Under cloak of darkness, Bronson doubles down on "illegal" firing of Chief Equity Officer
He's only been in office since July, but if there's one thing Mayor Bronson has demonstrated, it's that his administration will double down on all the wrong things.
Anchorage Assembly Leadership sent a letter to Mayor Bronson on October 21 stating that they did not recognize the dismissal of Chief Equity Officer Clifford Armstrong III, whom Bronson had fired. The letter stated that Assembly’s leadership does not recognize Armstrong’s dismissal as “complete nor valid” and that they’ve been advised by Assembly Counsel that Armstrong III’s dismissal is not legally complete.
“As a matter of law Mr. Armstrong is still the Chief Equity Officer of the Municipality. He continues to be employed until there is a showing of cause for his dismissal, communicated to the Assembly, and by majority vote the body concurs with the dismissal,” LaFrance and Constant wrote. LaFrance and Constant asked Mayor Bronson to provide possible grounds for cause for Armstrong’s dismissal by October 27, 2021.
The letter cites Anchorage Municipal Code section 3.20.140A.1.c. which states: “The chief equity officer may be dismissed by the mayor only for cause shown, and only with the concurrence of a majority of the assembly.”
Five days after the October 27 had passed, Municipal Attorney Patrick Bergt responded to the letter in a memo writing that the Chief Equity Officer serves at the pleasure of the mayor and, like other at-will mayoral executive appointees, "s/he can be dismissed for any reason or for no reason at all."
"...it is the Department of Law’s position that, because AMC 3.20.140.A.1.b. and 1.c. create “for cause” protection and durational terms for an executive mayoral appointee, the ordinance clearly violates the Charter and the separation of powers doctrine," Bergt wrote on behalf of the Bronson Administration, arguing that elements of the ordinance that created the position of Chief Equity Officer violate the city’s charter.
Under the cloak of darkness during last evening's special meeting of the Anchorage Assembly, Mayor Bronson took to Facebook to share his administration's position on the firing of Armstrong III, claiming that the ordinance passed by the Assembly was a "clear violation of the Mayor's authority established in Charter."
Mayor Bronson's statement was not shared on Twitter for reasons that weren't immediately clear.
An October 19 press release sent to The Blue Alaskan by Clifford Armstrong III states that Armstrong believes several factors came into play that resulted in his firing by the Bronson Administration.
Armstrong III believes part of his firing was related to the Affirmative Action Plan (AAP) Summary Report he had delivered shortly before the Bronson Administration fired him. The report identified hiring and personnel action disparities in the Muni and recommended specific actions be taken between now and February 2022, which is when a formal report and plan are due.
He says that he was hired for technical competence and not political allegiance and that in performing his duties, his obligation was to follow the municipal code. "You will have to decide for yourselves whether technical competence and legal compliance are valued by this administration," Armstrong III wrote in his press release.
Armstrong III says that without his consent, the 2022 proposed budget shows the Office of Equity and Justice (OEJ) without the connection to the Assembly that was placed there originally and that in a public forum, Mayor Bronson said he viewed Armstrong III's office and position as unnecessary and something to be removed upon winning the election.
While dissolving the position of Chief Equity Officer didn't happen, after becoming Mayor, Bronson fired Armstrong III and appointed religious zealot and Trump fanatic Uluao “Junior” Aumavae in his place.
On October 10, the Anchorage NAACP called on Mayor Bronson to re-hire Armstrong III immediately, alleging his firing was illegal and called on the Bronson administration to "come clean" with the public about the Equity Officer’s report that they say the Bronson administration is trying to cover up.
Anchorage Assembly Vice-Chair Christopher Constant has said that legal action could be possible if the mayor did not document his grounds for cause for firing Armstrong III.
After this post was published, the Anchorage Daily News reported that Clifford Armstrong III is suing the city, alleging he was wrongfully fired and that the municipality violated city code and committed a breach of contract.
