MEA 2023 Election Results
Matanuska Electric Association members have elected Dan Tucker and Anastasia Buretta to At-Large seats on the utility’s Board of Directors and also approved four proposed changes to its Bylaws. Tucker and Buretta topped a crowded nine-candidate field. The results of the election were announced at the MEA Annual Meeting on April 25 and were confirmed at the MEA Board meeting on May 8. Voter turnout was 11.5 percent of members, which is in line with the last five MEA elections.
A total of 6343 votes were counted. Of these, 3599 (57%) were mail-in ballots, 2678 (42%) were electronic, and 66 (1%) were cast in person at the MEA Annual Meeting. More voters opted to use mail-in ballots this year (last year 51 percent of ballots were cast electronically). Not all voters made selections for both board seats or all four ballot proposals.
Dan Tucker, an incumbent board member, received 2972 votes (26.2%). Tucker is a retired firefighter and small business owner, and was first appointed to fill a vacancy on the board in 2020. As the top vote-getter he will serve a four-year term in his At-Large seat (the length of board terms currently varies as MEA transitions from three- to four-year terms).
Dan Tucker, from his MEA board profile
Anastasia Buretta placed second with 1414 votes (12.5%). Buretta, who works as a Treasury Associate for the Chugach Alaska Corporation, is a first-time director. As the second-place finisher, she will serve a three-year term.
Anastasia Buretta from her MEA board profile
Vote totals for the remaining seven candidates were: Ted Leonard (1329 votes, 11.7%); Connie Fredenberg (1326 votes, 11.7%); Gregory Hunt, Sr. (1228 votes, 10.8%); Bryan Cherry (1049 votes, 9.2%); Joy Fearn-Condon (817 votes, 7.2%); David Krumm (617 votes, 5.4%); Jedediah Cox (604 votes, 5.3%).
MEA members also approved all four proposed changes to the cooperative’s Bylaws, with approval rates between 74 and 88 percent of members voting (see totals below). The first change gives MEA’s Board the ability to retire capital credits owed to former members or their estates if they had unpaid debts to the cooperative when they ended their membership or passed away. The second change clarifies the definition of “patron” in MEA’s Bylaws.
The third bylaw revision changes the definition of who is a “member in good standing.” Members who have not been late with more than one payment over the previous two years are now considered to be in good standing (under the previous definition a member needed to have paid all their bills on time over the previous three years). This change’s main impact will be on who is able to run for the MEA Board in the future (only members in good standing are eligible). The fourth change adds tribal governments to the list of recognized organizations within MEA’s service area.
MEA voters in the Susitna East and West Districts will elect directors in 2024.
MEA 2023 Election Results
