All four of Mayor Dave Bronson’s nominees to the Anchorage Library Advisory Board were voted down on Tuesday night by the anti-Bronson Assembly, on a vote of 7-4.
Assemblywoman Anna Brawley led the discussion about the mayor’s choices, saying she could not support any of them because she feels they are part of a partisan plot to take away things like Drag Queen Story Hour and other controversial programs and materials at the library.
Brawley said they are part of what she called a battleground that centered on public libraries. She said believes the mayor is trying to ban books by remaking the library advisory board, which has already been stripped of its book-banning powers by the Assembly.
She recommended a no vote on all four because they would join what she sees as ” body to advance a partisan purpose.”
Listen to some of the discussion regarding the library board:
Aimee Sims, Stacey Lange, Windy Perkins, and Donna Moats had been nominated by the mayor, and the Assembly decided to postpone action from the meeting of July 25. Earlier this year, the Assembly rejected all three nominees to the Library Board.
Chief of Staff Mario Bird asked Brawley if the same rubric would be applied to nominees if they shared different views from the ones that were nominated. Assembly Chairman Chris Constant cautioned Bird that his question was not welcome.
The current Assembly has made history by repeatedly not approving the mayor’s appointments, something never before seen in Anchorage.
The nine-member board of the library advisory panel is a battleground for the Assembly, which is playing a waiting game, hoping that a new mayor will be elected in April. Meanwhile, it appears unwilling to approve any of Mayor Bronson’s nominees.
Three more members reach the end of their service in October, leaving just two members — Dennis Dupras and Doug Weimann. If no members are replaced, the expiring members may serve another 120 days, or resign.
- Cristy A. Willer, Chair, Term expires October 14, 2023
- OPEN, Vice Chair, Term expires October 14, 2022
- OPEN, Secretary, Term expires October 14, 2022
- Debra Bronson, Term expires October 14, 2023
- Dennis Dupras, Term expires October 14, 2024
- Alice Qannik Glenn, Term expires October 14, 2023
- Doug Weimann, Term expires October 14, 2024
- Teen Advisory Board Member: Vacant
The August meeting of the Library Advisory Board, which meets on the third Wednesday of every month, had to be canceled due to a lack of a quorum.
