Anchorage Assembly members call on Martinez to resign after APOC ruling

Two Anchorage Assembly members called on Assembly Member George Martinez to resign during assembly comments at the close of Tuesday's regular meeting, citing an Alaska Public Offices Commission ruling that found he willfully used campaign funds for personal benefit and misled investigators under oath. If he does not step down, the members said they are prepared to initiate the first formal accusation and removal process in the Assembly's history.

Assembly Member Donald Handeland and Assembly Member Jared Gerker both said during assembly comments that they will bring forward an accusation document to begin an investigation process under municipal code if Martinez does not resign. The APOC ruling described the violations as particularly egregious and imposed the maximum penalty available. Public testimony during the meeting referenced a Fort Lauderdale trip and APOC's finding that Martinez's explanations were less than credible.

Handeland addressed the body directly, placing the oath at the center of his case. "Mr. Martinez has broken that trust, both in his actions by inappropriate using of funds and by how he communicated, by lying under oath," he said.

Gerker echoed those remarks, saying the case differed from ordinary APOC reporting mistakes because investigators found Martinez willfully used campaign funds for personal benefit and then misled regulators. "Public trust is not partisan. It is not geographic, nor is it ideological," he said, adding that he would hold any member, including himself, to the same standard.

Assembly Chair Anna Brawley outlined the removal process for the public. She said the process has existed in the city charter since 1975 but has never been used, and that the code mechanism to carry it out was put in place about four years ago and has also never been used. She noted that the APOC matter involves campaign funds, not taxpayer funds, and that the scope of any Assembly inquiry would be limited accordingly. She also announced that she had already initiated an internal audit of assembly member travel expenditures, with findings to be discussed at the July 1 Audit Committee meeting.

Martinez, who has held the District 5 seat since April 2023 and winning again during his 2026 run this April, left the meeting about twenty minutes before members of the community got up to speak against him and participated by phone for the rest of the meeting. After the comments against him he said he had been listening the entire time but had stepped away for family reasons. He did not address the substance of the APOC findings. "I really don't have anything additional to add, Chair, at this time," he said. "I appreciate the privilege to continue to serve."

The formal accusation process, if initiated, would be the first use of the removal mechanism in the Assembly's history. And it is unclear if the two members pushing for the removal would have the support among the body to bring that untested, and unused processed to completion.