Polls open at 7 a.m. Tuesday for the runoff election for Kenai Peninsula Borough mayor.
Fewer than a thousand votes separated Charlie Pierce from Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings after the regular election Oct. 4. But this time around, former Borough Mayor Dale Bagley won’t split the vote. It’s yet to be determined who will pick up those votes.
The campaigning the past few weeks has gotten personal, with the candidates and their supporters trading jabs about a charge of domestic violence against Pierce 17 years ago and Hutchings’ management of the family car dealership, which stopped selling new cars in 2009.
Hutchings says her receipt of a cease and desist order last week regarding talking about the DV charges shows that Pierce isn’t used to dealing with a strong opposition.
“I think that’s probably why it’s come to a head is because he can’t intimidate me. I think that’s new for him. He is used to having employees that cower, he’s used to having family members stay out of his way. I don’t think he knows he does it.”
Pierce, a former manager at Enstar, has been repeatedly called a bully during the campaign, a charge he roundly rejects.
“I’ve been bullish on the issues, but I’m not bullying any person. I’m not threatening somebody or trying to demean or put somebody in a position where they feel uncomfortable. That’s bullying. I’m not a bully. I’m a professional manager and I’ve got lots of years of experience and a lot of success stories being a leader.”
Pierce has tried to separate himself from Hutchings on the issues with his stances on the ballot measures that were decided during the regular election. Like most of the peninsula, he voted against a bond measure for repairs to the Borough Building and an increase in sales tax, both of which Hutchings supported.