Cosgrove, Niven officially join Juneau Assembly; Kelly begins second term and Smith remains deputy mayor

Alicia Hughes-Skandijs and Christine Woll get ceremonial farewells before reorganized Assembly discusses JAHC funding, e-bike rules and a Back Loop farm

Paul Kelly, Mila Cosgrove and Joyce Niven are sworn in as Juneau Assembly members at City Hall on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. Kelly was elected to a second term, while Cosgrove and Niven are newly elected members. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

By Mark Sabbatini

Juneau Independent

This is a developing story.

Mila Cosgrove and Joyce Niven were sworn in as new Juneau Assembly members on Monday night, respectively replacing Alicia Hughes-Skandijs and Christine Woll who received ceremonial sendoffs before they made an early exit from City Hall.

The reorganization meeting also saw Paul Kelly sworn in for a second three-year term after he was reelected in the Oct. 6 municipal election and Greg Smith reappointed deputy mayor by the new Assembly.

Assembly members then took up a full agenda of business that saw the two new members split on a 5-4 vote to provide additional funds to the Juneau Arts and Humanities Council, a unanimous vote to kill a proposed ordinance regulating e-bikes and e-motos in favor of considering a new proposal in the future, and opting to hear the appeal of a permit allowing farm animals on residential property in the Back Loop area.

Woll, a District 2 member who opted not to run for a third term, led the flag salute to open Monday’s meeting at the behest of Mayor Beth Weldon. Hughes-Skandijs, a District 1 member who also opted not to run again after serving since 2019, offered the land acknowledgement as the second official agenda item. Both then received departing tributes from all of the Assembly members before exiting prior to the start of the meeting’s main agenda.

The new members gathered in the Assembly Chambers for an official photo about 20 minutes before the start of the meeting, with a slight hitch since Niven’s nameplate was misspelled "Nevin."

It’s potentially the last time such a photo and ceremony take place in the room since City Hall functions are tentatively scheduled to relocate to the first two floors of the Michael J. Burns Building next spring.

• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.

Alicia Hughes-Skandijs, center, departs her Juneau Assembly seat with her nameplate along with Christine Woll, right, as Mayor Beth Weldon bids them farewell on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

Mila Cosgrove talks with John Ingalls shortly before being sworn in as a District 1 Assembly member on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)

Joyce Niven slides a misspelled nameplate into her newly assigned Juneau Assembly seat on Monday, Oct. 26, 2026. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Independent)