Muni Denies Referendum Petition To Appeal AO37

The Municipality of Anchorage has denied a referendum petition to appeal AO37 submitted earlier this month.

The Anchorage Assembly passed the rewrite of municipal labor law by a vote of 6-5 at their March 26 meeting after four 5-hour evenings where 285 people spoke before the assembly.

In a memorandum from the Office of the Municipal Attorney, the brief version of the answer regarding why the request was denied says:

“Subject to the following Background and Discussion below, our Brief Answer is No. The proposed petition does not properly cite the ordinance, the petition narrative may be confusing, and the petition fails to set forth verbatim the ordinance sought to be repealed. In addition, the petition addresses subjects prohibited by Alaska law.”