James Baisden is resigning from the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. Assembly members accepted his letter of resignation during their Tuesday meeting. Baisden’s resignation is effective Oct. 19. He’ll continue to serve until then.
Baisden represents the borough’s Kalifornsky district, which covers the area between Kenai and Soldotna. He was elected to the seat last year.
In that letter, Baisden says he’s stepping down because of “increased personal commitments.” He told assembly members those commitments will prevent him from attending meetings and fulfilling his responsibilities as an assembly member.
“I've enjoyed hanging out with everybody here,” he said. “Yeah, I've got some things that I've got to do. I didn't think it would happen as soon – my life's changed a little bit with my family.”
By giving his resignation notice now, Baisden ensures his assembly seat will appear on the next municipal ballot. That means whoever replaces him will be elected by voters, rather than appointed by assembly members.
His resignation makes an already busy election busier. This year, voters will consider candidates for five assembly seats, rather than the usual three. The assembly seat covering Sterling and Funny River will also be on the ballot.
Baisden represents the borough’s Kalifornsky district, which covers the area between Kenai and Soldotna. Whoever is elected to replace Baisden will serve the rest of his three-year term, up in 2027.
The borough’s candidate filing period opens Aug. 1. The next borough election is Oct. 7.
