Anchorage Equal Rights Commissioner alleges exclusion, calls for independent audit; commission forms review committee

Octavia Hamilton, a sitting commissioner of the Anchorage Equal Rights Commission, read a statement for the record alleging she was excluded from key stages of the executive director hiring process and that the commission27s internal and municipal oversight structures have created barriers to meaningful participation by marginalized commissioners. "I was denied the opportunity to meaningfully participate in the hiring process for the executive director position despite being an engaged and active commissioner," Hamilton said, and she recommended "an independent external audit of the Anchorage Equal Rights Department" covering a "minimum of 10 to 20 years".

Hamilton said the hiring process lacked transparency and that the ombudsman's office, municipal human resources, legal counsel and members of the AERC participated on the hiring panel without acknowledging the appearance of impropriety until she raised concerns. She framed these omissions as examples of systemic…