Anchorage Assembly Members Donald Handeland and Jared Goecker are calling on fellow Assembly Member George Martinez to resign from the Assembly because he lied under oath and has caused a fundamental loss of public trust.
“We need to hold elected officials to a high standard,” Handeland said. “When an elected official is found to have illegally used campaign funds for personal benefit and then provides testimony that a commission finds lacks credibility, it raises serious questions about fitness for office.”
Martinez is part of the hard-left supermajority on the Anchorage Assembly. In April, secured re-election to continue representing East Anchorage’s District 5.
On June 11, the Alaska Public Offices Commission ruled that Martinez violated state campaign disclosure laws during his 2026 re-election campaign by charging the campaign for personal travel benefits.
The Commission found that Martinez improperly used campaign funds for a $1,255.70 roundtrip flight on Alaska Airlines from Anchorage to Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on December 30–31, 2025, and a $1,000 carbon credit payment for sustainable aviation fuel credits. The total challenged amount was $2,255.70.
The Commission determined the expenditures did not reasonably relate to campaign activities and instead provided personal benefit through Atmos airline reward points and elite status upgrades.
While Martinez claimed the long flight was used for campaign strategy work, the Commission found his testimony evasive and not credible. He refused to answer repeated questions about reward points earned, declined to provide his mileage account statement, appeared only by phone (not video), and submitted limited, redacted documents.
Ultimately, the Commission chose to impose the maximum penalty of $3,050 plus full repayment of $2,255.70, for a total of $5,305.70.
“The issue here is accountability. Every candidate and every public official is expected to follow the same rules,” Handeland said. “If we expect the public to have confidence in government, we must be willing to hold ourselves accountable when those standards are violated.”
Assembly Member Jared Goecker noted that the case comes at a time when public confidence in institutions is already under strain.
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
“Public trust in our institutions is already fragile,” he said. “The public has a right to expect honesty from those who serve them. APOC compliance can be complicated at times, but this wasn’t an accidental slip-up in a reporting timeline. This was an intentional misuse of campaign funds and then a deliberate attempt to cover it up.”
Goecker said the issue is about integrity.
“Campaign funds are entrusted to candidates for campaign purposes, not personal benefit,” he added. “And when questions are raised, the public deserves truthful answers, not evasions.”
If Martinez does not resign, Members Handeland and Goecker say they will initiate proceedings under Anchorage code which would provide Martinez with an independent hearing and full due process but could ultimately result in his removal from office.
TAKING ACTION
— Members of the public can share their views on the matter with Assembly members by emailing assembly@anchorageak.gov.
