A group of North Slope residents is trying to recall the borough mayor, Josiah Aullaqsruaq Patkotak, alleging that he misused public funds.
That group’s application for a recall petition says the mayor – whose salary is over $280,000 – should be recalled for, among other things, receiving compensation from the borough for “lavish travel expenses” for his family.
The assembly adjusted borough code in December to allow compensation for family travel, but that change came after Patkotak had already received tens of thousands of dollars for at least 15 domestic and international trips with his family.
“Everybody, even the mayor, has to follow rules and regs and procedures,” said Marietta Aiken, one of the residents involved in recall efforts. “He thinks that those standards do not apply to him.”
Angela Cox, the borough’s director of government and external affairs, told KNBA in an email on Monday that some borough mayors traveled with their families even before the borough code change.
“It has long been the practice of the borough to support the mayor and their spouse for travel as they fulfill their public duties and obligations,” Cox said in an email.
The residents submitted their first recall application in February. But the clerk’s office denied it, saying that it failed to meet grounds for recall. In Alaska, officials can be recalled for misconduct in office, incompetence or failure to perform prescribed duties.
The authors filed a new application on March 4, which the borough has not responded to yet. On Friday, one of the residents, Beverly Aqak Hugo, filed a court complaint asking the court to direct the borough to issue a recall petition.
Cox said Tuesday that the group’s petition is being reviewed by outside counsel.
Family travel on the borough’s dime
Travel records show trips costing tens of thousands of dollars where Patkotak took his family — often flying first class — to North Slope villages, Anchorage, Fairbanks, Seattle, New York and Peru.
Hugo, an Utqiaġvik elder and retired Iñupiaq language teacher, said that was one of the main motivations for the recall effort.
“The mayor’s family is not the borough’s responsibility,” Hugo said. “He and his father make enough money if they want to bring their family, they can pay for them themselves.”
At a December borough assembly meeting, the assembly voted to make it clear in borough code that assembly members and the mayor could use borough funds to pay for family members’ travel during business trips. At the meeting, Patkotak – who is also a former Alaska House representative for District 40 – acknowledged that he was already doing that and defended the practice.
He said that bringing his family along – which sometimes included his wife, his infant daughter or all three children – helped him to be more efficient. He added that in his eyes, “when you elect a mayor, you’re electing the family unit that he or she represents.”
Cox said that because Patkotak is the youngest North Slope Borough Mayor ever elected, traveling with family is more necessary for him.
“Mayor Patkotak has young children, all minors between the ages of 2 and 11,” she said.
In response to a public records request about the travel history of previous mayors, the acting borough attorney Roxanne Rohweder said those records were lost in a fire in January. She said the finance director has not provided digital versions to her.
But Cox did share several travel claims showing that the borough paid for the spouse of former mayor Harry Brower Jr. to accompany him on business trips.
No other borough code in Alaska mentions compensating officials for family members’ travel expenses. Clerks from eight Alaska boroughs said their policies explicitly prohibit the practice.
“We do not pay for any family members to accompany any elected officials or employees on business trips,” Kodiak Island Borough clerk Nova Javier said. “If they decide to bring any family members, we will only pay for the employee, not for the family member.”
Last fall, Point Hope City Council removed city mayor Tariek Oviok from office after he faced allegations for misusing public funds to take his family on personal trips. And former North Slope Borough Mayor Charlotte Brower was recalled in 2016 on grounds that included spending borough funds on family trips, such as sending her grandchildren to basketball camp.
Limousines and first class tickets
North Slope Borough code directs employees to choose the lowest refundable tourist class airfare unless the mayor has authorized an upgrade as being in the best interest of the borough. The policy says that when employees travel to locations where the borough doesn’t have contract hotels, air carriers and car rental agencies, they can choose businesses with reasonable rates.
“To fly first class on the borough is not acceptable,” Hugo said.
In at least 12 other Alaska boroughs, officials are asked to use the most economical fare when they travel.
“The borough pays for the main refundable ticket,” said Aleutians East Borough Clerk Beverly Ann Rosete. “If they decide to upgrade to first class, it will be at their own expense.”
According to travel records provided by the borough attorney, Patkotak took his wife and infant child on an 11-day trip to Lima, Peru last September, where he attended the International Whaling Commission meeting. The trip cost nearly $16,000 and included first class and premium airfare tickets as well as eight nights in a deluxe suite with a jacuzzi and sauna.
In October, Patkotak planned a trip to Iceland for the Arctic Circle Assembly and then to New York for a syndicated bond sale. He canceled the Iceland portion of the trip, but at least $3,000 worth of hotel reservations were nonrefundable. Patkotak’s New York expenses included first class plane tickets and cost the borough at least $15,230.
In New York City, Patkotak was joined by a group of 17 others. That number included borough employees and officials, assembly members, the borough clerk and some of their spouses, according to the documents provided by the authors of the recall petition application. All 17 flew first class, and their travel expenses totaled nearly $115,000, according to travel claims.
Cox said that the bond sale trip was an opportunity for leadership to better understand how the borough funds large-scale projects such as village schools and power plant rebuilds.
“Capital projects are our largest investment and bond financing is an important tool to finance our infrastructure,” she said. “This bond research trip was fully approved and funded, and backed a key initiative of the North Slope Borough to fund major infrastructure projects.”
Cox said flying first class to New York made sense because the trip involved at least 12 hours of travel and a four hour time change.
Patkotak also expensed a meal for the group that cost $1,938 — though the travelers also received per diem payments meant to cover food. Cox said the dinner was for a large group, in an expensive city.
Patkotak also flew first class to Anchorage, Los Angeles, Seattle, Philadelphia and other locations during his solo trips. He rented a limousine during a trip to California to meet with Angeles Investments and attend a helicopter expo. And during a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with Alaska representatives, he used a luxury chauffeur service Blacklane as his airport shuttle. His total costs for the six-day D.C. trip were over $9,000.
Other grounds for recall
The residents behind the recall effort also allege that Patkotak misused the borough medevac plane for non-medical errands, approved too many nepotism waivers and misused public funds to open an office in Anchorage.
The residents have also submitted an application to recall Crawford Patkotak, who is the president of the North Slope Borough Assembly and the mayor’s father, “for misconduct in office, incompetence and failure to perform prescribed duties.” The application stated that when Crawford Patkotak voted to allow the mayor to bring his family on business trips, he failed to disclose his personal interest in supporting his son.
“The conflict of interest of the father and son – that is not acceptable. It should never be tolerated,” Hugo said.
Crawford Patkotak did not respond to a request for comment.
If the borough administration establishes that the petition charges are recallable, the authors will need to gather signatures equal to at least 25% of the total number of voters in the last regular election, according to borough code. The borough clerk would then submit it to the assembly, and an election would be scheduled within 90 days.
