More than a dozen people took to the podium during Monday’s Ketchikan borough assembly meeting to speak in favor of the code change before it passed unanimously.
Emily Edenshaw is the tribal administrator and CEO for Ketchikan Indian Community. She said the planning commissioner’s comments against the tribe did more than just cause harm.
“But what troubles me even more is the idea beneath them: that KIC, our tribal citizens, or Native people in general, are somehow a burden on this community,” Edenshaw said. “So let me answer this very clearly – we are not a burden. We are a blessing.”
Edenshaw went on to say that the ordinance provides accountability. Several members of the civil rights groups, Alaska Native Brotherhood and Alaska Native Sisterhood, literally stood in solidarity behind Edenshaw as she spoke. The groups were in Ketchikan for their annual convention.
The municipal code update stems back to a Ketchikan planning commission meeting on September 15, when commissioner Darlene Dollimont-Svenson said, “how much more do white people have to pay for KIC in this community?” The remark, which was made at the end of the meeting during commissioner comments, followed a vote on a variance request for the tribe’s planned support center for locals facing housing insecurity. That variance was approved by the commission in a 4-1 vote, with D-Svenson voting against.
Both the borough assembly and the planning commission have publicly condemned D-Svenson’s comments and asked her to resign, which she has not done. According to an information packet from this week’s borough assembly meeting, D-Svenson’s comments “have rendered manifest the need for a defined process for removal of an individual appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Assembly.”
The previous borough code did not provide a mechanism to remove individuals who serve on borough boards, committees, or commissions.
“I believe it is prudent also for this body to develop a clear policy for addressing situations in which an appointed commissioner fails to meet the basic expectations of the role,” said assemblymember Sharli Arntzen during a September 21 assembly meeting, when D-Svenson’s comment was condemned and resignation was requested. Borough Mayor Austin Otos later called a special meeting to review code changes.
The code change required two public hearings, and went into effect this week. The new code states that an appointed official can be removed by the borough mayor, with approval of the assembly for “good cause.” According to the code, that means “one based on a showing of unfitness to hold a position of public trust, or a lack of competency or performance to the detriment of the public interest.” An assembly vote to remove D-Svenson from office could occur as soon as the next assembly meeting on October 20.
If the assembly votes to remove an appointed official, they’ll notify the official and send a notice of decision with an effective date of removal to the body from which the individual is being removed. That person may file an appeal with the borough clerk within 10 days. If that happens, the assembly will hold a hearing within 30 days of the appeal.
Some who spoke in favor of the code change before it passed at Monday’s assembly meeting said it’s not enough. Stephanie Swink Weddle is the president of Sitka’s branch of the Alaska Native Sisterhood. She said she hopes the assembly considers future options so something like this “doesn’t ever happen again.”
“Everything that we stand for is kind of swept under the rug with statements like Darlene made,” Swink Weddle said. “It is hurtful, it is unconscionable to think that someone in a public position working for the community would say something like she did.”
Another person who spoke in support of the code change said it’s not going to “help heal these wounds.” Another said government officials should take the time to research racial bias. And a representative of the Alaska Native Brotherhood claims that the commissioner’s discriminatory statement violates civil rights laws.
In the weeks following D-Svenson’s comments, leaders across the region have come forward to condemn them, including Ketchikan’s city and borough mayors, the mayor of Saxman, House District 1 Rep. Jeremy Bynum and others.
Hunter Morrison is a Report for America corps member for KRBD. Your donation to match our RFA grant helps keep him writing stories like this one. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution.
