Assemblyman Stephens Resigns Days After Borough Manager Vote

Jay Barrett/KMXT
The Kodiak Island Borough Assembly will be putting out the call for a new member after one of its own resigned suddenly yesterday (Monday).

In an uncharacteristically spare and concise missive, Assemblyman Mel Stephens resigned with a three-sentence memo to the borough clerk. He wrote, “I hereby resign from the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly.” The other two sentences were housekeeping.

No reason was given for the resignation, though Stephens did lose a significant vote on the hiring the new borough manager last week. Stephens invested unknown hours of research, and paid out of his pocket for an advertisement a page-and-a-half long in the Mirror, railing against the candidate. In the final vote to hire Michael Powers last Thursday, only Stephens and one other assemblymember voted no.

Borough Clerk Nova Javier said in an e-mail that the Assembly has the resignation on its agenda for its May 5th meeting, where it will declare the seat vacant. Because there are more than 90-days before the next municipal election, the Assembly will solicit applicants between May 7th and 21st and fill the vacancy by June 5th.

Whoever is appointed will serve until the October elections are certified.