A proposal to move municipal elections from April to November is stirring up controversy within the Anchorage Assembly.
The city’s Ethics Committee issued an opinion Monday finding the assembly had a conflict of interest if they voted on the matter. Six out of 11 assembly seats are up for election this April. Moving the election to November, the committee found, would essentially extend the terms of the office holders for six months, including Assemblyman Chris Birch.
Birch is sponsoring the ordinance, as well as an amendment to remove the ethics commission from the issue.
The amendment “breaks away the date change for the municipal elections, to be following an ethics code change, to update our ethics code in a manner to allow all 11 assembly members to be considered by the body,” said Birch.
Birch says the municipality’s ethics code has been changed before, back in 2006. He claims moving the election to November would boost turnout.
"I don't think the community should go through one more election cycle, with the dismal 20 percent election turnout that was realized in 2013."
Opponents of Birch’s ordinance, such as Assemblyman Dick Traini, say municipal and school board candidates would be drowned out by statewide and federal candidates if both elections were consolidated.
“We need to not do is tell the ethics board you can't even tell us it's ethical or not, we're going to take it away from you,” said Traini. “It's bad legislation.”
The measure is scheduled for a public hearing at the Anchorage Assembly meeting January 14.