“It’s us again,” Nano Brooks said as he entered the municipal clerk’s office with Emily Mesch on Friday morning. The two were waiting outside City Hall in the rain to file for candidacy. Both Juneau residents also ran in the 2023 municipal election for the two Juneau Assembly areawide seats that Ella Adkison and Paul Kelly were elected to.
This fall Juneau voters will elect a mayor, two Assembly members and three Board of Education members.
The 2024 City and Borough of Juneau Regular Municipal Election candidate filing period opened Friday at 8 a.m. and will close Monday, July 22, at 4:30 p.m.
Candidates running for office must complete a Declaration of Candidacy, a Nominating Petition and an Alaska Public Offices Commission (APOC) Public Official Financial Disclosure form. These forms are available online at juneau.org/clerk/elections and must be filed with the CBJ Municipal Clerk’s Office during the filing period.
Declaration of Candidacy and Nominating Petition forms must be submitted to the clerk in their original paper form (with original signatures and notarized); the Public Official Financial Disclosure form must be filed electronically on APOC’s website and a signed printed copy submitted to the clerk. Candidates for office must meet eligibility criteria including voter registration and residency requirements.
The clerk’s office cannot certify a candidate’s nominating petition without these three paper documents filed in the clerk’s office by the close of the filing period. Candidates may only run for one elected office (mayor, Assembly, or Board of Education) at a time.
Candidates are encouraged to file as early as possible during the filing period to allow additional time to correct any insufficiencies in their paperwork, CBJ Municipal Clerk Beth McEwen said.
“It’s always exciting to see people willing to be of service to their community,” she added. “That’s what our office is all about is public service. And so when people have the courage and dedication to come forward and put their name in the hat, I’m excited that they’re going to run for office.”
While Brooks and Mesch were the first to file, McEwen said they aren’t official candidates until their signatures are certified. At least 25 signatures of registered voters are necessary. A list of certified municipal candidates will be posted on the CBJ website.
Here’s who has declared they’re running as of Friday morning:
Assembly District 1 for a three-year term (one seat available)
As of Friday morning, no one has declared their intentions to run for this seat. Residents of Downtown Juneau, Douglas, North Douglas, Lemon Creek and the airport area are eligible to run for District 1. Assembly member Wáahlaal Gíidaak Barbara Blake said she will not run for reelection.
Assembly District 2 for a three-year term (one seat available)
Residents of Mendenhall Valley and out the road are eligible to run for District 2. All who have declared their intention to run said they believe the city is at a crucial turning point. These candidates are running for Deputy Mayor Michelle Bonnet Hale’s seat who announced she is not running for reelection.
— Nathaniel “Nano” Brooks owns multiple businesses in town, such as Hi-Fi Senpai, Alaska Hydropower, Alaska Property Management, Alaskan Mini Golf, Alaska Crime Labs and various laundromats. He said he’s especially passionate about implementing renewable energy and sees the potential for Juneau to be an industry leader when it comes to hydropower. He also expressed interest in dock electrification, education, Bartlett Regional Hospital, and “wanting to champion diversified revenue streams for the city” through a land raffle and his alternative energy ideas. He believes his business experience can be an asset to the city’s finance management.
— Emily Mesch is the president of the Southeast Alaska LGBTQ+ Alliance and a board member of the Congregation Sukkat Shalom. She said she feels better prepared than last year to campaign when she faced nine opponents, and her intentions haven’t changed. She said her three main focuses include managing school funding, lowering housing costs and finding a balance when it comes to cruise ship tourism. She added while she believes LGBTQ+ representation is important to have in government, her main reason for running is “to represent all of Juneau.”
— Dorene Lorenz is a fourth-generation Alaskan who previously served on the city council in Seward. She is a communications consultant with experience as a former television talk show host, broadcast journalist and news director. She said that she wants to bring strategic solutions to the Juneau Assembly and invest the resources they have available toward the best solutions for subsidizing housing and lowering property taxes. She also expressed the need to retain first responders in Alaska and provide adequate long-term housing for them. Lorenz is coming up on her seventh year living in Juneau and said she loves the sense of community. Lorenz added she looks forward to listening to what the constituency feels needs to be addressed and an open discourse with her opponents.
– Maureen Hall is a first-time seeker for public office, unlike her opponents who all ran in the 2023 election. She’s a registered nurse with the primary focus of her career in pediatrics. She served as a Juneau School District nurse for the past 17 years. As she transitions into full-time retirement, she said she believes her experience as a school nurse will allow her to contribute to the health and education needs of the community. For the past nine years, she has served on the board of directors for St. Vincent de Paul, including three years as board president. She said her top three focus areas are the sustainability of Bartlett Regional Hospital, a strong public school system that can support a future workforce, and housing – particularly for the disabled and the elderly.
Board of Education (three seats available)
Board of Education candidates may reside anywhere in the City and Borough of Juneau. There are no term limits for Board of Education members. All Juneau voters may vote for up to three candidates.
– Incumbent Elizabeth Siddon had her candidacy paperwork prepared and notarized at the clerk’s office before leaving Juneau to teach a two-week college-level course at Shoals Marine Laboratory, a remote field station located on Appledore Island, Maine. She plans to have a friend turn it in for her on Friday. Siddon has been teaching at the lab, jointly operated by Cornell University and the University of New Hampshire, since 2005. She previously taught as an adjunct professor at the University of Alaska Southeast during graduate school and, after finishing her Ph.D. in 2013, she began working as a fisheries research biologist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Auke Bay. She has served on the school board since 2018 and prior to that, she worked with the Juneau STEAM coalition in K–12 education and outreach programs. Her priorities are centered around STEM fields, special education and the school board’s budget.
Will Muldoon and Amber Frommherrz have not stated if they intend to seek reelection.
Mayor (one seat available)
The mayor’s seat will be open for a full three-year term. Candidates may reside anywhere in the City and Borough of Juneau.
Incumbent Mayor Beth Weldon declared her intention to seek a third term in June. As of Friday morning, she remains uncontested.
2024 Regular Municipal Election Information
The election will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 1. Ballots will be mailed to all registered voters on Sep. 12, and voters are encouraged to return their ballot by mail or drop it off at a ballot drop box or Vote Center to avoid waiting in line on Election Day.
The deadline to register to vote or update voter information (including mailing address) is Sept. 1.
For more information on CBJ elections, visit juneau.org/clerk/elections or contact the clerk’s office at (907) 586-5278 or city.clerk@juneau.gov.
• Contact Jasz Garrett at jasz.garrett@juneauempire.com or (907) 723-9356.
