Sitka fires city administrator in contentious meeting

Sitka City Administrator Keith Brady, on the job for less than two years, was released by the Assembly on Tuesday night during an emotional meeting that involved the banging of the gavel by Mayor Gary Paxton, and Vice Deputy Mayor Valerie Nelson opining that she wished she had a bottle of red wine to ease the anxiety of the decision.

The motion was sponsored by Assembly members Aaron Bean, Kevin Mosher, and Richard Wein. In the end, it passed four to three, with Nelson joining the three makers of the resolution.

Brady was allowed to make a comment before the public comment period began. He said the resolution to remove him was not a surprise since he had been given an unsatisfactory review in April, with no path given to him for attaining a satisfactory review. He said the Assembly was there to legislate, and the administrator’s job was, with staff, to figure out “how” to achieve the direction of the Assembly. Brady said he loves Sitka and doesn’t plan to leave.

Brady and his supporters were adamant that the matter not be handled in executive session, so the entire matter was aired in public, in what was a contentious meeting.

Brady was said by critics to have trouble finishing assignments, and some Assembly members said that although he is a nice man, he has an unfixable management style.

Some members of the public spoke in favor of retaining Brady, who moved from Green River, Utah in 2017, where he had served as a Green River city Council member from 2008-2011 and was a county commissioner for two years.

The meeting can be heard here.