The Anchorage Assembly has again postponed a decision on an ordinance that establishes a process for the body to remove a mayor.
The process would require the assembly or a municipal board of ethics to approve an accusation document, followed by a legal review conducted by the municipal attorney or a neutral third-party attorney. If the accusations are found to be valid, the mayor would have an attorney defend them against the charges.
Related: Anchorage Assembly postpones vote on process for removing mayor
Mayor Dave Bronson spoke in opposition to the ordinance at the start of Tuesday’s Assembly meeting.
“I simply want to urge the Assembly to think long and hard about this proposal,” Bronson said. “I ask, do you want to upend the balance of power in our city? Do you want to foment more discord and distrust among the public?”
The ordinance was brought forward by Chris Constant, who described it as a way to set boundaries on what is acceptable for a mayor to do. Constant requested the vote on the item be postponed.
“I would like to make a motion to postpone this item to the 12th of July, which will allow people who said they want more time to have more time,” Constant said. “There are a number of amendments that have circulated that might help to make this better.”
The ordinance was unanimously pushed to the July 12 meeting.
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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.
