Mat-Su election candidates removed from ballot due to missing paperwork

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Two Matanuska-Susitna Borough residents are off this year’s election ballot after the borough clerk’s office says they were disqualified due to missing paperwork.

Wasilla residents Hillary Palmer, who was running for borough mayor, and Steve Ault, who was running for a Mat-Su Assembly seat, both told Alaska’s News Source they were initially told their packets were complete before the Aug. 30 deadline.

“The clerk said, okay, great, all of your paperwork looks fine. And later that day, I received a confirmation that my candidacy was accepted by the clerk’s office,” Ault said on Thursday, adding that he filed his election packed on Aug. 22.

However, on Sept. 5, Ault said he was told he was missing his financial disclosure paperwork. Ault said he then quickly provided that document.

“Then on Sept. 9, I got a phone call from the clerk’s office saying that they had sent this particular instance out for external review by a third party attorney, and that the third party attorney found that that I and one other candidate should not have been placed on the ballot because we had not met the filing requirement of having the POFD in by Aug. 30, 5 p.m., and so they subsequently removed me from the ballot,” Ault said.

Palmer has a similar story.

She told Alaska’s News Source that she filed for candidacy before the 5 p.m. deadline on Aug. 30. Then, on Sept. 5, she said she was contacted by the Borough clerk and the Alaska Public Offices Commission, who said she was also missing financial disclosure paperwork.

“Both of them realized that — I guess — they thought the other one had taken care of that form, but it never happened,” Palmer said.

Palmer said she completed that paperwork within an hour and sent it back.

According to Palmer, the clerk then notified her she met the borough code and was okay to run, but on Sept. 9, she was notified her name was going to be removed from the ballot.

Palmer provided Alaska’s News Source with a copy of the notice stating her name was removed.

The notice from Mat-Su Borough Clerk Lonnie McKechnie stated that the borough was alerted by the Alaska Public Offices Commission that they did not receive a Public Official Financial Disclosure Statement (POFD) from Palmer, prompting a review

“I sought a legal opinion on this issue and have been advised that I cannot legally place you on the ballot,” McKechnie wrote.

Ault also received a similar email from McKechnie on Sept. 9.

“It was definitely a shock to hear that I was being pulled from the ballot for something that seems so preventable,” Palmer said.

Ault has since decided that he will not be moving forward with attempting to regain his position on the ballot.

Palmer has decided to suspend her campaign.

“I had hoped to bring new energy and new ideas to the role of Borough Mayor, but instead of rallying volunteers and raising funds I’m dealing with legal what-ifs and a diminishing probability for success as a write-in candidate,” Palmer said. “Despite this disappointing set-back I’ll continue to serve the Mat-Su in other ways and I encourage others to get involved as well.”

With Palmer and Ault off the ballot, Mat-Su Borough Mayor Edna DeVries is running for reelection unopposed. Alaska’s News Source reached out to DeVries for comment but had not head back as of publishing time. Borough Clerk

Alaska’s News Source reached out to the borough clerk and DeVries for comment, but had not heard back as of publishing time. The borough clerk, Lonnie McKechnie, shared with Alaska’s News Source the legal opinion she was provided. McKechnie declined to comment further then what was shared in the document.

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