Ketchikan planning commission to consider censuring commissioner over remarks about Ketchikan Indian Community

The Ketchikan Gateway Borough Planning Commission will consider a resolution Tuesday censuring Commissioner Darlene Dollimont-Svenson and asking her to resign over remarks she made about the Ketchikan Indian Community. The night before, the Borough Assembly will take up the borough's first procedure for removing appointed members of its boards and commissions.

Dollimont-Svenson made the remarks during commissioner comments at the end of the commission's Sept. 15 meeting. "How much more do white people have to pay for KIC in this community? I know it's on record and I know you can fire me for it," she said. The commission's censure resolution says she attributed the sentiment to others.

The Ketchikan Indian Community, a federally recognized tribe, asked the borough two days later to censure her, take every lawful step toward removing her and publicly condemn the remarks. Mayor Austin Otos called the remarks discriminatory on Sept. 18 and asked her to resign, saying borough code gave him no way to remove her. On Sept. 21, the Assembly passed a motion condemning the comments, expressing no confidence in her and urging the commission to censure her. An Assembly staff report said the comment threatens the impartiality and legitimacy of the commission's decisions.

The Tsimshian Tribal Association questioned the mayor's conclusion that she cannot be removed, arguing that all applicable law should be examined before reaching it. Its president, Jeremy Barrett, wrote that the association's concern is rooted in racial generalizations and the questions they raise about fair and impartial public service.

The censure resolution, the only regular business on Tuesday's agenda, cites both the Sept. 15 remarks and what it calls a continuing pattern of unprofessional conduct, including disregard for meeting procedures and argumentative exchanges with members of the public during testimony. It says that until she resigns or is removed, the commission will use every procedural option available to limit her participation. It also offers a formal apology to the tribe, to Alaska Native residents and to the community.

The removal ordinance, drafted by Borough Attorney Glenn Brown, would let the mayor remove an appointee for good cause with Assembly approval, or let the Assembly do so by a two-thirds vote. It defines good cause as a showing of unfitness to hold a position of public trust, or a lack of competence or performance that harms the public interest. The member could appeal, and a removal would not take effect until the Assembly decided the appeal. Brown wrote that recent events showed the need for a defined process. Monday's meeting is for introduction only; the Assembly would vote on adoption later.