Carmela Warfield, the wife of the Alaska Republican Party’s Finance chair, Jason Warfield, has filed her letter of intent with Alaska Public Offices Commission, which is one way of saying she will file for a seat on the Anchorage Assembly. The filing period for the municipal election opens this Friday and the election will be held in mid-March, ending April 4.
Warfield’s candidacy may make it awkward for several major Republican leaders in Anchorage, including Mayor Dave Bronson, Assemblywoman Jamie Allard, Assemblyman Kevin Cross, and Assemblyman Randy Sulte, several legislators and others who have already endorsed Rachel Ries for the South Assembly District 6 seat.
Ries, an Afghanistan war helicopter pilot, has been a declared candidate in the race since May. She won 63% of the precincts in District 6 for her school board race last year.
Carmela is described in her bio as “a longtime Alaskan resident, local business owner and real estate investor. Prior to starting her company, Carmela was an executive with a career in the Banking and Finance industry for more than fifteen years. Carmela and her family are involved and passionate community members, with many years of service and support of Alaskan philanthropic and non-profit organizations. She is current Chair of the Board of Trustees of Special Olympics Alaska, and past Chair of the Board of Directors of Special Olympics Alaska. She is also a two-time Covenant House Alaska Executive Sleep Out champion.”
If past races are any indicator, having two Republicans vying for the South Anchorage Assembly seat now held by a liberal will almost certainly split the vote and hand the election to the incumbent, Democrat Suzanne LaFrance.
