Anchorage Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel, whose day job is as the executive director of the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness, said that she will resign from the nonprofit later this year.
During her dual roles, the Anchorage Assembly has awarded millions of dollars to the agency, which is the coordinating group for many of the various charities who serve people living without secure shelter.
Zaletel, who is vice chair of the Assembly, is also leaving her position on the Assembly, as she did not run for reelection in April.
Last week, Must Read Alaska published the 2023 audit of her homelessness coalition, which revealed many flaws in financial management of the organization, some of which were serious.
Zaletel is also the subject of a lawsuit alleging wrongful termination by a former employee, who said the workplace environment was toxic and the organization was financially mismanaged.
Zaletel has been a polarizing figure in local politics, particularly because of her dual roles as appropriator and the head of a nonprofit that gets millions of taxpayer dollars and appears to have little to show for itself.
In fact, during her tenure, there has been a 54% increase in the homeless population of Anchorage, far from the organization’s goal of homelessness being “rare, brief, and one-time.”
Zaletel is also known for never putting her hand on her heart or saying the Pledge of Allegiance at the beginning of Assembly meetings. She has sponsored an ordinance, however, mandating that the woke “land acknowledgement” statement be posted prominently on the wall wherever the Assembly meets.
