The Anchorage Assembly has once again rejected paying a legal settlement to former municipal manager Amy Demboski.
Last year, under Mayor Dave Bronson, Demboski sued the city. In a scathing letter, she alleged numerous illegal and unethical activities by the mayor’s administration, including sexism, illegal contracting and creating a hostile work environment. She alleged she was fired in retaliation for bringing those issues up to Bronson.
The Assembly previously rejected a $550,000 settlement with Demboski in May of last year.
After almost two hours in a private executive session where they heard from city attorneys, the Assembly voted 6 to 4 Friday against paying a smaller settlement of $250,000.
Member Anna Brawley was one of the no votes. She said she understood that the settlement would’ve ended the dispute, but wasn’t comfortable paying that much money to Demboski.
“I remember everything that happened the last few years and I know that there’s not one party that’s culpable in that situation,” Brawley said. “But I just could not, in good conscience, spend public funds through this decision.”
Assembly chair Chris Constant was one of four members who voted for the settlement. He said he believes any future litigation regarding Demboski’s lawsuit will cost the city more money.
“Think about it, if in the best of all possible worlds, we were to prevail in a lawsuit against her. So we get sued, we go through all the process and we win. We are going to spend more than that in attorney fees. Just attorney fees alone,” Constant said.
An attorney for Demboski did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There was no public debate on the settlement.
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.
