McDonald, Mullican compete for one-year Kalifornsky Assembly seat
Published 4:30 am Friday, October 16, 2026
Kalifornsky voters will choose between a former Oklahoma mayor and a longtime Kenai Peninsula resident this November to fill a vacant borough assembly seat with only one year left on its term.
Lisa McDonald and Teresa Mullican are competing in the Nov. 3 election for District 1, which covers the Kalifornsky area between Kenai and Soldotna. Both candidates have emphasized responsible spending and community involvement, although their experiences have shaped different ideas about where they can contribute.
The election follows the July resignation of Scott Griebel, who left the assembly to accept a borough position. Brent Hibbert was subsequently appointed to serve until November, when voters will choose a representative to finish the term expiring in 2027.
Whoever takes office will join a nine-member assembly responsible for approving a budget exceeding $190 million, with school funding, infrastructure and public services competing for borough resources.
Different paths to public service
McDonald moved to the Kenai Peninsula in 1981. Her professional background includes work with the Alaska Department of Corrections, along with operating businesses in information technology and disability benefits consulting.
Community involvement has played a central role in her career. She serves on the Governor’s Council on Disabilities and Special Education and the Statewide Independent Living Council, experiences she said have familiarized her with the challenges residents face when accessing government programs.
After decades of serving on community boards, McDonald said she believes the time has come to pursue elected office.
“It’s just time for me to step up to the government level,” she said.
Mullican brings experience from more than two decades in municipal government in Elk City, Oklahoma, where she served as a commissioner before becoming mayor in 1997. She held the mayor’s position for 16 years, leaving office in 2013.
Following several trips to Alaska, Mullican and her husband relocated to the peninsula in 2014, later settling into the Kalifornsky area and becoming involved in local organizations including the Kenai Rotary Club. Her previous government experience taught her the importance of consulting administrators, collecting information and considering different perspectives before making decisions, she said.
Still, Mullican acknowledged that her campaign for the same seat in 2025 showed her that residents were more concerned about what she could accomplish locally than her record in Oklahoma.
The question she has since focused on, she told the Clarion, is “what am I going to be able to bring to the table for them now?”
Spending and essential services
Both candidates would enter office as the borough balances the cost of public services against affordability.
For fiscal 2027, the assembly approved approximately $62.4 million in local operating funding for the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, matching the previous year’s total contribution. Additional borough spending supports facilities and debt payments.
Meanwhile, the general property tax rate was held at 3.85 mills after being reduced from 4.30 mills the previous fiscal year.
McDonald, who has a background in business and finance, said she recently reviewed the borough’s lengthy budget document in search of unnecessary expenses. “This budget is pretty streamlined and does not appear to have, in my mind, a whole lot of waste,” she said.
She credited the borough’s efforts to limit spending, but said services such as solid waste management must be maintained even when they do not generate sufficient revenue to cover their costs.
Mullican also supports controlling expenditures, particularly when residents are already dealing with higher household expenses.
Her priorities include education, road maintenance, and the borough’s service areas, although she did not identify a specific program she would eliminate or reduce to offset those costs.
She emphasized that assembly members must work with borough administrators to determine what the government can afford. “Unity is very important for the assembly,” Mullican said.
Both candidates acknowledged that property assessments complicate discussions about taxation, and changes in real estate values influence individual tax bills, while the assembly determines the borough’s tax rates and spending levels.
Local priorities and economic development
Beyond the budget, McDonald would like to address accessibility along the Kenai River.
Drawing on her work with older residents and people with disabilities, she said some have difficulty finding comfortable locations to board guided fishing boats, especially at Eagle Rock where a launch facility could accommodate more users if expanded.
Although nearby Pillars Boat Launch is listed by Alaska State Parks as having accessible facilities, McDonald said some residents are uncomfortable with the faster-moving water there.
Eagle Rock is operated by the state, which sought bids earlier this year for improvements that include additional parking, floating docks and pedestrian access, but the facility is still not currently identified as ADA-accessible on the state’s website. Any further expansion would therefore require cooperation with state officials.
Mullican approached local priorities from the perspective of residents living outside incorporated cities.
Unlike people living within Kenai or Soldotna, she said, Kalifornsky residents often must bring their concerns directly to the borough or state agencies. She has not, however, identified one issue she believes should take precedence over all others.
“I don’t see any earth-shattering type of issues at this point,” Mullican said.
Instead, she hopes to continue meeting with residents to better understand their concerns, saying last year’s campaign taught her the importance of hearing directly from the community.
Economic development is another consideration for the borough, particularly as the proposed Alaska LNG project could bring construction activity to Nikiski.
McDonald strongly supports the project, which would transport natural gas from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska, where an export terminal is planned. She believes the development could create jobs and eventually add taxable property to the borough, but at the same time, noted that an influx of workers could strain local housing availability.
The project has yet to reach a final investment decision, and its estimated multi-billion-dollar cost has raised questions about commercial viability. Its potential benefits to borough revenue would depend on construction proceeding and the eventual tax arrangements.
Mullican, meanwhile, said her immediate focus would be on the borough’s existing responsibilities rather than committing to a specific new development initiative. She described roads, schools and public services as priorities requiring continued attention.
One year to make an impact
The abbreviated term means either elected candidate would have to seek election again in 2027 to continue serving.
McDonald said her first task would be learning the assembly’s procedures and developing working relationships with other members. She would measure her effectiveness partly through her ability to collaborate while keeping government spending within available revenue.
“I want government to stay in its lines,” she said.
Mullican similarly acknowledged that one assembly member cannot independently deliver major changes. She said success would mean following through on campaign commitments, responding to residents and ensuring their concerns are heard by the appropriate officials.
Her previous experience in Oklahoma, she said, has taught her that difficult decisions require preparation and cooperation instead of individual action.
“I’m not running for the recognition. I’m not running for the title or the