The petition to recall Anchorage Assembly member Jamie Allard has been certified by the municipal clerk. The group attempting to recall the Eagle River member can now begin gathering signatures to get the recall on a ballot.
In a legal memorandum to the clerk’s office, Municipal attorney Patrick Bergt found that the grounds for recall were met by the petition.
Recall organizers cited four grounds for the recall of Allard who represents Chugiak/Eagle River. The first says that Allard used her Assembly email to reply to all Assembly members in response to a constituent. Petitioners say that’s a violation of the Open Meetings Act. The last three reasons describe Allard allegedly violating health mandates that the Assembly put in place in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
They include being in an indoor gathering that was at more than 25% capacity, not wearing a mask in public, and her support of a rally that backed businesses that opened in defiance of then-mayor Berkowitz’s lockdown order.
Bergt noted that one of the grounds for recalling Allard was almost identical to one that was listed for recalling member Meg Zaletel, who survived a recall attempt earlier this month. Member Felix Rivera also faced a recall in April, and voters chose to keep him in office.
In a statement to Alaska Public Media, Allard said she believes that her constituents will continue to keep her in office.
“Even though the merits of recall are laughable because I was the only one who objected — on the record — to the issue they are attempting to recall me for, I believe in our democracy and the vote of the people,” Allard said.
Allard also noted that the sponsor of the recall, Chelsea Foster, did not live in her district.
By late Thursday afternoon, Foster had yet to respond to questions about the petition.
In order for the recall against Allard to move forward, petitioners must gather 2,530 signatures in her district. The signatures must be turned in to the municipal clerk’s office by January 17 of next year.
Allard was elected to the Assembly in 2020.
This is a developing story.
Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
