Breaking: Fairbanks assemblyman resigns after Assembly majority censures another member’s free speech

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Brett Rotermund

Brett Rotermund, serving on the Fairbanks North Star Borough Assembly, has resigned his seat in protest of the Assembly censuring Assemblywoman Barbara Haney, a fellow conservative, over having expressed her opinion.

Haney wrote an opinion column in the Fairbanks New Miner, and the editors added to the end of it that she serves on the Assembly. The reference had not been included by Haney, but a radical in the Fairbanks community lodged an ethics complaint about the reference, and during Thursday’s meeting, the Assembly majority censured Haney and fined her $1.

Rotermund resigned because he believes the Assembly has violated the Constitution. The leftists on the Assembly were saying that Assembly members have no right to any public communication without a disclaimer — email, campaign literature, op-eds included, but not, apparently, verbal communication, only written. Borough code they cited her under says “all communication,” which implies op-eds have to have a “paid for” disclaimer on them.

The presiding officer of the Assembly, Savannah Fletcher, is running for state Senate. She is a specialist in using law fare to get her way and suppress the rights of others and is associated with the Northern Justice Project. As an attorney, she has gone after Rep. David Eastman, Rep. Kevin McCabe, Sen. Lora Reinbold, the Mat-Su School District, and others.

43 COMMENTS

  1. Sure fortunate and happily residing in Southern Southeast. You Northern folk are a confusing bunch!
    A.m.Johnson-Ketchikan

  2. I wish elected Republicans fought for us half as hard as Savannah Fletcher fights for her child mutilating pedosexual marxist fanbase.

    • How do you know they don’t? The liars at ADN never report what conservatives do unless they make a spectacle out of it such as Allards bill on girls in sports. The House torpedoed defined benefits this year. They also stopped Armstrongs LGBTQ bill last year. It takes discussing things with your senator or rep to find that stuff out because the lame-ass (non) reporting from Juneau-land. The increased BSA bill was so misreported that it was bound to fail. In that bill, before the Senate got a hold of it, were things conservatives wanted once they were removed, the House had to rest . Then the Republicans, or most of them, upheld the veto.

  3. Democrats, and their native-blood communists, don’t believe in any free speech that is antithetical to their own beliefs and ideological viewpoints.
    Brett Rotermund is a hero for standing up to these totalitarian thugs.

    • Dermutt–how is resigning his seat “standing up to totalitarian thugs?” Now he has no voice at all. The Assembly, now with 7 progressives and only one conservative–will decide on Rotermund’s replacement.

      • Now they can appoint whoevernthey want, ensuring that this election season is liberal majority again. Stupid move imho.

    • I agree with SA, how is resigning standing up to the thugs? Unless of course he intends to run against her for the Senate seat. These people must be exposed to Alaskans for what they are, communists. Then citizens can take action and flush them out. It will take people of integrity and courage to get rid of these evil people. They are organized and use criminal tactics to block any attempt to protect your rights. It’s about power and control. They will not be satisfied until the Constitution is in a shredder. We are in a winner take all fight for freedom or slavery. The liberals in Alaska need to wake up and understand they are just useful idiots in a larger game and will be cast aside once they attain their goals. Just like Joe Biden was forced to step down, Kamala will be next to step down because they do not want her in there. You are fighting a communist insurrection of the USA. We are quickly approaching the pinnacle of their operation and they will give the green light to allowing their attack dogs that came across the border to foster violence in our cities. If you are not prepared and, on your knees praying, you should be. God is listening and wants to fix this, but we need to be a repentant nation. We became too prideful choosing our own path and not learning from He who created the world. He is the source of wisdom and goodness. We are either “One nation under God” or we are Babylon. Get ready, God will continue the shaking until we listen, only then will our nation be healed and restored. Use the authority of God’s Word to call down the schemes of Satan. WAKE UP AMERICA!

      • “Unless of course he intends to run against her for the Senate seat.” State offices have an absolute filing deadline of June 1. Today is July 29, so that date has obviously passed. Furthermore, certain voter registration information is public and easily accessed from the Division of Elections website. Brett Rotermund lives in District 34, which is not in that Senate district. In other words, tell us you don’t know what you’re talking about without telling us you don’t know what you’re talking about.

    • Yes, but if you are a left-wing communist, Trump-hating son of a b- like me, every now and then we have to feign an attaboy for the conservatives. And that way the Newsminer can sell a few more Sunday papers to Trump supporters. I know my business, just like my twin did. Time is short. And if I want to get into those pearly gates, I have to at least appear to be a little bit unbiased. I just hope the big guy has premium scotch beyond those gates. I don’t function well without it. Hell, I don’t function at all.

        • ……..but til then……scotch is on sale at the local package store, Dermutt. Drink yourself sillier. Your silliest writing comes out of a bottle.

  4. It’s great to see “defenders of democracy” censoring others and shutting down free speech in the name of (let me check my notes)… democracy. Wonder if the Fairtown assembly is going to the same freedom of speech seminars as is the Anchorage assembly.

  5. What, exactly, does he hope will come of his resignation? It will not change anything and may well cost Fairbanks a conservative voice.

    Unless he’d just had enough there were other ways to protest.

    Additionally, it’s not uncommon for papers running op eds from people of community stature to include said person’s position in that community. News-Miner isn’t out of bounds here.

