The Anchorage Assembly will take up a recommendation on Monday on a monetary award to a legal firm to fight a lawsuit filed by former City Manager Amy Demboski against Mayor Dave Bronson and his administration for wrongful termination.
The award is being recommended to be made in the amount of $250,000 to Sedor, Wendlandt, Evans and Filipi. The meeting on the 18th is a special meeting of the Assembly and only this item is listed on the agenda, so far.
Demboski sued earlier, saying her firing by the mayor was an act of gender discrimination, defamation, and retaliation for her raising concerns about some of the actions of the Bronson Administration.
Demboski has accused the mayor of unethical and illegal actions and says she is a whistleblower. In a letter from her attorney Scott Kendall, she is claiming repetitional and financial damage.
Earlier this year, the Assembly rejected a proposed $550,000 settlement, which would have avoided court proceedings. Demboski earned over $219,000 a year as municipal manager.
“This letter is an attempt to educate you regarding the unfortunate, and potentially grave, repercussions of your actions and to provide an opportunity to resolve this matter short of extensive discovery and costly litigation,” the Jan. 11 letter written by her lawyer said.
But the attempt to resolve it without going to court was rejected by the hostile Assembly, which plans to use the taxpayer funded litigation as a form of campaign drama against Bronson as he runs for reelection, keeping him in the public eye in an unfavorable light. The majority of the Assembly is in the “anyone but Bronson” camp for the election that begins in March and ends in April or later, depending on whether there is a runoff.
