Anchorage Assembly to receive member-removal briefing documents Aug. 4

Removal of an Assembly Member Would Cost Up to $210,000

Removing a sitting Anchorage Assembly member would cost between $98,000 and $210,000, according to briefing materials the Assembly reviewed July 17. A special election to fill the vacated seat is estimated at another $162,000. A memorandum carrying an Aug. 4 regular meeting date provides the documents for members' review and information.

The documents were transmitted as AIM 118-2026. Deputy Municipal Clerk Jasmine Acres prepared them, Municipal Clerk Jamie Heinz approved them and Assembly Chair Anna Brawley submitted them. The memorandum says the work session explained the legal and parliamentary frameworks for removal and discipline and gave members a common understanding of the options available. The memorandum is informational. It transmits the briefing documents for review and does not itself remove a member or start a new proceeding.

What the Code Requires

The discussion centered on Anchorage Municipal Code section 2.70.030, which governs removal of an elected official. Removal requires an accusation, a legal sufficiency review, a hearing officer, proof by clear and convincing evidence and a two-thirds vote of the authorized membership. The materials state the Assembly has never attempted to remove an elected official.

The work session also covered options short of removal. The Assembly adopted a resolution of censure on June 25, AR 2026-191, which censured Assembly Member George Martinez for conduct found by the Alaska Public Offices Commission in its June 15, 2026 order. The resolution describes censure as a formal, on-the-record expression of disapproval that is "distinct from and far short of removal."

The codification of removal procedures has drawn criticism. Must Read Alaska has argued that an Assembly-initiated removal process lets the legislative body bypass a recall election and shifts authority away from voters. Anchorage's work on removal and lesser sanctions also tracks a broader effort by local governments to codify responses to breaches of the public trust while distinguishing removal from lesser sanctions such as censure.

Brawley: Session Was Procedural

Brawley opened the July 17 work session by saying the session was procedural. "I've consulted with the attorneys, and they have determined or advised that Member Martinez may participate in this conversation as a member because it is about process," she said at that work session.

The memorandum is listed for the Assembly's Aug. 4 meeting.