Skagway’s Borough Assembly meeting last Thursday was overshadowed by a topic not on the agenda. Mayor Sam Bass announced he had not – and would not – sign correspondence that was approved at the previous Assembly meeting. The correspondence included letters concerning recent federal firings and tariffs with Canada.
Skagway’s mayor said his decision not to sign his name on the dotted line is simply a change in how correspondence is handled. However, some constituents and Assembly members see it as politically divisive, and a dereliction of duty.
A heated exchange between Skagway Mayor Sam Bass and Assembly member Alex Weddell took place during the March 6 meeting.
“My question was, do you support the content of the last three letters that went out?” Weddell said.
“Assembly member Weddell, I’m not going to discuss that with you,” Bass said. “I’ve told you my reasons for making these decisions. You can accept that or not.”
“I do not accept it,” Weddell replied.
“Okay. Well, thank you,” Bass said.
The Skagway Borough Assembly approved three letters at their Feb. 20 meeting. The first letter was to Alaska’s congressional delegation, expressing the town’s reliance on Whitehorse for supplies, and how a proposed 25% tariff could harm the local economy.
The second letter, also to the delegation, highlights the importance of the Klondike Gold Rush National Historical Park. The federal park is a cultural draw for tourists and one of the town’s few year-round employers. Skagway lost its Park Service historic preservationist amid the nationwide probationary terminations.
The third letter was sent to the premier of Yukon, and reiterates the partnership and friendship between Skagway and its neighboring country.
The Assembly first learned that the mayor would not be signing the approved letters on Feb. 28. Borough Clerk Steve Burnaham sent an email to Assembly members informing them that the mayor had declined to sign the correspondence and that the letters would be signed by the clerk if there were no objections. All three letters were sent with the clerk’s signature.
On March 6, Bass addressed the signature issue for the first time on his official Mayor Sam Bass Facebook page. He said that he was misquoted in a CBC North article regarding the tariffs letter.
Bass stated on his Facebook page that he “did not write nor sign the letter from which these quotes are extracted from.” It also said he would work with Canadian officials to help mitigate tariff effects and he believes that more needs to be done to stop the fentanyl crisis.
Comments to the Facebook page have been disabled.
The mayor told the Assembly at the March 6 regular meeting that correspondence from the mayor and the Assembly should be separate.
“I have taken this action because I feel at the Assembly, the legislative branch of our local government should sign the correspondence it generates,” he said. “And at the mayor’s office, the executive branch should sign correspondence it generates. This method increases the validity and impact of the correspondence and allows the different branches to express themselves with a different perspective and voice.”
Bass said that city code dictates the mayor signs ordinances, contracts and deeds, but he didn’t believe that Assembly correspondence was under his purview.
Former Mayor Tim Bourcy strongly disagreed with Bass’ interpretation and said that state code, particularly Title 29, requires Bass’ signature on Assembly correspondence.
“When this body approved a letter to send, you as the mayor, are required to sign that,” Bourcy said. “The moment you step up on that floor, you represent us. And the fact that you usurped the governing body’s ability and had the clerk send this out, what message does this send?”
Bourcy questioned why Bass didn’t bring up any concerns at the last meeting – when the letters were approved – or use his veto power.
Another former mayor, Andrew Cremata, also criticized Bass’ actions.
“This is a reason to censure somebody,” he said. “… You don’t get to unilaterally decide what you like and what you don’t. Hell, I had multiple occasions when I was mayor where I had to vocally support something that I did not like, and I did it. I saved the conversation about I didn’t like it for the bar.”
The issue came up again during the March 6 meeting when the Assembly approved a letter of support for the Skagway Child Care Council, which is attempting to open a summer day camp to ease the child care crisis. Assemblymember Alex Weddell questioned the mayor’s new protocol.
“My question was, who would sign this letter?” she asked. “If this is a letter on behalf of the assembly, typically, these are signed by the mayor. His statement earlier stated that he had some difference of opinion than that. And my question was directly to the mayor, who would be signing this letter?”
Bass agreed to sign that particular correspondence.
Bass was elected mayor in 2023. He was appointed by Gov. Mike Dunleavy to the Alaska Royalty Oil & Gas Development Advisory Board in 2022.
Regarding his decision to sign or not sign letters, Bass says it was not his intention to cause “consternation.”
“I do apologize for not letting this body be aware of my intentions before not signing,” he said.
The procedure will be examined by the borough’s attorney.
