Council Members
Mary Leith, Deputy Mayor
Seat A (2024-2027)
PO Box 322, Delta Junction, AK 99737
(907) 895-4434
Council Representative: Schools, Library
My name is Mary Leith. I am a nearly lifelong resident of the Delta Junction area, other than attending college in Florida and British Columbia. I was a librarian for Delta Greely School District for 35 years.
In the past, I served on the Delta Junction City Council for 27 years, of which 10 ½ were as Mayor. I also served as Mayor Pro tem for many years. Following that, In 2015 I was hired as Delta Junction City Administrator and worked there for 6½ years before officially retiring. I was appointed on April 2, 2024 to fill a vacancy and was elected to the three-year seat on October 1.
I have been involved in the Delta community in many ways from serving on the library board, to working on senior services with Caring Hearts to being President of the Partners for Progress in Delta, which operates the local Career Center. Even with taxes, a town counts on volunteerism to provide many of the important services. Without taxes, volunteerism is an absolute necessity! I have always believed this and have been doing so for Delta since I was 14 years old.
In addition to my career and community services, I am married and have two adult children in Fairbanks and adult stepsons in Arizona. My husband Tim Ellis is a reporter for KUAC radio in Fairbanks.
Stormie Mitchell
Seat B (2024-2025)
PO Box 717, Delta Junction, AK 99737
Council Representative: Health & Safety, Cemetery
Michael Prestegard
Seat C (2023-2026)
PO Box 690, Delta Junction, AK 99737
Council Representative: Public Works, Airport
Michael Prestegard ran unopposed for three-year terms in both 2020 and 2023. He served as Deputy Mayor between October 2021 and October 2022.
Mike spent much of his childhood in remote villages of Alaska where his father worked for the FAA. He was in King Salmon when Alaska became a state. After serving six years in the United States Air Force, he started a career as an electrician for the Boeing Company in the Seattle area. In 2003, he transferred to Fort Greely. He returned to Seattle in 2008 and retired in 2016. It was then that he and his wife, Jill, were able to return to Delta Junction.
Mike is a private pilot and enjoys all things Alaska, serving in his church, and spending time with his large family, especially his 16 grandchildren and two great grandchildren.
Igor Zaremba, Mayor
Seat D (2022-2025)
PO Box 1755, Delta Junction, AK 99737
Council Representative: Personnel, Landfill
Igor Zaremba was born in Ukraine. At the age of five, he moved to California with his family in search of liberty. They moved to Delta Junction when Igor was 16. A couple years after graduating from Delta High School, Igor started his own family.
Married for 16+ years, Igor and Irina have five children between the ages of two and 15. Igor’s been a small business owner since 2013, operating his own mechanic shop. On his time off, Igor enjoys camping, fishing, and hunting with his family. Igor wanted to be more active in our beautiful little town, so he decided to run for City Council. He was elected to serve on the Council on October 4, 2022. He was elected by the Council body to serve a one-year term as Deputy Mayor on October 17, 2023. He encourages local residents to reach out to him with advice or suggestions to help resolve challenges that our community faces. Give him the opportunity to be your voice for the betterment of our town, our people, our children.
Lance Stricklin
Seat E (2024-2027)
PO Box 31308, Fort Greely, AK 99731
Council Representative: Emergency Services
Lance Stricklin was appointed to fill a vacancy on July 2, 2024 and he was elected to the three-year seat on October 1, 2024.
Pete Hallgren
Seat F (2023-2026)
PO Box 1625, Delta Junction, AK 99737
Council Representative: At Large
Pete arrived in Alaska in 1971 and served the City & Borough of Sitka for 20 years as borough attorney, assembly member, and mayor. After a 28-year career as an attorney, he and his family moved to Delta Junction in 1999 where he served as Director of the Local Redevelopment Authority under BRAC ’95. He re-established the position of Municipal Administrator, served for eight years, and retired in July 2007.
Pete was appointed to serve on the City Council on August 7, 2007 and elected by the public in 2007, 2010, 2013, 2016, 2017, 2020, and 2023. He served as both Mayor Pro tem (2008/2012) and as Mayor (2012/2017).
Pete decided to retire and submitted his resignation on August 15, 2017, effective upon swearing in the winners of the October 2017 municipal election (to enable Seat G to be put on the municipal ballot) while continuing to serve until his successor was elected and seated. However, Pete was elected by write-in votes to the vacant Seat F. He accepted the three-year term and was sworn to Seat F simultaneously with his successor in Seat G. Pete ran again in 2020 and won by one vote. He was appointed by the Council body on September 7, 2021 to serve as Deputy Mayor until his successor, Michael Prestegard, was elected on October 19, 2021. Pete ran unopposed in the October 3, 2023 election and will serve another three-year term.
Pete is proud to have been an involved witness to the economic rebirth of Delta through the construction of Pogo Mine, Federal retention of Fort Greely, and construction of the Ground-Based Midcourse Defense. As City Administrator, Pete oversaw planning, construction, and major upgrades of City facilities: landfill, library, fire and ambulance buildings, television transmitters, indoor hockey facility, new fire trucks and ambulances, and reconstruction of the airport runway.
Pete attends the Delta Christian Center Church with his family and they are members of a number of local organizations. Pete is a race car enthusiast and also enjoys four-wheeling, hunting, camping, cutting firewood, and travel.
Travis Riesner
Seat G (2022-2025)
PO Box 73, Delta Junction, AK 99737
Council Representative: Parks & Recreation, Emergency Preparedness
Travis was born in 1987 and spent the majority of his life in Interior Alaska. He and his wife Yelena have two children who are enrolled in the Delta Elementary School. Travis works full time for Boeing on the Ground-Based Missile Defense and, in his spare time, he enjoys fishing, hunting and off-roading with the family. He is also active with his church, Living Waters Assembly of God, kids’ hockey, and running a local off-road group. After a brief relocation to Oregon, his family decided to come back “home” and after the required year of residency, Travis ran for City Council in October 2022. He hopes to maintain the freedoms and liberties we enjoy as Alaskans.