Anchorage’s deputy clerk of elections resigns

Anchorage’s deputy clerk of elections, Erika McConnell, has notified the city she is resigning from her position. In the job, McConnell has been responsible for running the city’s regular and special elections alongside Municipal Clerk Barbara Jones.

“It is time for me to move on to something that is less stressful,” McConnell said.

Her departure comes as the Assembly is set to vote on technical changes to the city’s election rules.

“With the work on the ordinance revisions complete and preparations for the next election well underway, this was a good time for me to make this change,” McConnell said. “I am proud of the work that I have done in the last 20 or so months, and grateful to Barbara Jones and the Assembly for their support and their hard work for our community.”

McConnell previously worked for the municipality in the Planning and Zoning Department as well as directing the state’s Alcohol and Marijuana Control Office before joining the municipal clerk’s office.

Earlier this year, the clerk’s office released a report detailing “unprecedented harassment” of city election workers during the runoff between Mayor Dave Bronson and Assembly member Forrest Dunbar. Since taking office, Bronson has clashed with the clerk’s office on election procedures. In September, the clerk’s office accused the administration of improperly trying to influence a recall election, an accusation the municipal manager called “salacious” and “unfounded.”

Across the country, scores of nonpartisan state election officials have resigned since the 2020 election, many citing harassment and intimidation.