ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Alaska Superior Court Judge Dani Crosby on Wednesday ruled in favor of Mayor Dave Bronson in a lawsuit against the Anchorage Assembly over whether Bronson had the right to remove the city’s chief equity officer without consulting the Assembly.
“AO 2020-79(S) is invalid because it conflicts with the Charter provision granting the mayor removal power of municipal department heads, and the ordinance violates the separation of powers provisions of the Charter,” Crosby wrote in the conclusion of the judgment.
The lawsuit stemmed from the firing of Clifford Armstrong III, the city’s first chief equity officer, in October 2021. Armstrong was appointed in April 2021.
The ordinance creating the position of chief equity officer stipulated that they could only be fired with approval by a majority of the Assembly. Assembly leadership argued that Armstrong’s firing was not valid.
Bronson argued that as mayor, he has the authority to fire any position appointed by the mayor in accordance with the municipal charter.
The section of the city charter Bronson referred to states that any “persons appointed by the mayor serve at the pleasure of the mayor.”
On the other hand, the Anchorage Assembly believed the section of the municipal code was higher in regard to the chief equity officer position stating that the person “may be dismissed by the mayor only for cause shown, and only with the concurrence of a majority of the assembly.”
After his firing, Armstrong filed a lawsuit against the city, which has already been settled.
In a Thursday night news release, Bronson applauded the court’s decision.
“The ordinance the Assembly passed is a clear violation of my authority and executive powers,” Bronson said in the release. “Since the beginning of my administration, this assembly has consistently infringed on the executive branch’s authority and purview. I applaud the Superior Court for their ruling protecting separations of powers and preventing the assembly’s repeated, autocratic overreaches of power.”
Anchorage Assembly Acting Chair Chris Constant spoke to Alaska’s News Source on Thursday night regarding the ruling.
“Obviously, it wasn’t the ruling that we had aimed for. But practically, if you read the ruling, it’s very narrow. Her ruling was determined that by the place in the code where the chief equity officer position was added, which was under the mayor section of the code, that is by virtue of the charter, a department, which she didn’t more broadly rule that the other positions that have joint authority, in terms of office, like the municipal auditor have the protections that we intended to establish with this position,” Constant said. “And so, practically speaking, you know, the Assembly will contemplate its options and moving forward and finding the proper place for this position in the code.”
Crosby’s full ruling can be read below:
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