Ossiander Ousted! New Assembly Chair Patrick Flynn is In. (PHOTOS)
Nothing like a little bloodless coup to keep things interesting!
I’m at the Anchorage Assembly meeting tonight for reasons I will talk about later, but never did I imagine I’d get to witness the ousting of Debbie Ossiander, the current …err…now former Chair of the Anchorage Assembly.
Details will follow, but so far it kind of feels like when you have a really annoying splinter and you finally manage to get it out.
New leadership is Patrick Flynn Chair, and Mike Gutierrez as Vice Chair.
******************LATER**********************
During Mayor Matt Claman’s administration, the rules of the Assembly were changed, allowing for change of leadership at any time. Ossiander and others were obviously surprised by this. Hearing that, I wished that this had happened long ago. She allowed busloads of activists from the Valley to come to Anchorage and testify at our Assembly meetings in regard to Ordinance 64, which would have added the words sexual orientation to the city’s non-discrimination clause. The Assembly, after 20 hours of testimony, voted to adopt the ordinance. Mayor Dan Sullivan vetoed it. And the Assembly didn’t have the votes (one of which was Ossiander’s) to override the veto.
I’ve seen her repeatedly vote wrong, and then wax poetic about how hard it was, and how she lost sleep, and plumbed the depths of her tortured soul… before she decided to vote the wrong way. That got old the first time she did it.
She allows too much. She allows disruptions from “rascist” talk show hosts who shall remain nameless, she allows the ridiculous and expensive witch hunt going on against Mark Begich to continue, she is not good for this Assembly or the city. She’s one more reason I secretly wish that Eagle River would secede. I guess it’s not a secret any more… And of course all you wonderful Mudflatters in Eagle River are cordially invited to move to the “big city!”
Nominations were taken from the floor for Vice Chair after Patrick Flynn was chosen as Chair.
Mike Gutierrez was nominated, as was Elvi Gray-Jackson (who declined her nomination). Then Ossiander nominated Jennifer Johnston for Vice Chair, which I thought at the time was sort of like nominating a lamp. But then when she did it, Johnston got a look on her face like she’d been hit in the face with a fish. It was the most animated I’d ever seen her. She was obviously not excited about the proposition. The secret Ballot came down 7-3 in favor of Gutierrez, so she may have actually voted against herself from what I can tell.
When the time came to send the gavel over to Flynn, Ossiander asked if she could sit in her chair for the remainder of the meeting, which had only five minutes remaining.
There was all sorts of “you were really great”s and “you did such a good job”s for Ossiander… to the point where I wondered if there could be this big of a love-fest, then why was she getting replaced? Then a standing ovation. Then Ossiander telling us how hard she tried.
Then more members piping up with “nobody realizes how much work it is” and “you were just so great”…. Enough already!
After it was over, an obviously shocked Ossiander made her way out, stoping briefly to talk to a reporter.
Our new Assembly Chair Patrick Flynn was obviously pleased.
Everyone seemed a bit stunned and drained by this unusual course of events. Chris Birch piped up that he hadn’t heard anything about the possibility of a switcheroo.
Chris Birch, by the way, along with Jennifer Johnston were the only two to vote against restoring Mayor Dan Sullivan’s $50,000 cut from the Library. And of course, they are the two assembly members who are supposed to represent MY district.
And I had to put this one in there because new Vice Chair Mike Gutierrez had the most ginormous water bottle I’d ever seen. It was like one of those big blue ones you flip over and use in the giant water dispensers.
Happy Holidays to all and a Bright New Assembly for the New Year.
how does this affect the Anchorage Assembly?
Can’t wait to hear if this is should be a good thing or more of the same $%^!!
Too bad that couldn’t have happened before all of that testifying. But better lat than never.
Now…how long to remove her completely?
It is a good thing. Pat Flynn is not as progressive as he ought to be, but his heart is in the right place. Mike Gutierrez is the best!
You have a knack for being at the right place at the right time, AKM. Thank goodness.
Happy holidays from East Tennessee to all my Mudpup friends!
Good! Glad she had the gavel ripped from her hand. She was such a coward in the way she caved in to Prevo’s Red Shirts last fall.
Does this mean the red shirts will not have so much leverage in the future? Can’t wait to hear how this will play out.
