Assembly Appoints Joey Sweet to Interim Seat H, East Anchorage

​​​​​At a Special Assembly Meeting this afternoon, the Anchorage Assembly voted to appoint Joey Sweet to represent District 5, East Anchorage on the Assembly until certification of the April 4, 2023 Regular Municipal Election, currently scheduled for April 25, 2023.
 
Stephen "Joey" Sweet moved to East Anchorage to pursue a Bachelor's degree in Political Science at the University of Alaska Anchorage (UAA). As an undergraduate, Sweet was appointed Student Regent by Governor Bill Walker and served a term on the UA Board of Regents from 2017-2019. He received a Masters in Public Administration with an emphasis in Public Management in May 2021. ​
 
The interim appointment was made to fill Seat H, vacated by Forrest Dunbar on January 3, 2023, until registered qualified voters in the district elect a new representative to complete the balance of the term into 2025 as required by Municipal Charter 7.02(b).
 
The process to fill the vacancy was laid out by AR 2022-410, a resolution passed in December alongside AR 2022-40​9, which similarly addressed the vacancy of Seat C for District 2, Eagle River/Chugiak. The resolutions established the vacancies be filled by interim appointment, approved by majority vote of the Anchorage Assembly.
 
During the application period between December 28, 2022 and January 4, 2023, five candidates filed applications to be considered for the interim appointment. The Assembly interviewed each candidate publicly this morning. The interviews were livestreamed and available on YouTube.