Removing an Assembly member takes 94 days and a supermajority

Removing an Anchorage Assembly member takes about 94 days, a two-thirds vote, and municipal money to pay the accused member's lawyer either way.

The Assembly published a flow chart Thursday laying out the whole path, from accusation through legal-sufficiency review, a hearing officer, and a formal hearing before the final vote. A simple majority starts it. Two-thirds is required to finish it.

The map arrives as Assembly members Jared Goecker and Donald Handeland pursue a July 1 accusation against George Martinez over campaign finance violations, an alleged false statement at a June Alaska Public Offices Commission hearing, and an undisclosed ownership interest in a company. APOC imposed maximum penalties against Martinez on June 11.

The removal authority itself is three years old, created in 2022 when the Assembly overrode Mayor Dave Bronson's veto 9-3.

Municipal attorney Jeremiah Gardner told members at a July 17 worksession that nothing about it is automatic — the code does not say the Assembly "shall remove" anyone.

A special meeting is set for July 31.