Relief is the only word that comes to mind when getting rid of a splinter. Yay on that!
ok…did a quick search…Flynn is the one who wrote the equal rights for gays ordinance that Ossiander voted no on and Sullivan vetoed? And Guttierez signed on to the Flynn ordinance?
I’m just doing a quick search through everything that I liveblogged way back when…
If they had this option all along – I’m terribly disappointed that they didn’t do it much sooner. Like right about the time she started allowing everybody & their brother from a different borough to testify against an Anchorage Ordinance. So the question is what did she do that finally prompted them to do this?
That is the most awesome news – she was a schmuck and I’ve never listened to anything more horrid in my life than the bussed in lies (oops, testimonies – yeah right) she allowed to happen for the Gay Anti Discrimination Ordinance.
O/T – This is posted in the comments over at IM:
“Looks she she WILL be home for XMAS!!! Book signing in Anchorage 12/22 – start your signs, get ready – go directly to the book signing, wave your sign and pass right on by her and give her your backside!”
Great news! The thing that most shocked me was, after allowing everyone – even from outside their state – to relentlessly testify & spew their hate. At the tail end she had balls enough to wear a red outfit HERSELF!
Now, if that wasn’t giving a ‘f*ck you’ to the legitimate citizens who showed up time after time, spending so many hours of their time – while HOPING for a fair venue!
Shannyn offers up some more details already, so folks can check it out.
Wowsah! Sending positive ummphs to Alaska (o:
Good. I’ll always remember her as associated with the ‘red shirts’.
I think it would not have mattered because Sullivan would have vetoed it any way and I think she knew it as others may have but had to try.
Speaking of Sullivan, I have seen him twice, about twenty feet away, and he did give me slimy man looks, not very Mayoral.
Both Eagle River Assembly seats are up for re-election next spring, I would love to have the opportunity to vote for AkM.
“Chris Birch, by the way, along with Jennifer Johnston were the only two to vote against restoring Mayor Dan Sullivan’s $50,000 cut from the Library. And of course, they are the two assembly members who are supposed to represent MY district.”
+++++++++++++++++++++
Sounds like someone should run against one of them. Hint. Hint.
Nothing better than an early Solstice present.
This was way over due. Ossiander showed her true colors during the ABT filibuster last summer. She was doing nothing more than allowing a stall until she could get her boy in office with a veto pen.
Best of luck to the new Assembly Chair!
Way to go Anchorage! Wouldn’t it be nice if she also resigned from the board? Guess that would be too much to hope for. But, yipee and congratulations to Patrick & Mike!
Did not like the way she behaved during the H8R fest with the red shirts. She even wore red at one meeting.
What good news this is. I was so sick at heart at the way she allowed the red-shirt haters to take over the gay ordinance hearings. I’m sure this caused her much loss of sleep. NOT.
I totally agree with @19 BigSlick above! Go for it.
what a scourge on the assembly she was during the ordinance “hearings”. I’m glad she got what was coming.
Go New Guy!
Ossiander’s decision to allow Anchorage outsiders to present public testimony on the Anchorage gay rights ordinance reflected judgment that I thought was questionable, and raised doubts about her motives. Continuing the public testimony at subsequent hearings so that those who signed up the first night could address the assembly was reasonable. But her decision to allow sign-ups to continue at subsequent hearings was over-the-top, and revealed her very transparent scheme to delay the council’s vote long enough to give Sullivan the opportunity to veto it. Ossiander did not allow the redshirts to take over the debate – rather she and they acted in concert to take over the public hearing process and ultimately to subvert the decision of the assembly’s majority (and did so against the majority of the public, if I’m remembering the polling correctly). I’m at least moderately surprised that she hasn’t been wearing a necklace of teabags since her “coming out” last June. Kudos to the assembly for acting to get moving toward a more responsible, productive and enlightened future.
great news AKM. please don’t run for office. you are too good for that stuff. don’t want to see that sweet soul of yours sullied. keep on doing what you do so well.
I understand your sentiments, bubbles, and often share them but if the “sweet souls” do not run for office, how will we ever be rid of the Assianders and Liebermans of this world? We need to do better in the selection of our elected officials… getting someone like AKM onto an Assembly would be a big step forward in our representative form of government.
A former coworker of mine used to carry around that same size water jug!! She was the most petite little thing, probably weighed 90 lbs tops.
