Recall paperwork filed against Hoonah Mayor Gerald Byers

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Wednesday, August 10th, 2022 2:53pm

By Greg Knight

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Recall committee chair Becky Hunnicutt filed the petition with the Hoonah City Clerk on Wednesday, Aug. 10.

Hoonah, Alaska (KINY) - A document obtained by News of the North shows that a group of registered voters are asking the Hoonah City Clerk's office to certify a petition that would allow signatures to be gathered and to put the recall question on the ballot. 

News of the North reached out to city officials to verify the filing and received a reply from Hoonah City Attorney Jim Sheehan.

"Yes, a petition was filed," Sheehan said. "We are reviewing the legality of the petition that was filed."

Committee chairs Becky Hunnicutt and Christopher Orr also confirmed that they filed the petition Wednesday afternoon.

According to the document provided to News of the North, four grounds for recall are stated in the petition, which was filed by Hunnicutt and Orr.

• Mayor Byers acted incompetently when he dismissed, without cause, former Vice Mayor Amelia Wilson. 
• Mayor Byers acted incompetently when he engaged in an argumentative tone with a Hoonah Department of Public Safety employee during comment at the Aug. 4 Hoonah City Council meeting. 
• Mayor Byers showed misconduct when he requested passwords to the audio and video feed at the HDPS office from Snowcloud, the city's internet provider.
• Mayor Byers showed a failure to perform his prescribed duty when he needlessly prolonged a contract negotiation with the HDPS director, to the point where further negotiations required a special city council meeting to resolve.

According to Hoonah Municipal Code, grounds for recall are misconduct in office, incompetence or failure to perform prescribed duties.

The petition was filed at 1:26 p.m. on Aug. 10. We have redacted the addresses of the petitioners from this image.

Stay with News of the North as we follow this emerging story.

 

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