Anchorage Municipal Attorney Anne Helzer penned a letter to the Assembly, in which she said she may have to rescind her “open door” policy with the Assembly after a meeting on April 4 in which a member of the Assembly behaved unprofessionally.
The letter said it was about “Expectation of Respectful Behavior Toward Municipal Employees by the Assembly and Outside Counsel.”
“This letter concerns behavior by an Assembly Member and outside legal counsel to the Assembly that occurred in the Municipal Attorney’s Office on Thursday, April 4, 2024. I am writing to let you know the effect of this inappropriate and unprofessional behavior in our office, how similar disrespectful and unsafe behavior affects our Assistant Municipal Attorneys and our staff employees, and how it has diminished trust in the Assembly and Municipal government,” the city attorney wrote.
“During that meeting, disrespectful and unprofessional behavior was displayed within the Municipal Attorney’s Office. This behavior included name calling, grimacing, yelling through the halls of the Municipal Attomey’s Office, and baseless personal attacks on an Assistant Municipal Attorney and on the department overall. This behavior was an apparent attempt to coerce an Assistant Municipal Attorney to comply with demands attempting to define the parameters of the visit. These tactics failed to intimidate the Assistant Municipal Attorney when she held firm to her ethical and professional duties in the face of this intimidation,” the letter said.
“On April 4, the Assembly provided our department with four hours notice that Assembly leadership, Assembly outside counsel, and Assembly counsel would arrive at 1:00 pm the same day to view confidential legal documents in our conference room. We accommodated this late-noticed demand for departmental time and resources and reprioritized other obligations. However, the conduct during that meeting lacked professional decorum, displayed significant disrespect, and created an environment that caused a Municipal employee to feel intimidated, belittled, and shaken in the workplace. Due to this behavior, I must reconsider my ‘open invitation’ to Assembly Leadership and their outside counsel to visit the Municipal Attorney’s office or meet with staff.”
“The conduct I witnessed yesterday was unprecedented, and I cannot allow it to happen again,” Helzer wrote.
“Accordingly, I am considering that future visits from Assembly leadership and their outside counsel take place only afier the Department of Law has been provided with adequate notice. An assigned Assistant Municipal Attorney will be present and will remain for all visits to this office. If Assistant Municipal Attorneys are invited by Assembly members or their counsel for meetings occurring outside of the Municipal Attorney’s office, Assistant Municipal Attorneys may bring additional members of the Municipal Attomey’s Office with them if they elect to do so.”
