Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce, one of four candidates for Alaska governor, was asked to resign as mayor after an investigation determined a harassment complaint against him was credible.
Pierce, a Republican, announced on Aug. 26 that he would resign as mayor at the end of September to focus on his gubernatorial campaign. He has refused to discuss reports that his resignation was motivated by a harassment complaint filed by a borough employee.
Members of the Kenai Borough Assembly, who were briefed about the complaint on Aug. 23, have also refused to discuss the issue, but after an hourlong closed-door meeting on Sunday, they issued a statement confirming that Pierce was asked to resign.
“As part of a potential mediated resolution, Mayor Pierce was asked to consider submitting his voluntary resignation because a voluntary resignation could provide greater opportunity for (pre-lawsuit) resolution of this dispute,” the statement said in part.
Pierce did not respond to a phone call or text message seeking comment on Sunday evening.
According to the assembly’s statement, a borough employee and the worker’s attorney contacted the borough on July 11 and “reported allegations of harassment by Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor Charlie Pierce.” The borough treated the complaint as secret and hired an outside law firm to investigate.
According to Sunday’s statement, the law firm on July 26 “provided its confidential investigative report (to) the borough attorney that corroborated the complainants report and found the claims credible.”
The borough employee who filed the complaint has declined interview requests. According to an individual who has spoken with the employee and is familiar with the case, the employee has an audio recording of Pierce’s harassment.
According to the borough assembly’s statement, the borough has already agreed to spend up to $10,000 on mediation costs. That amount does not include the cost of any financial settlement that may emerge from the mediation.
The Kenai Peninsula Borough has already paid $267,000 to settle two prior harassment complaints filed against Pierce.
One settlement involves $150,000 paid to Sandra “Stormy” Brown, the borough’s former human resources director. Brown sued the borough in 2019, alleging that she was fired by Pierce after she told him that she had been diagnosed with a fatal case of cancer.
Pierce finished fourth in Alaska’s top-four Aug. 16 gubernatorial primary, receiving 6.6% of the vote overall. He will appear on the ballot in Alaska’s Nov. 8 ranked-choice election for governor. The deadline to be removed from the ballot was Sept. 5.
Despite statements saying that he intends to focus on his campaign for governor, Pierce has failed to appear at any gubernatorial forums or debates since Aug. 26. The Beacon has contacted the organizers of more than a half-dozen upcoming events. All have said that Pierce has either declined their invitations or has not responded.
Pierce was not present at Sunday’s assembly meeting and has said he will not be present at the assembly’s next scheduled meeting, on Sept. 20.
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