Harry Brower Jr. was sworn in Tuesday as the new mayor of the North Slope Borough, opening a new chapter after months of unrest and discontent in the far north of Alaska.
Absentee and questioned ballots were counted Tuesday from a runoff election a week earlier. The additional ballots confirmed Brower as the clear winner, with a total of 1,034 votes to 795 for George Ahmaogak.
The men were the top two vote-getters in a June election to replace Charlotte Brower, who was recalled by voters in April after news reports dating to last summer of questionable borough spending and ethical lapses. Harry Brower is her brother-in-law. He had worked as deputy director of the borough's wildlife department.
At his swearing-in ceremony, Brower said that he recognized the borough had been through a tough time and urged everyone to come together. He said he would work to earn the trust of those who didn't vote for him.
"This contest has been hard on us," Brower said in a written statement last week, before being confirmed as the winner. "I hope that when the votes are finally counted we can accept the results and begin to work together."
The group behind the recall had endorsed Ahmaogak, a former borough mayor.
Brower said the North Slope Borough was often compared unfavorably to other local governments, but existed to help the people of the north.
"We have accepted a nontraditional form of government that is often used to weigh us in the balance with other municipalities," Brower said. "In their eyes we are found 'wanting' and unsophisticated. But, we put our people first, not a form of government. We put our culture and environment first, not revenue. Because if the success we have enjoyed with the rest of the state ends, then our culture and our environment is all that we will have."
The mayor's salary for the 12 months starting July 1 was set in March by the previous administration at $241,000 a year. The deputy wildlife director job paid $149,600 a year, according to the borough budget.
Efforts to speak with Brower on Tuesday were unsuccessful.