The latest vote tallies in Anchorage's city election show a tightening Anchorage School Board race and the apparent defeat of a ballot proposition to expand the boundaries of the city's parks and recreation service area.
With about 1,200 more absentee votes counted, Andy Holleman now leads his main challenger, Kay Schuster, by just 34 votes in the race for School Board Seat D, according to new results posted online Friday evening. Holleman was up by 80 votes when the first round of counting ended Tuesday night.
The results also showed the likely failure of Proposition 7, which would add several hundred more properties to the area that pays taxes to the city for park maintenance. The measure needed to be approved twice — in an area-wide vote, and by several hundred Anchorage Hillside voters whose taxes would rise as a result of the measure.
The area-wide vote was a yes, but as of Friday night, the Hillside voters were saying no, defeating the measure, according to the online results.
Roughly 2,000 more absentee ballots remain uncounted, with more trickling in by mail. Deputy city clerk Amanda Moser said officials also still have to review about 1,400 questioned ballots.
While the Holleman-Schuster race could shift, the outcome of Proposition 7 is unlikely to change because of the small number of voters in the new proposed service area, Moser said.
Proposition 7 needed approval from residents of Stuckagain Heights, Bear Valley and other pockets of the eastern Hillside.
In the latest count, 210 people voted no and 140 people voted yes, Moser said.
The outcome of that ballot proposition wasn't clear on election night. Moser said a technical problem led to all the votes being displayed together online.
There were no updates Friday on a ballot proposal that would tax Turnagain Arm residents for police protection. That measure was passing by a narrow margin on election night.