Fourth of July parades in the Fairbanks North Star Borough were markedly different between the enclave of Ester and the town of North Pole. As different as the politics of the two towns.
In Ester, Democrat candidate Savannah Fletcher, running for Senate, and Democrat Rep. Ashley Carrick, running to keep her seat in the House, were featured arm-in-arm in the precinct that would tend to favor them. With them was school board candidate Morgan Dulian, who led the recent effort to bust the borough tax cap and raise property taxes. She was walking the parade with Carrick, who spent her time in the 33rd legislature working on HB 17, a gender-identity bill.
Ester is left-leaning. In 2016’s election for president, 268 voters cast their ballot for Hillary Clinton, with 159 voting for Donald Trump. In 2018, Gov. Mike Dunleavy only got one-third of the vote in Ester.
In North Pole, hundreds lined the streets to watch the parade, which included Shriners’ funny cars, various farmers and their tractors, scout troops, and community organizations. Spotted was John Coghill, running for mayor of the borough, Assemblywoman Barbara Haney and her “support the tax cap” parade entry, school board candidate Loa Hubbard, and Miguel Ramirez running for Assembly.
The Mayor’s Choice award for best float was won by Assembly candidate Tammie Wilson. Later in the parade could be found Rep. Frank Tomaszewski, Rep. Mike Prax, and State School Board member Barbara Tyndall. Democrat Sen. Scott Kawasaki dined on pancakes at the Senior Center, watching the parade festivities.
In Eagle River, congressional candidate Nick Begich walked the parade with a large contingent of Team Nick supporters.
In Tok, Rep. Mike Cronk, running for Senate, had a patriotic entry that included two blonde dogs that were sporting red and blue paint.
