North Pole City has been rocked in recent months over the “Candy Cane street light” controversy.
Former Mayor Mike Welch and the public works director were removed from office for procurement issues and cost overruns on a project to repaint the Candy Cane street light poles, which are iconic to the community.
Neither mayoral candidate is an incumbent, but both have served on the North Pole City Council. Both candidates are very personable and are men of faith, and both want to bring healing and trust back into city politics. There are subtle differences in campaign style and messaging that could give voters clues as to what they are choosing.
Councilman Larry Terch was elected last year to the city council. As a 46-year resident of North Pole, he has worked in real estate for nine years and is a fiscal conservative who is concerned about the aging city water and sewer infrastructure. The water system needs a substantial overhaul of equipment, which is bound to be costly. There are further concerns with the PFAS [per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances] contamination that is slowly migrating to the city’s source of water, and there are other contaminants that will need to be addressed soon.
Terch has expressed an interest in the role that taxes play in the community. Besides a property tax, North Pole has a city sales tax and a large share of the sales tax revenue that comes from people who live outside the city. The city has to remain attractive to draw those outside dollars into the retail core, and that means tourists and residents outside city limits, who can bring those dollars.
Terch has a few campaign signs out, but most of his campaigning has been going door to door. He does not have much of a footprint on social media.
Terch’s opponent, Councilman Anton Keller is a chiropractor who works in Fairbanks. He moved his family to North Pole from Ohio in 2018, according to his Facebook posts, although he says he has lived in North Pole for 14 years.
Keller does not have much in the way of specifics on his platform. Most of what he talks about the most is bringing “big stakeholders” to the table to come up with plans on what is best for the city. However, no one is really certain who these stakeholders are and what they would say beyond what has already been said at city council meetings.
Keller uses terminology that sounds like it comes from an International Council of Local Environmentalist brochure. However, it is uncertain if he actually understands the ICLE doctrine and aligns with it, or is just using words he has heard in liberal circles from people with globalist training. He re-posts things on social media from a known Fairbanks Marxist group called the Fireweed Collective, so perhaps Keller is far more left-leaning than it appears on the surface.
Keller’s campaign has been more focused on big signs and gimmicks, such as asking people to post selfies with Keller’s sign in the background. The person who can post photos with all his signs will be entered into a raffle to get a $100 dinner with him and his wife at one of North Pole’s fine restaurants. It’s unclear if this is covered by Alaska Public Offices Commission rules or is regulated by Alaska charitable gaming laws.
North Pole City Council
The City Council race in North Pole has two formally announced candidates and one write-in candidate. Santa Claus, a known socialist and “Bernie Bro,” is one of the contenders for a seat. He ran for Congress and has served on the council in the past, also as deputy mayor. Like Terch, he is concerned about the city water system. Claus would also like to see city services expanded based on what residents desire.
The other contender is Ellen Glab, a former city employee. She is more interested in lines of communication between the staff and leaders in the community. She is more focused on public employee issues.
The write-in candidate is Michael Mowery. Write-in candidates are often a long shot, but Mowery is a fiscal conservative and has experience with budgets from his businesses.
Mowery grew up in the North Pole area, is the owner of an apartment complex, and is and a heavy equipment operator. While Mowery is significantly younger than Santa Claus, he has extensive experience in property management. Mowery would bring a new skill set and perspective to the council if he was elected.
The North Pole municipality’s election will end Oct. 1 at 8 p.m.