By Delcenia Cosman

Homer Independent Press

Homer City Council member Shelly Erickson has officially made a bid for the city mayor seat up for election this fall. 

Current Mayor Rachel Lord will not seek reelection in November. Erickson said the city needs an experienced leader as it continues navigating completion of major projects like the harbor expansion and float improvements, development of a new recreation center and erosion mitigation on the Homer Spit, and that the timing made sense to run for mayor now. 

Erickson is in the middle of her third term on the council, which ends November 2027. If elected mayor, the council will appoint someone to fill her seat until the next regular city election. Otherwise, she will maintain her council seat for another year.

“Homer is on the edge of a lot of big projects and big things happening… . If I get voted down, I still am there at the table to help walk through those things,” she said. 

Two Homer City Council seats, currently held by Bradley Parsons and Caroline Venuti, are also up for election this year. Both Parsons and Venuti have said they will seek reelection. 

The candidate filing period for Homer’s regular election opened Tuesday and will close 4:30 p.m. Sept. 15. As of Wednesday afternoon, no other candidates had filed for either race. 

The candidate list will be updated on the City of Homer website.