Voters reject Zaletel recall from Anchorage Assembly by a wide margin as ballots continue trickling in

Midtown Assembly Member Meg Zaletel continues holding a wide lead over the critics and constituents aiming to recall her from office.

On Monday afternoon, updated figures from the Municipal Clerk’s office show what’s been clear since the first round of results were counted last week: a large majority of Midtown voters who turned out in the special election support Zaletel. Of the 10,714 ballots counted, just under 60 percent were in favor of retaining Zaletel, with 40 percent supporting her ouster.

There remain some outstanding ballots that will be added to the tabulation before the vote is officially certified by the Assembly next week. However, in each round of counts, as the last ballots trickle in through the mail system, the number added to the tally has shrunk. Just 30 new ballots were added to the vote totals over the weekend, according to Monday’s count. That’s nowhere near the 2,118 votes it would take in favor of the recall to overturn the results.

The Zaletel recall campaign grew out of conservative protests against the Assembly’s handling of pandemic lockdown measures and Zaletel and other Assembly members’ support for a plan last year to purchase buildings for homeless and treatment services using CARES Act funds.

Though technically based on a violation of public meetings rules during a state of public health emergency, both sides openly admitted the campaign was a referendum on the liberal-leaning Assembly’s policies propelled and funded by a vocal group of conservative activists. The other member of the Assembly from Midtown, Felix Rivera, handily defeated a similar recall effort earlier in the year.

Zaletel, who is in her first term on the body, is up for reelection in April of 2022.