To the chagrin of one Assembly member but to nobody’s objection, Jerry Nankervis is Juneau’s new Deputy Mayor.
Assembly member Nankervis moved into the deputy mayor’s seat — immediately to the mayor’s left — after his peers appointed him to the position at the annual Assembly reorganization on Monday. Norton Gregory and Beth Weldon, the Assembly’s two newest members, also took their seats in City Hall for the first time.
Though nobody objected when returning Assembly member Mary Becker nominated Nankervis for the role, Assembly member Loren Jones pointed out that the nomination was fairly atypical.
In the past, the deputy mayor typically differs philosophically from the mayor. On paper, Assembly members are nonpartisan. In real life, not so much. Only hours before the Assembly meeting Monday, Mayor Ken Koelsch was participating in a campaign event for Rep. Cathy Muñoz, R- Juneau, and U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, at Super Bear IGA.
Nankervis also hails from the limited-government, conservative camp. Both he and Koelsch have contributed to Muñoz’ campaign, according to campaign disclosure reports filed with the Alaska Public Offices Commission.
According to Jones, the deputy mayor has almost always been the political opposite of the mayor. One recent exception to this rule, Jones noted, was when Mary Becker served as deputy mayor under mayor Merrill Sanford. The political balance was restored after liberal-leaning Greg Fisk took the mayor’s seat last October and Becker continued her role of deputy mayor.
Even after Fisk died in late November and Koelsch took office after the special mayoral election in March, the political seesaw stayed level. Liberal Jesse Kiehl, who serves as a legislative aid to Sen. Dennis Egan, D-Juneau, became deputy mayor — but not without a fight.
In early April, shortly after winning his office, Koelsch nominated his political peer Mary Becker to fill the roll. Assembly member Maria Gladziszewski nominated Kiehl, and a 5–4 vote confirmed her nomination. Kiehl served as a counterbalance to Koelsch until Monday.
“It think it’s important to note that’s not the case this time,” Jones said, voicing his concern over Becker’s nomination of Nankervis. “It serves the Assembly and the citizens well if we maintain as much of our nonpartisanship and not always look like the majority philosophy is going to set the tone.”
The deputy mayor is the chair of the Assembly Committee of the Whole, meaning he or she sets the agenda for Assembly work sessions and runs those meetings, which take place about twice a month. It is the mayor’s job to run regular Assembly meetings.
Jones didn’t ultimately object to the Nankervis nomination, nor did anybody else on the Assembly. This includes Koelsch, who despite his attempt to seat Becker at his left in April, testified before the Assembly in January arguing roughly the same point Jones made Monday.
“The deputy mayor position is often used to bridge different viewpoints on the Assembly,” the minutes from Koelsch’s testimony read. “Mayor Fisk must have shown his faith in Ms. Becker when he appointed her and the Assembly agreed. The Assembly needs balance.”
• Contact reporter Sam DeGrave at 523-2279 or sam.degrave@juneauempire.com.
