Another executive entangled in a lawsuit against the Municipality of Anchorage is resigning from Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration.
Bronson’s office announced Wednesday that Saxton Shearer’s last day as the head of the city’s Maintenance and Operations department will be May 26. Bronson appointed him to the role in 2021.
Shearer, in his official capacity, is mentioned in a lawsuit that Roger Hickel Contracting filed in March. In its complaint, the construction company said that Shearer authorized and signed off on work to build a new homeless shelter and navigation center. City officials later admitted that was a mistake, made without the Anchorage Assembly’s spending authorization.
Former Municipal Manager Amy Demboski, who Bronson fired in December, has alleged that Shearer was acting under the specific direction of the mayor and his senior policy adviser Larry Baker, in knowing violation of city code.
In the mayor’s press release about Shearer’s resignation, the two men exchange niceties. Shearer says he got an opportunity in the private sector he couldn’t pass up.
Shearer had previously worked in the private sector in project management and specialized in military construction.
Bronson highlighted Shearer’s role in the response to an avalanche in Eagle River last year that blocked Hiland road.
The administration is recruiting to fill the position.
It has only been a week since the last Bronson executive announced their resignation. Since Bronson took office in July of 2021, more than a dozen executives have turned over due to firings and resignations. That includes the municipal manager, chief of staff, municipal attorney, human resources director, chief of police, library director and health director.
Jeremy Hsieh covers Anchorage with an emphasis on housing, homelessness, infrastructure and development. Reach him at jhsieh@alaskapublic.org or 907-550-8428. Read more about Jeremy here.