Yeah, it would have been not a good thing had Ossiander lost her chair during the gay ordinance business, because people opposing it would have screamed bloody murder. This was definitely a better way to handle her removal. Good luck getting her off the council altogether!
“I’ve seen her repeatedly vote wrong, and then wax poetic about how hard it was, and how she lost sleep, and plumbed the depths of her tortured soul… before she decided to vote the wrong way. That got old the first time she did it.”
I’m saving those words. That’s exactly how I feel about certain members of the Cambridge City Council, especially one particular one who still has a good reputation (totally undeserved, for just this reason) among people who ought to know better. Thank you for saying it better than I ever could, and congratulations! You give me hope for My Fair City (as Click and Clack are wont to say).
I love the photo of Ossiander and the camera guy. She looks like a South Park character.
Public servant – NOT! Whiner – YES! Go in Peace, Debbie – just go far away and don’t come back to public service. Get a 2nd job. Take up a hobby. Enjoy your grandchildren but stay the the he11 out of politics. I know your type – icky poo and good riddance!
@Martha Unalaska: LOL – icky poo, haven’t heard that in a long time, but it certainly fits.
I didn’t remember Ossiander’s name until you talked about last summer. I was never so disgusted with someone in my life. She was supposed to be a leader and she willingly let herself be manipulated by outside agitators – and encouraged them.
I’m curious how this little coup came about. Was there any hint that it was going to happen or did someone just spring it on the whole group?
And that photo of her with the reporter. Wow, she doesn’t look happy, does she.
patrick flynn is my assembly rep and he is also the smartest, most thoughtful, engaging and communicative of the 11 of them, by a long shot. i read his blog all the time and he is quite willing to parse an issue extensively, for anyone who asks — breaking down complex issues into understandable nuggets, without misrepresenting the true machinations.
he should run for mayor. it would be a treat to watch him debate sullivan.
the wonk and the empty suit.
So Happy to see D.O. GONE as Chair.
Niiiiice. Who said city government is boring. Congrats to Flynn and Gutierrez. Go forth and be change. And for God’s sake find some decent candidates in Eagle River and South Anchorage. Sullivan will crash and burn and he can take the rest of the cons with him as far as I care.
You know, there are plenty of us living in Eagle River who are here on purpose because of the small-town sense of community that we find and because we DON’T want to move to the big city – and also who are not necessarily in line with some of the more reactionary views of many of our neighbors. But it’s comments like “wishing we would just secede” (a facile slur that’s not worthy of you, AKM) that build the walls higher between people, not tear them down as I thought was the purpose of this blog and many of its readers.
Apologies. A late night post, and not reflective of my true feelings. I think, after the Assembly meetings this summer and hearing hundreds of “I’m from Eagle River” qualifications followed by things that made me crazy led to it. But, of course that’s what people say about Alaska too, so I should have known better. Please accept my apology. AKM
As people called me last night with the welcome news that Debbie Ossiander had been removed as chairman of the Anchorage Assembly, I was delighted. I had the dubious experience of working with her on a similar body for several years and grew progressively disenchanted with her pontificating, heavy (fake) sighs, and self-serving votes (always taken with an eye on her next political goal). Her disgraceful behavior during the “red shirt” fiasco showed her true colors, both as a person and as a politician; it was disgusting to observe her pretend that she was struggling about how to vote, as there truly was never a question as to that decision—all the rest was “political theater.” Eagle River-Chugiak deserves a better representative.
Only one seat is up in each Assembly district this spring, and Debbie’s is the one in Eagle River (just you WAIT til 2011, Bill Starr, just you WAIT!) And she says she is considering running again. Anyone from Eagle River care to oppose her? You’d likely win because even her “own” people are tired of her.
Only the Downtown/Fairview/Mt View district is not up this spring as that is the only single member district and that would be Mr Flynn.
Someone needs to run against Jennifer Johnston in South Anchorage. She and Birch volunteered for the Dimond Library branch to be closed, did you in S Anch know that?
Debbie was too biased as a chair, often distainful to those representing causes she does not support such as the Alternative Diversity Dinner folks and allowing people like Eddie Burke to play rage man for his radio show ratings at the Assembly lecturn.
I hope she does not run again like she once promised.