Michael Hicks is resigning from the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, effective Aug. 4. In a resignation letter, Hicks says he is moving out of state next week and will not attend any future assembly meetings.
Hicks has represented the assembly’s District 7 since October 2025. That district covers communities west of Tustumena Lake including Kasilof, Ninilchik and Nikolaevsk. Hicks ran unopposed for the seat.
Hicks is the second assembly member to resign in the last month. Kalifornsky representative Scott Griebel resigned effective July 7 to take a job with the borough.
On Monday, Hicks told KDLL he actually submitted a letter of resignation in April pending a job reassignment later this year. Hicks has been the pastor at Kasilof Foursquare Church since the late nineties. Hicks said he later retracted his resignation after being contacted by people who told him to stay on longer.
“I was approached by a few people who knew what was transpiring who impressed upon me that it would better serve my District to serve for as long as possible so that my District could be served by one they elected rather than one appointed to them,” he said.
Hicks also says he’s faced some personal hardship over the last year, including losing his home in a fire and the death of multiple family members.
In his resignation letter, Hicks said he’d hoped to attend more assembly meetings remotely after moving out of state. But borough code doesn’t allow that. He told KDLL his time on the assembly was a “valuable lesson and an astonishing surprise.”
“I can truly say that I have been changed and humbled (in the best way) by this experience, and would strongly encourage others to serve where they can,” Hicks wrote.
The two resignations mean Kenai Peninsula voters will consider five of the assembly’s nine seats when they head to the ballot box Nov. 3. It will be the second election in a row where voters cast ballots in five assembly races instead of three, as during a typical election year.
The assembly must formally accept Hick’s resignation at their next meeting. That starts the clock for filling the empty seat. Because Hicks resigned more than 45 days before the next borough election, the assembly will appoint someone to serve until then.
The borough will accept applications from Aug. 5-19. To be eligible, an applicant must be a registered voter living in District 7. Whoever is appointed will serve until the borough’s Nov. 3 election. A candidate elected to fill the seat will serve the remainder of the District 7 term, which expires in 2028.
More information about the upcoming municipal election can be found on the borough’s election website.
