Ethics complaints are pretty rare. But occasionally, a citizen committee is called on to review an accusation and analyze borough code to see if there has been a violation. That happened twice in 2024; the second case will be resolved tonight.
Former Assembly member Savannah Fletcher put her voice to some radio ads in 2023, encouraging citizens to get involved in borough business. She did not identify herself by name.
About a month before Fletcher left the Assembly in October, 2024, Rita Tommeter of North Pole filed a complaint. She said Fletcher had violated borough code [FNSB Code 6.12.010] that requires a public official to say they are expressing their own opinion unless authorized to speak on behalf of the Assembly.
The borough Ethics Board met in December last year and again this February and March. The Board found that three radio spots were opinion, and that Fletcher should have disclosed that. The report said it was her inflection, word choice and her focus on specific topics.
Though a small transgression on technical grounds, the board found that Fletcher had violated borough ethics law.
Now it is up to the Assembly to mete out punishment, which is required under borough code.
“When you are doing that, you're acting as a judge.”
Scott Brandt-Erichsen is the contract attorney who advised the assembly on conflicts of interest at the April 29 meeting.
“The participants have, uh, due process rights. They are entitled to decision by an unbiased decision maker,” Brandt-Erichsen said.
“Participants (Assembly members) should be free from financial conflicts of interest, and should be able to be impartial in deciding the matter.”
Four members said they had conflicts that would not allow them to treat Savannah Fletcher or Rita Trommeter impartially.
Liz Reeves-Ramos said Fletcher had been her attorney.
“Ms. Fletcher did represent me in a protective order hearing in October of 2023. On top of that, yeah, she is my friend,” Reeves-Ramos said.
Mindy O’Neall said there would be a perception of a conflict.
“Ms. Fletcher is a close personal friend of mine,” O’Neall said.
David Guttenberg said he could be fair to both parties but thought people might perceive a conflict because he supported the radio spots.
“I participated in the ads, and I helped pay for them,” Guttenberg said.
And Scott Crass said he didn’t think he could look at Rita Trommeter’s concerns fairly.
“Ms. Trommeter was engaged in a protracted political spat with somebody who is an uncle to my children, and she posted very hateful things about him, including pictures of my niece and nephew, and, uh, has forever tarnished my opinion of her,” Crass said.
As each declared their conflict, temporary presiding officer Brett Rotermund asked Fletcher and Trommeter to comment, to get their consent on the record. And Rotermund excused each from participating in the ethics discussion.
And a fifth member, Barbara Haney, declared a conflict but said it would not affect her ability to be fair. Fletcher objected, but Rotermund ruled that Haney could stay on the dais , even after Fletcher said Haney had attacked her professionally.
“She has filed to challenge my bar license as an attorney practicing in the state of Alaska, and her first challenge was returned as saying not significant enough or substantiated enough to even investigate. She did appeal that after I last spoke with you all. Also found that that did not rise to the level to even take the time to investigate. These all tied to her complaints about her ethics case and my role as an assembly member in her proceeding, and that's the basis she has wished to try and attack my private job.”
Haney had an ethics complaint lodged against her in 2024, and the Board of Ethics found that she had violated the law when she did not disclose that a letter to the editor was her own personal opinion. The Assembly was forced to punish her, and she was censured and fined one dollar for the small, technical violation. The proceedings for that case became almost partisan.
Member Kristan Kelly was out of town for the April meeting, so there were only eight members present, and the meeting stopped when the quorum dropped to four members.
“The assembly by code is required to impose a penalty and it takes five votes for action of the assembly to pass.”
Borough clerk April Trickey has examined what might happen if any more conflicts arise. The Assembly would use a part of the law called “Rules of Necessity.”
“Rules of necessity are used when the body, they lose a quorum because of conflicts of interest, and everyone else comes on and everyone sits and makes a decision.” This means even those who declared a conflict will be required to participate. Trickey says they’ll be counseled to be as impartial as possible.
A ll nine members will be attending at the reconvened meeting , so which will begin with temporary presiding officer Brett Rotermund continuing to ask members for conflicts of interest. If she has none to declare, Kristan Kelly will take over as presiding officer.
