Assembly feud over budget

Something many say is getting more difficult due to a bitter divide. The concerns come after a night of more name calling and a series of mayoral vetoes at the assembly meeting, Nov. 3rd.

Depending on who you ask, some say this is a normal healthy process moving forward, while others say the assembly is a little "off their groove" right now.

"The fact that there is a little contentious, as long as it remains civil and polite, it's probably a good thing," said Mayor Dan Sullivan.

One assembly member said that may have crossed the line last night, "I was disturbed that Mr. Starr accused me of being a communist because I disagreed with him," said assembly member, Sheila Selkregg.

Assembly member Sheila Selkregg introduced a number of amendments to the 6 Year Fiscal Plan, which she said were meant to help Anchorage's working class and because of that, assembly member Bill Starr compared her amendments to the communism. "I think spirited debate and disagreement at the level that we have are appropriate," said assembly member, Bill Starr.

But the exchange of heated words did not stop there. Mayor Dan Sullivan rolled out his fourth veto since he took office 5 months ago. "The message he sent last night was it's my way or I'm not interested," said assembly member, Matt Claman. Claman says that might be a difficult posture to take if Sullivan wants to work

But that was not the concern of others. "The mayor disagrees with an action of the assembly; he has the right to veto. Eight members don't like it, they can override him. That's the system, there's nothing wrong with it," said assembly member, Dan Coffey.

There is no doubt there is a liberal-conservative divide within the assembly, especially when it comes to the budget. Most of the votes have been 6 to 4 and 7 to 3, even when former Mayor Mark Begich was in office. "I think that is just the dynamic of a body that has different opinions and I think what we saw over the last couple of years is when everything is kind of aligned with a an agreement there is not that checks and balances that you need to produce a good product for the city," said Mayor Sullivan.

But the bigger question is can a conservative administration and a liberal majority assembly put aside the big differences and agree on a budget that benefits the city? "I think it will be a bigger concern if for some reason the Mayor actually vetoes the budget or if the mayor can't find 6 votes to support his budget," said assembly member, Patrick Flynn.

The assembly will introduce amendments to the budget on November 12th.

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