Judy Eledge saw the writing on the wall with the Anchorage Assembly and evidently didn’t want to put herself and her family through the liberal Assembly meat grinder. She knew she would not be confirmed by the oppositional majority that has been blocking Mayor Dave Bronson on his cabinet choices. And so she resigned on Friday.
Eledge, who was appointed after the Assembly denied Bronson his first pick for the job, former school principal Sami Graham. The Assembly didn’t like Graham because she lacks master’s degree in library science. Eledge also doesn’t have that particular degree. Both have been lifelong educators, however, with decades of teaching or administering schools in Alaska.
The Alaska Library Association had opposed both nominees because of the degree that the protectionist group feels is essential to managing a library.
Eledge has been asked to remain as deputy library director, a position that does not require confirmation. The mayor’s office will conduct a search for a new library director.
Graham, meanwhile, is serving as Bronson’s chief of staff.
The Assembly majority of nine has given the mayor’s office a clear indication that it will buck his appointments and has already denied confirmation to two top-level nominees in the city — Jim Winegarner for Real Estate, and Graham for Libraries. Dave Morgan for Health resigned before the Assembly brought his name forward for a vote, when he realized he didn’t have the votes to be confirmed.
