The Bethel City Council is considering Elizabeth “Libby” Bakalar for city attorney. During the regular meeting on Jan. 14, council members conducted a job interview over live radio.
Bakalar is no stranger to media coverage. For the bulk of her career, she worked for the State of Alaska as a Senior Assistant Attorney General. She was commended for her work in 2013, receiving the Attorney General’s Award for Legal Writing. However, Bakalar was fired five years later by Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration.
Related: Former state workers sue, saying they were unconstitutionally fired
Bakalar believes that she was terminated because of her blog, “One Hot Mess Alaska”, in which she often criticized President Donald Trump. She is suing Dunleavy, claiming that the firing was a violation of her right to freedom of speech. Bakalar also has experience in civil litigation and currently works as an attorney in Juneau. If hired to be Bethel’s attorney, she has stated she would like to work remotely from Juneau.
There was a second finalist for the city attorney position, but he has since dropped his candidacy.
