Judge rules that some city records about the resigned Anchorage health director should be made public, even if they are 'deeply embarrassing'

An Alaska Superior Court judge issued a split decision Thursday on an appeal by the Anchorage Council that asked the court to release two documents in an internal city investigation into the employment of a former health director.

In his ruling, Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi said certain documents were protected under attorney-client privilege. It's a September 2022 memorandum from the city's deputy director of human resources to a former acting city attorney. Another document, a January 2023 memo, is not protected from public access as the city attorney claimed, Guidi said.

Joe Gerace resigned as city health director in 2022 after an investigation by Alaska Public Media and American Public Media revealed that he had fabricated or exaggerated key parts of his resume.

Mayor Dave Bronson refused to release internal investigation documents on Jealous last February after council leaders issued a subpoena.

Bronson and then-acting City Attorney Blair Christensen argued that the documents were protected personnel records and that releasing them would violate city ordinances. It also said it would violate employees' constitutionally protected privacy rights.

Congress then gave lawyers the power to ask courts to compel the government to release the report.

At the time, Congressional leaders were dissatisfied — a closed session with former Human Resources Director Niki Tshibaka reviewed the January 2023 report, revealing new information and few details not already made public. Said it has not been done.

Guidi ruled that the report did not include information that would normally be protected, such as payroll, medical files or Equal Rights Commission files. And releasing it publicly is not an invasion of privacy either, he said.

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“The mere fact that information is so embarrassing does not make it private,” Guidi said in his decision.

He said there was no question that the investigation could yield extremely embarrassing information for Mr. Lleras and the public officials responsible for scrutinizing him.

“But as embarrassing as it may be, the city's findings will be very helpful from a citizen's right to know how their government is working,” Guidi said.

But the September report “taken as a whole constitutes confidential attorney-client communications protected by attorney-client privilege,” he said.

It is unclear when or if the Bronson administration or the court will release its January report. The administration and Congress have 10 days to file a motion to reconsider the judge's decision.

Whether the court orders any records unsealed depends on the outcome of the request for reconsideration and further appeals, Guidi said.

Assembly Speaker Christopher Constant praised the court's decision in a statement Thursday night and called on Mr. Bronson to release both records immediately. Bronson could also choose to waive his attorney-client privilege in the September memo, he said.

“Today, after a year of judicial proceedings to uncover the truth, the court issued a decision affirming what Congress has always said: that public leaders are accountable to the people. ” said Constant.

Veronica Hoxie, a spokeswoman for the mayor's office, declined to answer questions about the court's ruling. She said the administration is still reviewing the court's decision and is “unable to answer” questions at this time.

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