By Suzanne Downing 
This year’s regular borough election in the Mat-Su Valley takes on extra weight. On Tuesday, voters across the Matanuska‑Susitna Borough will not only select members of the Borough Assembly and School Board, but also weigh in on what may become a landmark policy shift: A proposed 7-cent-per-gallon motor fuel excise tax.
Key items on the ballot:
-
Assembly seats: Voters will decide contested seats for the Borough Assembly in multiple districts. For example:
-
District 1 (Butte, Sutton, Palmer-Fishhook and parts of Palmer): Michael Bowles (R) vs Michelle Heun (Undeclared).
-
District 2 (City of Palmer and adjacent areas): Incumbent Stephanie Nowers (Non-partisan) vs Dana Raffaniello (Undeclared).
-
District 4 (Wasilla and parts of the Wasilla area): Maxwell Sumner (R, incumbent) stands for election.
These seats are for just one-year terms in this cycle, due to recent changes shifting all seats to four-year terms in even-numbered years.
-
-
School Board seats: Voters will also select members of the Borough School Board in several districts:
-
District 2 (Palmer area): Kendal Kruse (R, incumbent) vs Gage Saxton (Non-partisan)
-
District 7 (Meadow Lakes, Talkeetna, Trapper Creek): Lorie Colee (R) vs Dena McChargue (Undeclared)
-
-
Ballot propositions: Voters will see key questions beyond candidate races:
-
Proposition 1: Changes to senior and veteran property-tax exemption rules (allowing mid-year enrollment, to ease burden on these groups).
-
Proposition 2 (Advisory Question): Should the Borough adopt a 7-cent-per-gallon motor fuel excise tax for a trial period of 1.5 years—with half the revenue directed to property-tax relief and half to voter-approved road projects.
The fuel-tax proposal is pitched as an effort to broaden the revenue base beyond property owners, bringing drivers (including visitors) into the mix to fund road projects and supposedly reduce reliance on property taxes.
The Alaska Story will post results on our website as they become available.
-