Phillip Mach, 35, was appointed to the borough assembly to fill a vacant seat at the beginning of 2025. At the end of his appointment that October, he ran for a single-year term and won. Now, after a year and a half on the assembly, Mach is one of four candidates looking to fill one of the two available three-year assembly seats.

Mach said he feels good about the things they have been able to accomplish during his time there.

“Really positive things, you know. We’ve got contracts out for redoing the siding and the roofs of the schools and the Public Safety Building,” he said. “I think those are huge.”

He said there’s also more coming down the pipeline as some of their longer-term projects move toward mobilizing.

Originally from North Seattle, Mach followed his dad into the fishing industry, working on a family-operated boat out of Bristol Bay for about 15 years. After graduating from Seattle Pacific University in 2013 with a degree in business finance, he took a position at the Trident Seafoods plant at Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands. In 2023, he moved to Wrangell to manage the Trident plant that reopened after a three-year shutdown.

“I was very excited for the opportunity. I had friends in Petersburg and spent time in Southeast, and so I was like, ‘Yes, let’s do it!’ I love it,” Mach said.

He said he believes his experience on the assembly has given him a valuable understanding of the goals that the elected body is working toward.

“For me, the main big thing that I really get excited about is just economic development,” Mach said, “I think Wrangell just has a lot of opportunity.”

He clarified that the goal of economic development is one that is “tied directly with supporting our local businesses and keeping our overall current economy healthy as well.”

Another big focus, he said as a father of an 8-month-old, are schools and childcare. He said these were important to support current residents and to attract new ones, and that he’d really like to see more childcare options for the community.

“I think that’s a big deal, and make sure our schools are well funded,” Mach said. “It’s very important when people come to town.”

On the subject of attracting new residents, Mach also brought up the need for new housing options in Wrangell.

“It’s really exciting to see Alder Top (residential subdivision) kind of go through. That was a big thing that, while I was on the assembly, we finally got finished up.”

As one of the youngest members of the assembly and a father to a young child, Mach said, while he respects the collective knowledge of the assembly, he brings a different perspective and generational focus.

“I know (Assembly Member) Dan Powers has a large family too, but just kind of the importance of our younger generation,” Mach said, “and making sure that Wrangell is here to stay.”