Anchorage Assembly rejects investigation into member Martinez's travel, 5-6

The Anchorage Assembly rejected a resolution directing an independent investigation into Assembly Member George Martinez's taxpayer-funded travel. The vote was 5-6 Tuesday night after extended debate. The body then declined to reconsider the measure on a vote of 3-8. A separate special audit of Assembly member travel, requested by leadership, remains pending.

The substitute resolution would have directed the Municipal Attorney to arrange an independent review using internal staff or outside counsel. It covered all taxpayer-funded travel Martinez has taken since his first term began in 2023. The review would have examined whether municipal travel subsidized private business activity and whether financial disclosures and travel documentation were accurate. The investigator would have had full access to municipal records and personnel, and would have reported factual findings and recommendations to the Assembly within 60 days.

The decisive no came from Vice Chair Daniel Volland, who had backed a fact-finding version of the measure two weeks earlier. He cited the validity of the accusations, the amendments the body had worked through, the manner in which the investigation would be conducted, and the precedent he said the process would set.

"I no longer believe the accusation document knowing what I know now. I think it is flawed," Volland said. He said the document put forward campaign activity separate from the municipal removal code. Information entered into the public record that night, he said, gave "an entirely different representation of why travel was approved."

Volland said members had spent the evening "torturing this with these amendments" without reaching a vetted factual basis. "At this point, I'm a no vote, end of. I will not be voting to move forward in an investigation," he said. He warned about the precedent. A member could make any accusation, gather a majority, and pursue a political minority at what he called great expense and time to the municipality.

Assembly Members Jared Goecker and Donald Handeland filed the accusation document July 1. In a municipal press release, they said Martinez's conduct breached public trust and warranted removal proceedings with outside counsel. The document cites the Alaska Public Offices Commission's June order finding two campaign expenditures impermissible, a $456 per diem claim against an approved $312, and an undisclosed interest in Consoach, LLC. Martinez has said the errors are minor and the removal effort politically motivated. Alaska News previously covered an Assembly briefing that pegged the cost of a removal proceeding at up to $210,000 for a process the body has never used.

The Assembly had already censured Martinez, calling that its complete and proportionate response.