(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - The Ketchikan Borough Assembly will hold a regular meeting on Tuesday, September 8, 2020. Typically the Assembly meets on Mondays; however, this coming Monday is the Labor Day holiday with many offices closed. The public meeting will begin on Tuesday at 5:30 PM and held in the Borough Assembly Chambers, White Cliff building.

Among the items on the agenda, under New Business is a motion sponsored by Assembly Member A.J. Pierce to override Ketchikan Borough Mayor Dial's recent veto of Resolution 2866 which was adopted by the Assembly on August 17th by a 6-1 vote.

The resolution passed by the Assembly and vetoed by the Mayor sought legislative adoption of changes to the Alaska Human Rights Law designed to bring Alaska into greater conformity with articulated Supreme Court principles. On August 21, 2020, Assembly Member submitted a written request to place a motion to override Mayor Dial's veto on the upcoming regular Assembly meeting's agenda scheduled for September 8, 2020.

Mayor Dial said at the August 17th meeting to the Assembly, “If you are inclined to bring this back, I would encourage you to consider a way to address your concerns with a new resolution that does not benefit one group at the expense of another.  Consider a resolution that encourages and supports peace and harmony in our community through mutual respect and not forced governmental intervention.”

In a written comment emailed to SitNews, Mayor Dial wrote when he first heard that a few Assembly members were forwarding what they labeled as an “Anti-Discrimination” ordinance… he was disappointed.  "Not disappointed because of the intent, but of what would follow.  I need to make this one thing very clear… passage of this ordinance does not change anything for the groups the sponsors seek to protect…nothing. It is merely a request for the State legislature to act."

The Mayor stated in his email, "I vetoed this resolution due to a moral opposition of creating new discrimination in Ketchikan against people of faith and to give the Assembly time to put forward a resolution that does not pit one group against another and to present a document that could encourage “immediate” change, harmony and respect in our community…it can be done.  

Mayor Dial wrote, "I will not apologize for “not” supporting an attempt to create new discrimination on our island when we could look for other ways to promote mutual respect and peace in our community, at a time when it is needed most."  

According to the Clerk's Office, the written request to override the mayor's veto of Resolution 2866 was submitted in accordance with KGBC 2.15.030(a) and (b). In her sponsor's statement Pierce wrote, "The proposed changes to A.S. 18.80 would serve to direct statewide policy without the need for likely litigation at the state and municipal level advancing the broad application of this principle. In sum, the Supreme Court has stated that while “religious and philosophical objections are protected, it is a general rule that such objections do not allow business owners and other actors in the economy and in society to deny protected persons equal access to goods and services under a neutral and generally applicable public accommodations law.”"

As stated at the regular Assembly meeting August 17th, Mayor Dial said he vetoed item 9B, Resolution Supporting Action by the Alaska Legislature to Prohibit Discrimination Based on Sexual Orientation or Gender Identity or Expression, for the following reasons:

The requested action would be a violation of the Constitutional rights of citizens in the Borough, specifically, Amendment I of the Bill of Rights, prohibiting the Government from interfering with the free exercise of religion.

That the requested action would lead to Christian persecution in our community by empowering individuals to use the law to force Christian owned businesses, to compromise their religious beliefs or face lawsuits and civil penalties, designed to force their compliance or shut them down.

And finally, that the offense of a group not being able to buy a product or service in a specific location...when there are likely other locations to buy that product or service... is not of a greater Governmental concern, than of the offense and violation of Constitutional rights that would be directed specifically against the Christian members of this community.

Pierce wrote in her sponsor's statment to Override Mayor Dial’s Veto of Resolution 2866, "More importantly, the veto is at odds with a broad desire within the Ketchikan community to see the law of Alaska brought into conformity with the state of the law as reflected in recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions. Ketchikan is a community that enjoys a rich diversity of ethnicity, political viewpoint, religious belief, and lifestyle. As a community that enjoys such diversity, it is important that it also demonstrate a spirit of inclusiveness for all of its citizens, not just those in power or in the majority. To the contrary, it’s arguably more important that our community show, in word and in deed, that all citizens ARE created equal, and endowed by our Creator with inalienable rights to be free from discrimination and exclusion as they enjoy life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness in a measure equal to all citizens."

KGBC 2.05.060(b) clarifies the Assembly may override a mayoral veto by vote of two-thirds of the authorized membership of the assembly within 21 days following exercise of the veto, or at the next regular meeting, whichever is later.
 
A vote of 2/3 of the Assembly is equal to five (5) Assembly members. Therefore, this motion to override the veto would need to pass with 5 Assembly members voting in favor of the motion.

If the motion to override the veto passes, Resolution 2866 remains in effect and will be transmitted to the Alaska Legislature. If the motion to override the veto fails, Resolution 2866 remains vetoed and a copy will not be transmitted to the Legislature. 

For more items on the September 8th agenda, click here.

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