Former member of Palmer City Council earns a seat again

PALMER — A familiar face is returning to the Palmer City Council.

Linda Combs, who served on the council from 2011-2017 and as Palmer Deputy Mayor in 2017, scored another seat during the Palmer City Council meeting Tuesday evening. Combs, who fills the position vacated by Brad Hanson, won by a 4-2 vote over Kip Bailey, another candidate.

Both candidates were asked a set of four identical questions by the council. Questions were raised as the motion was made to go into the committee on the whole as to any legality issues with nepotism. Combs’ nephew Dave is married to current City Councilwoman Sabrena Combs.

Sabrena Combs won her seat in an October election, which also includes Hanson and Linda Combs as incumbent candidates. Sabrena Combs and Brad Hanson earned the two seats up for election.

Earlier this year, Hanson left his seat on the council after he accepted the Community Director position with the city of Palmer.

The Council heard inquiries from seven individuals, but only two chose to apply.

In addition to her past work on the council, Linda Combs also lists a full column of service within the community of Palmer on her resume submitted to the council.

Bailey teaches Language Arts at Mirror Lake Middle School and coaches wrestling in Chugiak and in the Valley. He is also active as a scout troop leader and with the Palmer Moose Nordic Booster Club.

Argument over the possibility of two family members on the board came to City Attorney Michael Gatti. City Clerk Norma Alley had certified that under the city of Palmer charter and code there was nothing prohibiting family members from serving on the same board. Mayor Edna DeVries had served with her son on a city council in the past. Best claimed that legal opinion from Gatti was not necessary as the clerk had already certified that having two members of the same family was possible. Councilman Pete LaFrance questioned Gatti due to trainings at the Alaska Municipal League earlier this year and Sabrena Combs also wanted legal opinion.

Sabrena Combs recalled that she had interest in applying for the Board of Economic Development four years ago but was told not to due to the perception of family members working together. If Sabrena Combs had won and come forward to the Council, Linda Combs would have had to recuse herself from the vote due to nepotism perceptions.

“It’s allowed. It’s something we need to think about as far as perception,” said Sabrena Combs.

Gatti stated that he had worked with clients, primarily in rural Alaska, where family members serve on the Council together, even husband and wife duos.

“Under the Palmer charter and code there's really no prohibition with respect to relatives serving on the city Council. There’s no one that’s in question if they have to supervise one another and they’re both subject to same open meetings act requirements,” said Gatti.

Councilman David Fuller claimed that there was no issue. Mayor DeVries recalled that Fuller’s wife Andrea resigned from a board when David was elected.

“I think we’re kind of beating a dead horse here and we’re picking and choosing our fights. A year ago no one had a problem with this...Nobody came from the community and complained that there were two Combs’ running,” said Fuller.

Sabrena Combs made her claim that it was certainly an issue on the minds of voters.

“I want to clarify as a person that knocked on over 1,000 doors during my campaign, I definitely heard a lot about it,” said Sabrena Combs.

The applicants were asked to share a little about themselves, what they feel is the most critical issue, what they think the most positive attribute is, and to assess a recent decision made by the council as the identical questions posed to each candidate. Both Bailey and Linda Combs answers were nearly identical.

Bailey stated that he wanted to the give back to the community that he and his family are so active in, while Linda Combs argued that she had a great viewpoint of the community. Bailey felt the most critical issue was continuing to maintain infrastructure amidst uncertain economic times, which Combs echoed. Their answers were slightly different on what they think the most positive attribute of the city was, but both praised the popularity of downtown events as attractive to residents outside Palmer and tourists. The critical difference between the two candidates was their answer to the fourth question. Bailey, who answered his set of questions first, did not know how to respond to the fourth question: “Share with us your assessment of any recent decision of the City Council.” Combs stated that she thought the plastic bag ordinance was long overdue.

The council had a bare agenda for the night, only going over reports from the cities manager, mayor, attorney, and clerk as are scheduled for every meeting, as well as an opportunity for the public to speak on any topic.