Anchorage Assembly votes down proposal to investigate fellow member over city-funded travel
Alaska Public Media |
By
Wesley Early
Published August 5, 2026 at 11:16 AM AKDT
Wesley Early
/
Alaska Public Media
The Anchorage Assembly voted Tuesday against opening an investigation into whether a member’s use of city funding for travel was grounds for removal
East Anchorage Assembly member George Martinez’s travel to New York in December 2024 had been under scrutiny. Martinez had already taken heat in recent months over his use of campaign money in December 2025 to fly to Florida for what he described as a campaign planning session
The Alaska Public Offices Commission, the state’s campaign finance watchdog, found that Martinez’s use of campaign funds for the trip was inappropriate and fined Martinez more than $5,000. He was also censured by the Assembly for the December 2025 trip
After the APOC ruling, Eagle River Assembly member Donald Handeland conducted an informal review of Martinez’s prior travel in his capacity as an Assembly member. Handeland claimed he found discrepancies with Martinez’s December 2024 New York trip and submitted a resolution that would’ve directed the city attorney to investigate Martinez, to see if the discrepancies constituted a breach of public trust and whether that made him subject to removal from the Assembly
Because Martinez would have had a conflict of interest voting on the investigation resolution, he sat in the Assembly audience Tuesday as members debated the motion
According to public records Handeland submitted, Martinez traveled to New York in December 2024 in order to meet with the executive director of the city’s Office of Nightlife, also known as its “nightlife mayor,” who works to foster New York’s nightlife economy
Martinez also said he was interested in attending an International Conference on Extreme Tourism Activities, which ended up being held virtually. In his request for travel authorization, Martinez said the conference would provide “insights into the latest trends in extreme tourism, destination tourism, and how creative economies can be leveraged for economic development.”
Handeland, in both the documents he submitted to the Assembly and on social media, claimed Martinez’s main reason for traveling to New York was to attend the conference. Handeland also claimed the conference did not cover the topics Martinez said it would
“He was in New York for that conference in a hotel room,” Handeland said at Tuesday’s Assembly meeting. “Who knows what was happening? And then he submitted a record sitting there saying how great this conference was. He put that on the official record.”
Former Assembly Chair Chris Constant, who approved Martinez’s travel, called Handeland’s motion for an investigation a “political document.” The primary purpose of the trip was to meet with the nightlife mayor, and the conference was secondary, Constant said
“The official travel was all approved in writing,” Constant told Assembly members. “I signed them myself. The allegations are false and do not support removal.”
Martinez’s fellow East Anchorage Assembly member Yarrow Silvers accused Handeland of omitting information about the travel, specifically that the main purpose of the visit was the meeting with the nightlife mayor. She called it an “incomplete and misrepresented record” that damaged Martinez’s reputation
“I believe that if a member, in writing policy, particularly a policy that carries as much weight as the removal of an elected official, were to cherry-pick, misrepresent, or be untruthful about the record which they were in possession of, that this would also constitute a serious breach of public trust, as well as the trust of the people on this body,” Silvers said
Silvers proposed changes to the resolution that also would’ve prompted city attorneys to investigate Handeland’s accusations as well, but she removed her amendment in the middle of Tuesday’s debate
Handeland said his accusation document, which was co-sponsored by Eagle River Assembly member Jared Goecker and South Anchorage member Zac Johnson, received input from city attorneys
“This has all been done through attorneys who have looked at this and say, ‘This doesn’t look good,’” Handeland said. “This is not something that we’re just willy-nilly pushing here.”
But Assembly attorney Matthew Hurt said he only put the accusation document together for Handeland
“The original accusation document was submitted by me based off of evidence that was provided to me,” Hurt said. “To answer your question as to whether or not I conducted an independent investigation or attempted to corroborate any of the evidence, no, I did not.”
After more than 90 minutes of debate, Assembly member Daniel Volland of North Anchorage said he was concerned that the facts of the accusation could have been misrepresented
“I no longer believe the accusation document,” Volland said. “Knowing what I know now, I think it is flawed.”
Assembly members ended up voting 6 to 5 against moving forward with the investigation resolution. Handeland, Goecker and Johnson were joined by Assembly chair Anna Brawley and South Anchorage member Keith McCormick in support of the motion
Reached for comment after the vote, Martinez said the Assembly conducted its process, and added that he was eager to get back to his work as an Assembly member
In response to the increased scrutiny of how city officials approve travel, Brawley asked the city’s audit department to review travel approval procedures and policies between January 2025 and April 2026. She said the findings of the review would be presented at the Assembly’s next Rules Committee meeting, set for Aug. 13
