Anchorage Mayor LaFrance names chief equity officer

Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance announced she has hired a new chief equity officer for the city.

If confirmed by the Assembly, Kim Waller will take over the role in September, according to a news release from the administration on Monday.

The Chief Equity Officer oversees the city’s Office of Equity and Justice, which “develops, supports, and implements policies and practices that improve diversity, equity, and inclusion in our Municipal government,” according to the department’s website.

The position was created in 2020, but drew attention in the early days of Dave Bronson’s administration when the former mayor abruptly fired Clifford Armstrong III, the first appointee to serve in the role. The termination kicked off a fight between Bronson and the Assembly, which argued the mayor could not fire Armstrong without a majority of Assembly members concurring. An Alaska Superior Court judge eventually ruled in Bronson’s favor on the matter, deciding the mayor had the power chose who served in the position. Despite that, the city settled a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by Armstrong for $125,000.

Bronson tapped Uluao “Junior Aumavae to take over the office, which he led until the mayoral transition earlier this summer.

Waller was raised in North Pole and Anchorage before attending college at New York University. After spending the early part of her career in Alaska media, she moved back to New York City for 16 years working in television and radio, according to the LaFrance administration. Soon after coming back to Alaska in 2018, she worked for the Foraker Group, an organization that helps nonprofits around the state.

Waller will need to be confirmed by a majority of the Assembly’s 12 members.