Four candidates are running to fill two, three-year seats on Dillingham’s City Council. The race will be on the general ballot tomorrow, Tuesday, Oct. 7.
KDLG asked each candidate for a brief description of themselves and why they’re running. Here are their responses.
**Responses have been lightly edited for grammar only.**
Seat A
Triston Chaney
My name is Triston Chaney. I was born and raised in Dillingham, Alaska, and raised by Will and Robyn Chaney.
I was previously the heavy equipment mechanic for the city during the winters of 2024-2025. I’m also a commercial fishing captain of the F/V Robyn Darleen that I run alongside my brothers and cousin. In the fall, I’ve been a sports fishing guide for Nanci Lyons Bear Trail Lodge out of King Salmon, Alaska.
In the summers, I’m a part of the Bristol Bay fly fishing and guide academy- a week-long camp for young adults/students to expose them to fly fishing and a little bit of what it takes to be a guide. My main duties are fly-tying instructor and fly-casting instructor.
Growing up here is interesting, and the people are even more so. In the fast-paced world we live in today, that doesn’t seem to stop progressing and evolving, I believe my people skills and attitude would be a great addition to the city council team to intertwine the past, work in the present, and think about the future. I enjoy listening to people, working with people, and using my brain.
Bert Luckhurst
My name is Bert Luckhurst. I am 40 years old and a lifelong resident of Dillingham. My parents, Patty and Vince Luckhurst taught me from a young age the value of hard work and giving back to community.
I graduated from Dillingham High School in 2003 and earned a Diesel Mechanics certificate from AVTEC in 2004. Over the years, I have worked as a heavy equipment mechanic and operator for both the city and the state of Alaska, as well as commercial fishing during the summers.
My wife, Crystal, and I plan to continue to raise our family here and teach them to give back and take care of others and our community as we do.
I am running for city council again because I care about our community and want to continue to do my part to help keep our city moving in the right direction and to help navigate issues as they arise in a timely manner for the residents of Dillingham. I would appreciate your Vote!!!
Seat B
Jean Barrett
Good afternoon, my name is Jean Barrett, a lifelong Dillinghamer. Born in Palmer, Alaska, on September 26, 1962, I flew home to Dillingham 4 days later, and I have made it home almost every day since.
I am married to Cindra Barrett, originally from Minnesota. We chose many years ago to make Dillingham home.
Currently, I am retired. I spent 16 years as a City of Dillingham (COD) employee. During my career, I started in the Public Works department as Building and Grounds Supervisor in October of 2005 and moved onto the Port Director position in June of 2008, right at the beginning of the fishing season. I finished my time at the COD pulling double duty as both the Port Director and Public Works Director. I have had quite a bit of experience working on budgets, staffing, and customer service. I hope to bring my experience to the table to help make Dillingham a final destination for people.
I made the decision to run for city council because I love Dillingham and hope to help make it and keep it a destination for people to want to come to and make a life for themselves and their families, not just a pit stop in order to find another place to settle. And, probably more importantly, I hope to see the COD be a place where people want to work with competitive wages and benefits. This will be a big job, and, if successful, a great draw for professional people and their families who want what I want – a place to work, live, and retire, all while enjoying being surrounded by the beauty of the Dillingham area.
Making Dillingham an attractive place not only for professional people but also for families will involve collaboration with the Dillingham City School District. I have worked at the school and also coached for many years. To say I am a proponent of education and extra-curricular activities would be an understatement. We need to be able to teach not only the old reading, writing, and arithmetic, but also teach and show that not everything revolves around a college diploma, but also around S.T.E.M. ( Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics). We are hands-on workers poor, and we need to show that very good lifestyles can be achieved and maintained through these types of classes in our school.
We as a city have to work to not only make Dillingham attractive with a wage, but we need to find a way to keep the infrastructure we have in place and both maintain and improve upon it, open our ears and listen to ideas from the public, and look, listen, and observe what other communities have done to “stay alive.” These are hard times for everyone, and it takes teamwork to survive and succeed. Others' successes and failures should be stepping stones for a model that other communities can emulate.
We need to be able to strive for being the best we can be while keeping what we've got, which is good now, but can turn into a nightmare very quickly if not maintained. So we need to find a way to make maintenance a priority and work with local, state, and federal entities, along with non-profit grant agencies, to improve our home.
We, as a city, cannot do this alone. We need to meet and collaborate with the other entities around Dillingham, what is referred to as the BBs: Bristol Bay Native Association, Bristol Bay Native Corporation, Bristol Bay Area Health Corporation, Choggiung Limited Village Corporation, and Curyung Village Corporation. Teaming up with these entities will do nothing but make us stronger and enable all of us to make “our world” that much better.
You might say that I have a very large priority, and that is to work together with fellow council members, the city manager, the mayor, and local entities to improve, maintain, and make Dillingham a place we can all be proud of and want to stay.
Michael Bennett
My name is Michael Bennett. I am running for Dillingham City Council, Seat B.
I was born and raised here in Dillingham by Neal and the late Dinah Bennett. I am 34 years old. My wife is Katie Bennett (Katherine), and together we are raising our three boys. I own and manage a small business called M&K Enterprises; it’s a trucking business, hauling shipping containers here in Dillingham.
- Dillingham City Council 2022 - 2025
- Curyung Tribal Council 2024 - 2025
If elected on October 7, 2025, I will continue to fight to fully fund our Dillingham City School District, Public Library, and the Senior Center. I will continue to call for transparency with the city finances, as well as staff holding to a fair and transparent bidding process, and that policy will be followed.
Other topics of interest are to get our assisted living facility operational again and get the conversation rolling with an action plan with entities that are interested in taking on that responsibility.
I will propose through the finance and budget committee that I am on that the city remove tax on food, rent (housing), and work to abolish the inventory tax. In turn, let’s develop another subdivision and lease out the remaining harbor lots to businesses. Our citizens and young adults have been forced to leave Dillingham because of a lack of housing and opportunity. This is a big subject that I would be happy to expand on at another time to share where we are on this serious issue.
I would like to thank the voters and the public for their support and remind them that their voice is not overlooked. I hear your concerns, and I hope to continue to represent you.
Thank you,
-Michael Bennett
