A group of Anchorage Assembly members is calling for censuring a fellow member over his alleged misuse of campaign funds and city resources, while another group wants an investigation into whether he should be removed from the body.
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That’s after the Alaska Public Offices Commission fined East Anchorage Assembly member George Martinez more than $5,000 in June, ruling that his use of campaign money to pay for a flight to Florida in December was illegal.
Martinez told the commission he used the flight time to conduct a campaign strategy meeting. Commissioners ruled the flight was an improper use of campaign funds. They also reported that Martinez had refused to answer direct questions about whether he’d earned personal airline membership points from the flight.
South Anchorage Assembly member Keith McCormick is one of three sponsors of an ordinance that would censure Martinez for the violations. The censure, co-sponsored by Midtown Assembly member Erin Baldwin Day and North Anchorage’s Sydney Scout, would be a formal expression of disapproval by the Assembly.
“If we allow unruly conduct to go on, or we are silent in it, that is this body giving its tacit consent,” McCormick said during an Assembly meeting on July 7.
Other Assembly members are sponsoring a resolution calling for an investigation into Martinez’s use of city money as an Assembly member to see if his removal from the body is warranted.
After the APOC ruling, Eagle River Assembly members Jared Goecker and Donald Handeland reviewed some of Martinez’s travel records and said some travel was not related to city business. They allege Martinez charged the city per diem costs for days he was not acting as an Assembly member.
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“All of his travel needs to be investigated,” Goecker said. “We need to give the municipal attorney’s office subpoena power so they can get whatever documents they need to get. We need to get to the bottom of this and figure out what exactly is going on, because this looks really really bad.”
Martinez did not respond to a request for comment.
Goecker and Handeland had initially proposed a resolution to start the process to remove Martinez. But after consulting with city attorneys, Goecker said, they’re pushing an alternate resolution that would have the municipal attorney’s office conduct an investigation.
Though the ruling from APOC was what caused the Assembly members’ initial scrutiny of Martinez’s travel, Goecker said the investigation would be limited to actions taken by Martinez as an Assembly member and would not be related to campaign spending.
South Anchorage Assembly member Zac Johnson joined Handeland and Goecker in cosponsoring the alternate resolution.
In the more than 30 years since Assembly members have had the power to remove another member, it’s never been done.
Assembly members will take up both resolutions during their next meeting on Tuesday.
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