Volunteers take the first results of the night in the Assembly chambers on Tuesday.

Volunteers take the first results of the night in the Assembly chambers on Tuesday.

Koelsch likely winner of mayoral race

Ken Koelsch held a sizeable lead over opponent Karen Crane in Tuesday’s special mayoral election, a lead that will likely hold even after absentee ballots are counted later this week.
 
Though Koelsch didn’t support the Assembly’s decision to hold a special election, his platform — focused on diversifying the city’s economy and unifying the Assembly — won him 58 percent of the votes and the election. Crane won 40 percent of the vote. Approximately 5,971 ballots were cast Tuesday, with another 1,520 absentee ballots that will likely be counted Friday. Approximately 24 percent of Juneau’s registered voters participated in the election.

Crane told the Empire from the Assembly chambers she wouldn’t concede until every vote had been counted.
 
Koelsch, 71, has lived in Juneau for 47 years. He worked as a teacher at Juneau-Douglas High School for 28 years and then as a port director for U.S. Customs and Border Protection from 1996 until he retired in 2014.
 
This will not be Koelsch’s first time on the Assembly. He served two terms on Juneau’s governing body from 1997 to 2003, including as deputy mayor from 2002 to 2003.
 
Since January, Koelsch raised more than $60,000 dollars for his campaign, which many people believe to have set fundraising and spending records. As of March 8, he had spent more than $50,000, about $20,000 more than Crane.
 
Like Koelsch, Crane, 68, served two terms on the Assembly, but she ended her second term a few months early in order to run in the mayoral race. She chaired the Assembly Finance Committee from 2012 until she left the Assembly in January.

Koelsch will serve as mayor for the remainder of former Mayor Greg Fisk’s term, which was set to end October 2018. Fisk passed away in November less than a month after taking office.

Ken Koelsch

Ken Koelsch

Karen Crane

Karen Crane

More in News

(Juneau Empire file photo)
Aurora forecast through the week of Dec. 29

These forecasts are courtesy of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ Geophysical Institute… Continue reading

Juneau residents line up in the Thunder Mountain Middle School auditorium on Friday to ask questions and protest the HESCO flood barriers that are potentially being installed this summer. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Frustrated residents say concerns about short-term flood barrier plan aren’t getting sufficient answers

Some homeowners say they’d rather buy insurance than pay $6,300 for barriers, then focus on long-term fix.

(Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
Teen arrested for New Year’s DUI after collision with parked vehicle that injured three juveniles

Lance Martell, 19, also arrested on assault and endangerment charges after wreck at end of Thane Road.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Thursday, Jan. 2, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

(Michael Penn / Juneau Empire file photo)
Police calls for Wednesday, Jan. 1, 2024

This report contains public information from law enforcement and public safety agencies.

A firefighter tries to contain a flareup in a house fire on Aspen Avenue on Saturday morning. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
One person killed, one hospitalized in early-morning house fire in Mendenhall Valley

One other person escapes with minor injuries, dog killed; home considered a total loss.

U.S. Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., center, and Rep. Marjorie Tayler Greene, R-Ga., left, talk with fellow representatives as they arrive for the first day of the 119th Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol Building on Jan. 3, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Louisiana’s Mike Johnson elected U.S. House speaker by GOP in cliffhanger vote

Nick Begich III sworn in as Alaska’s new statewide House member, votes for speaker.

Koko Urata and Enrique Bravo with their baby, Enrique, the first born at Bartlett Regional Hospital in 2025, and Lindy Jones, a doctor at the hospital who with his wife made a wooden rocker as a gift for the new family. (Bartlett Regional Hospital photo)
Juneau’s first baby of 2025: Enrique Bravo, born at 8:10 p.m. on New Year’s Day

Family has generational ties to doctor at hospital who made wooden rocker as a traditional gift.

Dave Hanna (center), a former Eaglecrest Ski Area board member, addresses the current resort leaders during a board meeting Thursday night at the Mendenhall Valley Public Library. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire)
Eaglecrest’s future may depend on how many cruise passengers will pay $145 to ride the gondola

Updated financial analysis tones down criticism of board, projects how ski area can get out of debt.

Most Read

You're browsing in private mode.
Please sign in or subscribe to continue reading articles in this mode.

Juneau Empire relies on subscription revenue to provide local content for our readers.

Subscribe

Already a subscriber? Please sign in