    • Avenger: you are quite right on both points. Haney crossed the line in her letter to the editor on 2-20-24 when she very clearly spoke as a member of the Assembly, and not as a “private citizen.” In that letter, Haney criticized the FNSB school board and a fellow Assembly member, and she wrote as an Assembly member. All she had to do was to follow Borough code–which she swore to follow and to uphold when she was sworn in–and state that she was speaking as a private citizen. Since the ethics complaint, she has done so when she wrote to the editor.

      • When you are sworn in to the assembly your oath is to the Alaska Constitution. In that constitution is the recognition that we are born with a right to free speech.

        “Every person may freely speak, write, and publish on all subjects…” Art 1, Sec 5.

        This is not hard. The constitution trumps any half baked rule limiting free speech some second class borough comes up with. The entire assembly that attacked free speech is wrong, and partisan.

        The Fairbanks North Star Borough assembly has never looked more foolish, and stupid than they do right now.

  6. Savannah Fletcher is going to get tossed out of politics by Mike Cronk, a patriot and supporter of the First Amendment.

    • People like her rarely go away. They are like a bad STD which keeps returning.

      The way to get rid of her is to find out who keeps bankrolling her and convince them to cut her off.

      • Fletcher. Castro’s third cousin twice removed. Communism is alive and well in Fairbanks. Go, Mike Cronk.

  7. At first blush, it seems he should stick around and represent the constituents who voted him into office. 🤔

  8. Liberals don’t like the constitution. Going after an elected official for engaging in free speech is beyond the pale. The Assembly needs to be sued for its unconstitutional action.

    Brett should also reconsider resigning. Walking away from the voters who put him there is not acceptable. I understand his anger, but you gotta fight- like Trump declared after being winged by a bullet.

  9. Take them to court! The only thing these leftist lawyers understand is when they get their butts handed to them in their own profession. FBX better start paying attention to who you let run your borough. Could be why it’s not a prosperous place to live!

  10. DNM may not be out of bounds unless they don’t make a habit of stating a person’s position except if they are conservative elected ifficials.

  11. Mr. Rotermund is upset with fellow members of the assembly so he quits? He just reinforced their behavior and played right into their hand. Way to take a stand Mr. Rotermund, very brave of you.

    • It seems like there is a missing piece here. It comes off more as tantrum than principled opposition.

  12. Brett cuts and runs, leaves constituents in the lurch, just because he believes the Assembly violated the Constitution?
    .
    Says a lot about the boy, none of it good.

  13. Sadly the use of a word salad to obscure the true purpose and meaning of a “disclaimer “ is precisely executed by the left. Hiding the plethora of sore-oh’s back initiatives. Hoodwinking the easily led.
    Two can do play that game.
    However the corrupt media will spin the narrative to cater to the lemmings that never read past a headline.

  14. It seems that all is not well regarding the Fairbanks Northstar Borough Assembly. Assemblywoman Barbara Haney has every right to express her opinion in print or verbally as long as she does not proclaim that she is speaking on behalf of the Assembly. Apparently she did not do that. The fact that the Fairbanks New Minor added that Ms Haney was a member of the Assembly is incidental. The crux of this matter is that the President of the Assembly was probably not happy with the content of the piece by Ms Haney. Too much common sense conservatism for Ms Fletcher to handle no doubt. So the Assembly majority, led by President Fletcher, voted to censure Ms Haney. Clearly this is a totally improper action by the Assembly. As a result of all this, voters should carefully consider what kind of senator Ms Fletcher would make in Alaska’s Senate. Petulant behavior is not a virtue.

    Mr. Rotermund’s resignation was no doubt meant to express outrage for the treatment of Ms Haney. Instead, it only serves to reduce badly needed conservative voices in the Assembly. His constituents deserve better. As for Ms Haney, wear your ‘censure’ as a badge of honor!

    • Wayne: A citizen filed an ethics complaint about Haney’s 2-20-24 letter. The Borough Assembly is obligated by statute to investigate ethics complaints. The Borough attorney investigated and wrote a letter of law and facts, which was then reviewed by the ethics committee. The original complaint was not brought by Fletcher; it was brought by a citizen.

      • I’m curious if there is a relationship between said citizen and Fletcher. Seems awfully convenient.

  15. Barbara Haney composed an opinion article from her private email and signed it “Barbara Haney, North Pole, Alaska”. This was an opinion article submitted by a private citizen to be published in an opinion column in the opinion section of the local newspaper. The actions of the Leftist FNSB Assembly are assault on her First Amendment right to Free Speech. Hopefully an ethics complaint is filed against FNSB Presiding Officer Savannah Fletcher for her embarrassing act of leading an Anti-Sematic Protest during a local ceremony honoring Noel Wein and his historical flight to Fairbanks. Actions speak louder than words.

  16. Fletcher don’t care about the constitution. This is just another attempt by her to confuse, obfuscate, and cause issues for a conservative. Send her back to where she came from. Northern (in)justice project marxist. VOTE CRONK!

  17. My take. Brett Rotermund owns a successful small business. He appears to be in his mid-50s and was elected to office for the first time less than two years ago. He’s obviously not pursuing a career politician track leading to a comfy PERS retirement package. He had enough allies in his first year in office. Since October of last year, not only has that not been the case, it could be said that he’s up against an ugly mob. Could it be that he figured the ugly mob would find a way to target him next, potentially jeopardizing his livelihood? I would resign if I found myself in such a situation.

    Also, I quit submitting letters to the editor to the Daily News-Menace after a “how the sausage is made” look into how they manipulate what you have to say. Amazing how people on this site are so dismissive of the role of newspapers in this day and age on one hand, while on the other hand giving the FDNM a pass on any culpability for anything they may have done to make this situation happen or making it worse.

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