Anchorage resident files formal appearance request calling for Martinez resignation

The Anchorage Assembly is weighing whether to censure or remove one of its members after a state ethics ruling found he misused campaign funds, and now a member of the public has filed a formal resignation demand through the official appearance-request process.

Michael Patterson filed an Assembly Appearance Request on July 21, 2026, calling for Assembly member George Martinez to step down over what Patterson describes as misappropriation of campaign funds. The request gives Patterson up to three minutes to testify under Anchorage Municipal Code 2.30.040, and must be placed before the Assembly within 14 days of acceptance by the Municipal Clerk. The Municipal Clerk and Assembly Chair retain authority to deny it when the Assembly lacks jurisdiction or when pending litigation is involved.

The APOC Ruling and Competing Resolutions

The request arrives as the Assembly weighs competing resolutions to censure or remove Martinez following the Alaska Public Offices Commission's June 11 ruling imposing $5,305.70 in maximum civil penalties for impermissible campaign expenditures. The Assembly had already postponed both the censure and removal resolutions to the July 21 meeting.

Assembly member Daniel Volland said he worried about the direction. "I worry we're going to start setting a precedent that we bring forward a censure resolution every time we have an APOC violation," Volland said. "And that can very quickly get politicized, get weaponized."