Last week, the Haines Borough put the word out that it’s seeking a new municipal attorney.
The assembly directed borough manager Debra Schnabel to put out an RFP last month, but offered few reasons why they were unsatisfied with the current attorney, Brooks Chandler.
In interviews last week with assembly members, they offered few specifics. Assembly member Heather Lende said she thinks “it’s time for a new attorney.” She said most of Haines’ issues center around land use, planning issues and resource extraction. She said she wants to find an attorney who has more expertise with those topics. She also said she was unhappy that he certified one of the grounds for recall last year, when some citizens alleged she violated the state’s Open Meetings Act when she received an email from a fellow assembly member encouraging to vote a certain way at an upcoming meeting.
“I think there was a misunderstanding there, but it ended up being one of the reasons for the recall and that was disappointing,” Lende said.
Assembly member Tom Morphet said he didn’t push for issuing an RFP, but said he also questioned Chandler’s decision to certify elements of the recall grounds. Morphet said he was more disappointed that the borough had to pay former borough manager Bill Seward a $55,000 settlement.
Seward threatened a wrongful termination lawsuit against the borough and accused assembly members of character defamation, racial discrimination and violating his constitutional rights. Chandler negotiated the settlement with Seward, but Morphet said the settlement was an “expensive misstep” because Chandler said the assembly failed to consult with him—a directed by a clause on page 14 of the borough’s insurance policy—last December before they fired Seward.
An “attorney consultation requirement” in the borough’s Alaska Public Entity Insurance liability contract states that coverage for wrongful termination-related legal fees is “contingent on the member conferring with an attorney of the member’s choice before terminating an employee and then utilizing the services of an attorney to handle any pre-termination procedures.”
“It turned out that Chandler hadn’t checked back with the insurance to see if we had invalidated our insurance policy,” Morphet said last week.
Assembly member Stephanie Scott said she disagreed with Chandler’s advice in 2014 when he recommended the assembly settle with Alaska Power Company for a 11.12 percent rate increase. The Haines Borough, along with five other communities, filed a suit against the company with the Regulatory Commission of Alaska to intervene in the proposed 18.12 percent increase. Leaders at the time said they voted for the settlement based on confidential information given by Chandler, according to CVN records.
Sean Maidy said he’s open to hiring a new attorney, as the attorney and the assembly have “different perspectives.”
“I can’t go into any specifics,” Maidy said. “I don’t like his interpretation of our code. It seems to conflict with the way the assembly and the majority of the people I speak to interpret the code.”
Brenda Josephson is supportive of the RFP, but didn’t want to comment on specific issues. She said it’s healthy to go out to bid for legal services. “I think that’s healthy for the government to research and to find out who’s interested and consider the alternatives and make a decision accordingly.”
Assembly member Tresham Gregg said he’s interested in looking at options. He also offered nothing concrete about why he wants to look for those options. “It’s hard to say, when you’re not sure of anything, to actually say anything particularly definite.”
Chandler has represented the borough for eight years.
Borough manager Debra Schnabel said she’d prefer an attorney who was more assertive in his or her recommendations. She said Chandler often outlines multiple options, but doesn’t often give directives. Schnabel said she hasn’t taken any issue with his past decisions.
Borough clerk Alekka Fullerton said one attorney has responded to the RFP, as of Wednesday press time. Chandler was unavailable for comment.
Chandler had asked the assembly in April if they wanted him to respond to an RFP. The assembly said he could submit a letter of interest, but he has yet to do so, Fullerton said. The deadline to respond to the RFP is later this month.