Past appointment debates have taught lessons worth studying

MAT-SU -- Planning Commission appointments and the actions of planning commissioners have been increasingly a topic of discussion among assembly members recently.

Former Planning Commissioner Lee Sharp drew Assembly attention after asking questions about a matter relating to North Star Speedway, which was involved in litigation against the borough in Alaska Superior Court, in a commission meeting. Sharp, previous to the meeting, had requested information about code compliance enforcement orders against the speedway that had not yet been resolved, and Code Compliance Officer Ken Hudson, at a March 3, 2003, meeting, was cautioned by Elizabeth Friedman, an assistant borough attorney, not to talk about pending litigation.

Six borough residents, displeased with Sharp's stance on zoning and land use issues, brought the matter to the attention of the borough assembly at its March 4, 2003, meeting, claiming Sharp "drilled" Hudson about the Speedway. The assembly discussed the matter and, after three assembly members walked out to avoid voting on the matter until transcripts of the meeting could be heard, later voted on whether to remove Sharp from the commission, but the motion did not have the required five votes needed to pass.

Planning Commissioner Chris Rose also drew fire from the assembly when his name was submitted for reappointment to the commission in February. Several assembly members objected, stating Rose was too closely tied to the dispute over whether and how coal-bed methane should be drilled in the Mat-Su. Rose has taken part in meetings related to coal-bed methane drilling in the Mat-Su since the matter became a topic of widespread concern last fall. Rose retained the seat when Anderson cast a tie-breaking vote in favor of his reappointment.

The matter of whether a mayor has the power to stack a board or commission with members who share his or her political views is not new to the assembly. In a process that extended through several months of meetings in 1996 and 1997, then-Mat-Su Borough Mayor Barbara Lacher first supported, then revoked her support for applicant Harold Heinze to fill a seat on the planning commission.

Heinze, the former president of Arco Alaska, is currently the chief executive officer of the Alaska Natural Gas Development Authority. According to minutes from those meetings, Heinze's name was placed under "recommendations" at a Dec. 17, 1996 meeting, then later removed at a Feb. 4, 1997 meeting. Then-assembly member Doyle Holmes asked why Heinze's name was removed, and Lacher said she no longer supported Heinze's appointment to the commission and planned to hold his recommendation in abeyance until additional applicants came forward. Holmes made a motion to confirm Heinze, which Lacher attempted to rule out of order because Heinze's name was not under "confirmations." That ruling was challenged and overturned by assembly members. The vote to confirm Heinze passed and, after the meeting, two things happened -- a notice of reconsideration was filed and Lacher vetoed the motion.

Between the Feb. 4 and Feb. 18 1997 meetings, an attorney's opinion was issued that, according to meeting minutes, stated the mayoral veto took precedence over a motion by the assembly to reconsider the matter. When Holmes tried to act on the motion to reconsider the confirmation, Lacher, citing the attorney's opinion, ruled his motion out of order. At the next meeting, on March 4, 1997, Holmes again moved to override the veto and confirm Heinze, but that motion failed and Heinze was not confirmed.

In 1999, mayoral appointments once again became a matter of conflict on the assembly when then-mayor Darcie Salmon sought to appoint two members to the planning commission. Kevin Sorenson and Kevin Baker, both real estate agents at the time, were placed on the agenda for confirmation at a Dec. 7, 1999, assembly meeting. Then-assembly member Sara Jansen objected to Sorenson's nomination, stating that although other assembly members had, she had not had an opportunity to recommend anyone to fill the seat that represented her assembly district on the commission. Other assembly members objected to Baker's appointment, citing his involvement in high-profile real-estate deals as a detriment.

Two things came from the 1997 and 1999 debates over assembly appointments. After the assembly discussion relating to Heinze's recommendation and Lacher's subsequent removal of support for his appointment, the assembly clarified the process for confirmations. A name can be put forward under "recommendations," where it can stay while the mayor researches the person or discusses the appointment with community council or community members. Once the name is moved under "confirmations," it falls to the assembly to confirm or reject the applicant.

In 1999, Salmon discussed with the assembly and borough attorney the assembly's role in confirmations. Salmon said he understood the body's role to be simply to confirm, or seat, the people the mayor puts forward for confirmation. That, according to then-borough attorney Michael Gatti, is not the case. Gatti told Salmon the assembly had the choice of confirming or rejecting the confirmation of the people put forward by the mayor.

And the assembly may learn something from this recent rhubarb, but that new clarification may be simply that the mayor alone holds the power to put names forward for confirmation.

"I have the power to appoint and they have the power to confirm," Anderson said Friday. "My job is to bring the best name forward, and I've done that twice now. There's not much more I can do."

Anderson said he plans to leave Masteller's name on the list to be confirmed at the next assembly meeting. Mat-Su Borough Clerk Sandy Dillon said a name may remain under "confirmations" as long as the mayor sees fit to keep it there.