A group looking to recall Anchorage Assembly Chair Felix Rivera is now gathering signatures to remove him from office.
Members of Reclaim Midtown will be at the Anchorage Carrs store on Abbot each day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. until Nov. 24. They will also be stationed at Duanne’s Antique Shop (1233 E 76th Ave.) from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily, and will be outside the Anchorage REI store on Nov. 14. Additionally, the group will gather signatures during Anchorage Assembly meetings outside the Loussac Library.
Rivera has been at the center of numerous controversies over the past year.
The recall petitioners claim Rivera violated former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s emergency order prohibiting gatherings of 15 people or more by attending Anchorage Assembly meetings. The petition also cites Rivera for failing to “perform prescribed duties as chair of the Assembly” by allowing Assembly meetings to continue in violation of the law.
“Of all citizens in Anchorage the chair of the Anchorage Assembly should have been scrupulous in obeying the gathering limitations…” the petition states. “His failure to do so needlessly endangered the lives of Anchorage citizens, encouraged the spread of COVID 19 throughout the community, and merits recall from office.”
Rivera has been at the center of numerous controversies over the past year including agreeing to ban the public from participating at Anchorage Assembly meetings and voting to use federal coronavirus relief funds to buy city properties for homeless projects.
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Under his term as chair, Assembly meetings have been marked by large peaceful protests, hundreds of public testimonies against Assembly actions and derogatory comments about the public from Assembly members during meetings. Rivera also sponsored a ban which now prohibits Anchorage counselors from assisting youth with unwanted same-sex attraction.
If the petition gatherers compile the necessary names, the petition will go back to the Anchorage clerk for certification, and then onto the ballot for voters to decide Rivera’s fate.
Businesses interested in hosting signature gathering events can email akliberationco@gmail.com for more information.
