Day 22: Anchorage HR director Tshibaka is out
Day 22: Anchorage HR director Tshibaka is out
An increasingly toxic, hostile, and demoralizing work environment for thee, not for me.
Good morning, Alaska! It’s Day 22 of the legislative session.
It’s been an eventful week already, so let’s hit the high points: Anchorage Human Resources Director Niki Tshibaka, the husband of Kelly and nexus of much of the controversy within the Bronson administration, has resigned. Interestingly enough, the guy who’s ostensibly in charge of the workplace said he’s out because of an “increasingly toxic, hostile, and demoralizing work environment.” Students weigh in on the state of school funding. The measly forward funding of schools has fallen even more. The daily schedule and an interesting absence.
Happening today: U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan’s legislative address at 11 a.m.
Niki Tshibaka’s out
After being at the heart of several high-profile controversies in Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson’s tenure, Anchorage Human Resources Director Niki Tshibaka has resigned. Just a day before he was set to respond to the Anchorage Assembly’s second subpoena over the suspicious hiring of disgraced Health Director Joe Gerace, Tshibaka said he’s out because he “can no longer continue to serve in what has become an increasingly toxic, hostile, and demoralizing work environment.”
He didn’t elaborate on what exactly makes Anchorage City Hall a toxic, hostile and demoralizing work environment: Whether it’s the shocking allegations raised former city manager Amy Demboski that Bronson not only allowed workplace harassment but personally took part in it, or whether the Anchorage Assembly won’t look the other way on a situation the HR Director would presumably have considerable say in.
His resignation letter does drop a tantalizing tidbit that his vetting of Joe Gerace—which attacked claims Gerace was a phony as “pure character assassination” several months before Alaska Public Media’s investigation revealed he was, in fact, a phony—was rushed.
“During my tenure, HR has handled many difficult challenges and expectations, such as being directed to vet and onboard former Health Department Director, Joe Gerace, with a one business day turnaround,” he wrote.
If Tshibaka really had any misgivings about the Gerace hire, though, you wouldn’t have known. At one assembly hearing, he personally apologized to Gerace for the “disparagement of your sterling character.”
What goes unaddressed in the letter are the other high-profile controversies tied to Tshibaka, which largely revolve around him defending right-wing Judy Eledge from allegations that she was making racist remarks and fostering—you guessed it—a toxic, hostile and demoralizing work environment at the library. It’s generated a wrongful termination lawsuit after the city fired its director of the Office of Equal Opportunity after she launched an investigation into Eledge, an ordeal that was punctuated by Tshibaka wearing an “I’m with Judy” shirt at meetings. The city’s overworked ombudsman also recommended Tshibaka be “walled off” from investigating library staff complaints.
Tshibaka’s departure is one of several high-profile exits in recent weeks. Following the disclosure of the ombudsman’s concerns someone was spying on security footage, Deputy Chief of Staff Brice Wilbanks left. Current acting municipal attorney, Blair Christensen, announced in January that she would be leaving. Her last day is this Wednesday.
Why it matters: The Bronson administration is a sinking ship. Like with Demboski’s letter, it’s impossible to overlook the fact that both she and Niki Tshibaka were central to many of the issues that they now claim to be so concerned about. Still, the suggestion that the Gerace vetting was rushed at the request of… someone is certainly something the Anchorage Assembly will have interest in.
Presumably, Tshibaka can use his newfound free time to focus on Kelly Tshibaka’s sore loser campaign to repeal ranked choice voting.
‘Please believe in us.’
The Senate Education Committee continued to serve as a platform for the discussion about school funding on Monday, when it held a hearing from the Association of Alaska School Boards that included input from students. Trying to summarize it myself wouldn’t do it justice, so here’s a clip of one student’s testimony:
Education forward funding falls even more
Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s supplemental budget, which covers the current fiscal year, came out last week and it’s currently sitting at $105 million.
The education forward funding—which relied on the state’s rosy oil price projections to stay rosy—has fallen from more than an anticipated $1.2 billion when the budget was signed to $49.2 million at the start of session to just $29.2 million after the supplemental costs have been rolled in.
Another area of consternation for members of the Senate Finance Committee is the considerable supplemental budget request for the Department of Corrections. At $21.3 million on top of a roughly $400 million base budget, senators wondered if the administration was hiding the true cost of operating the state’s prisons by intentionally under-budgeting and called for greater transparency.
The Daily Schedule
The House budget subcommittee on Corrections has an overview at 8 a.m.
The House budget subcommittee on Public Safety has an overview at 9 a.m.
The Senate Finance Committee has a 9 a.m. meeting on “Fiscal Scenarios” with the Legislative Finance Division
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan gives his address to the Legislature at 11 a.m.
House Finance gets an overview of the state’s debt and credit review at 1:30
House Health and Social Services meets at 3 to hear HB17, which would require insurance coverage for prescription contraceptives and allow up to a 12-month supply for them; and HB58, adult home care and medical assistance
The House budget subcommittee on Transportation has an overview at 3:30
Senate Health and Social Services meets at 3:30 to hear HB45, which would allow patients to directly contract with health care providers for care
House State Affairs and Senate State Affairs are having a joint hearing at 3:30 to get overviews of the departments of Public Safety and Corrections
The House budget subcommittee on Health and Social Services has an introductory hearing to introduce members and go over process at 4:30
A notable absence
The House Education Committee, a source of much consternation for its co-chair Jamie Allard, had its first hearing of the session on Monday. Allard was absent.
Max: while turmoil at the library is much juicier, one has to ask what HR guy Tshibaka was doing about filling 30 vacant equipment drivers. You know,the folks who drive snow removal equipment.