Mayor has a duty to provide more detailed explanation

March 4, 2005

Frontiersman editorial board

A newspaper fulfills an important role within its community by asking the questions of our elected officials that people want answers to. We believe that people who are voted into a public office should be candid with the people who placed trust in them to represent the best interests of this community.

Mat-Su Borough Mayor Tim Anderson, his wife, Mary, and the Wasilla Area Seniors Inc. released a joint statement Saturday attributing the employment separation between the Andersons and WASI as a resignation from the Andersons to "pursue other business interests."

The brief announcement did little to dispel rumors that have circulated throughout the community since the Andersons' departure from WASI more than two months ago.

If anything, the vague separation statement will undoubtedly only spur more rumors and questions surrounding their sudden departure. Mayor Anderson has stated he was aware of the rumors, which he has characterized as politically motivated attacks.

We can't help but wonder why, if the Andersons simply resigned to pursue other business interests, and the separation between the Andersons and WASI was as amicable as has been characterized, it took so long for a statement to be issued by either party, and why inquiries into the reasons for their departure were repeatedly referred to attorneys on both sides.

The first public acknowledgement that the parties were no longer connected was a letter from WASI mailed to businesses that stated, "Tim and Mary Anderson were no longer associated with us." While the letter carried an early December date, the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman received its letter in late January.

While we understand personnel matters are not generally considered a matter of public record, the fact that Tim Anderson also holds a position as an elected official with the Mat-Su Borough demands that he and the Wasilla Seniors organization exhibit a great deal more candor on this issue, especially if the reason for their parting involves anything that could apply to public-trust concerns in Anderson's borough job.

The people who elected Anderson to be their mayor in 2000 trusted that he would represent them in a truthful, ethical way, and deserve more assurance than the hazy non-explanation he allowed to be released.