The Anchorage Assembly has a new chair.
Midtown Assemblyman Dick Traini was elected to lead the Assembly at its regular Tuesday night meeting. Elvi Gray-Jackson, also representing Midtown, was elected vice chair.
The secret ballot was the first action of the meeting, a carryover of a last-minute bid to change the chair at the Dec. 3 regular Assembly meeting. The clerk's office could not finish counting votes before time ran out on the meeting, leaving Patrick Flynn as chair.
After a short break Tuesday, Traini took over his position as chair of the Assembly, shifting his chair to the center of the dais, and immediately took control of the meeting, reading off ordinances.
Typically, the Assembly rearranges its leadership in April after the municipal election, but because of a rewrite of municipal code, reorganization can happen at any time. Flynn had served as chair of the Assembly since April.
The vote marks Traini's fourth time as chair. He held the position from 1993 to 1995, 2001 to 2005 and 2010 to 2011.