 2,157; Megan Mayron 1,881; Lee Kadinger 1,341; and Bill Burk 1,052.
The proposition to increase the city tobacco tax passed 6,107 to 3,370. The proposition to bond for about $6.945 million in school repairs passed 6,009 to 3,401.
• Eric Fry can be reached at efry@juneauempire.com.