The Sitka Assembly is still considering options for the vacant municipal attorney position. On Thursday (8-8-24) the assembly interviewed its first applicant in several months, but also made plans to interview two new applicants later in August.
Rachel Jones is a former Sitka magistrate. She studied law at the University of California, Berkeley, and is licensed to practice law in California and Alaska. Jones interviewed for the municipal attorney job in 2016 when the assembly hired Brian Hanson. Hanson retired this summer, and the assembly has been struggling to find a replacement with few applicants for the position since they began recruiting in April.
The assembly spent just over an hour interviewing Jones. When asked what makes her a good fit for the role, alongside her legal qualifications and experience, she noted her Sitka experience as an asset that couldn’t be learned in the classroom or the courtroom.
“It just takes time living here to get that sense of the real web of town, and then as a public figure [or] semi-public figure, to comport yourself within it,” Jones said. “Learning how to comport yourself as a public person in a fish bowl just can only be done by experience, and I’ve been through that ringer.”
After interviewing Jones, the assembly spent around half an hour behind closed doors in executive session, discussing Jones’s qualifications. When they returned, Mayor Steven Eisenbeisz said they would “be moving forward with the process.”
During public comment, assembly candidate Austin Cranford asked that the assembly investigate Jones’ Alaska Bar certificate because he said he had contacted the bar association and learned she was suspended. KCAW reached out to the Alaska Bar Association and confirmed that Jones, listed under her maiden name, is an active member and in good standing.
The assembly will interview two other candidates for the attorney job the week of August 19. The names of those candidates have not yet been released.
