Kimberly Waller, the chief equity officer for the Municipality of Anchorage, says that President Donald Trump’s order to end “diversity, equity, inclusion” (discriminatory hiring) practices don’t have the force of law and don’t apply to her.
She’s wrong about the first claim but right about the second one, as long as her salary is not being paid by federal tax dollars.
Executive orders do, indeed, have the force of law for the executive branch of government. Trump’s executive order addressed the preference hiring enacted by President Joe Biden’s administration, which had also been done by executive order. Across all of the federal government, preferences have been giving in hiring people of color and various sexual identities.
Trump put an end to it immediately at the federal level, saying the government must consider only merit, not quotas.
Trump wrote: “The Biden Administration forced illegal and immoral discrimination programs, going by the name ‘diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI), into virtually all aspects of the Federal Government, in areas ranging from airline safety to the military. This was a concerted effort stemming from President Biden’s first day in office, when he issued Executive Order 13985, ‘Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government.'”
Waller, however, disputes Trump’s order and wrote a long diatribe on her personal Facebook page explaining that she’s not going anywhere and she’s talking to city attorneys about protecting her job.
Here’s her message to President Trump follows:
“I am writing this in response to the below Executive Order coming out of Washington this week and in response to the influx of calls to my office and personal phone. Thank you to the many people, organizations and Anchorage residents who have reached out this week as we digest the flurry of EO’s pushed out by the new administration. These orders have dealt a blow to so many communities and people whom I care deeply about, and that hurts. To put it plainly, we are in troubled times but we will hold each other up.
“I hope to give some clarity here. For starters, an Executive Order is not a law. The new administration sent home everyone working on any initiatives around equity and asked for 60-day plans for their termination. The White House has effectively ended affirmative action and at a federal level, incentivized anyone who knows of that work happening at a federal level to report that work, pending some serious repercussions.
“While these orders haven’t yet been put into effect at the state or local level, I was informed by Municipal Attorneys that we need to be prepared. And we are.
“What’s disheartening to me is that this EO states that we are doing things we’re simply not doing. In my office, and at the Municipality of Anchorage, no one is being hired, promoted or given any rewards based upon the color of their skin. Hard work is hard work, no matter what race or gender. We do not discriminate based on race, sex or class. We do not play into identity politics nor do we engage in any form of race baiting or hate. It is painful to have to type this but I can assure, I would never spend my time or talents engaging in that sort of bafoonery. It is not who I am, it is not how I was raised and it certainly does not reflect my values.
“What we are doing is connecting with communities and organizations who feel they have no voice in local government. We are assuring that those within our diverse Municipality have language access and are able access the services we offer in their respective languages. We are thoughtfully considering the privilege we hold, as the distributor of enormous resources, when making decisions that affect children, families and marginalized communities.
“We are and will continue to show up and care for those who are experiencing hate, discrimination, bullying and violence based upon their identities. We are continuing our efforts to educate municipal workers on tribes and tribal relationships, which are extremely vital. We are working with APD to not only make sure they receive what they need to do the tough work, but to make sure our immigrant and refugee communities feel safe. And we are doing, so much more.
“My concern is that those who follow the president believe what he says – because he says so, they will believe that these efforts are illegal, divisive and hateful. That people like myself and offices like mine are pushing people out and being discriminatory. We know that perception is reality. Affirmative Action and the laws that came to be were put in place because real (not imagined – real) discrimination and persecution has happened over time and corrective measures had to be put into place as a means of protection. That is our history and that cannot be erased. We can only work to correct so that all can have a shred of a shot at the American Dream.
“My office will continue to work within the parameters of what has been set before us and we will do so, fearlessly. This is the work that brought forth civil rights, voting rights, rights for women, veterans, the elderly, Title IX, rights for the LGBTQ community, for indigenous people, Americans with disabilities and so much more. For me, there is no greater work.
There is no executive order that will make us stop caring about our neighbors and fellow Americans. There is no law that will stop us from uplifting the voices of the voiceless, to assure that everyone has fairness and dignity in their lifetime. There is no level of threat that will make us so fearful that we will walk away. I’ve assured Municipal lawyers I will not resign. If you know me you know I do not say things I don’t mean.
“Please feel free to reach out to my office should you have any further questions. We will be going through some changes. We have the support of a Mayor, an Assembly (majority) and local government employees who care deeply about the health, personal safety and well being of not only those within the Municipality of Anchorage, but across our nation.”
Waller is mistaken in thinking that DEI has not been improperly used by bureaucrats like herself. In Los Angeles, the deputy fire chief stated that when there is an emergency, people want someone to help them who looks like them.
Waller also blurs the legal lines by using her personal Facebook page as a professional page for her city business, but also mixing in partisan messaging on that same page, such as her picture showing her support for Kamala Harris for president.
At other times, Waller posts personal messages during work hours, sprinkled in with professional messages about official city business.
Waller is a Democrat and there may be special rules for Democrats in the Suzanne LaFrance Administration. If a Republican did such a thing as use work hours for promoting a specific private business, there would likely be a lawsuit over it.
Waller was hired by Mayor LaFrance and started working for the city in September after serving in a similar role at the nonprofit Foraker Group. She was born in Fairbanks, raised in North Pole and Anchorage, graduated from New York University, and worked in broadcasting in Anchorage and New York City.
She has taken a leave-of-absence from the board of directors for Alaska Public Media, where she has been a board member since 2022 and which gives her an in-road to the largest media outlet in the state.
