LaFrance names business executive to Anchorage salary commission, reappoints another

Mayor Suzanne LaFrance has appointed John M. Gregoire Jr. to the vacant business executive seat on Anchorage's Commission on Salaries and Emoluments, according to an Assembly memorandum.

The Anchorage Assembly is asked to confirm him Wednesday, Nov. 4. His term would run through Oct. 14, 2029.

The appointment is one of 11 LaFrance made to seven city boards and commissions, Alaska News reported.

Gregoire owns Professional Growth Systems, an Anchorage consulting firm. His resume lists him as owner and CEO since September 2016 and says the firm was established in Anchorage in 1994. It says his work includes guiding organizations through restructuring, including compensation evaluations.

LaFrance also reappointed Karen Norsworthy to the commission's public administration seat. The Assembly is asked to confirm her Nov. 4 as well.

Norsworthy was the municipality's human resources director from February 1998 to July 2019, according to her resume. She also worked as human resources director for Denali Park Resorts and at the University of Alaska Anchorage.

Norsworthy was last appointed to the commission in 2019. Her attendance record shows she attended 20 of 22 meetings, or 91%. Her new term would run through Oct. 14, 2029.

The five-member commission is appointed by the mayor and approved by the Assembly. In June it voted to review the mayor's $145,392 annual salary for the first time since 2020, after noting some unionized city employees earn more than the mayor. In July it drafted a raise for whoever wins the April 2027 mayor's race, Alaska News reported. The draft would set the next elected mayor's annual salary at $183,019.20.