Bronson’s Director of Boards and Commissions Calls Pro-Mask Assembly Members, “Criminals”
Stephanie Leigh Golmon Williams, appointed as Director of Boards and Commissions for the Municipality of Anchorage by Mayor David Bronson, referred to members of the Anchorage Assembly as "Criminals" last week on Facebook. Williams was also the volunteer events coordinator for the Bronson for Mayor Campaign.
On October 12, during a meeting of the Anchorage Assembly, Golmon Williams wrote that the Assembly was about to pass a law (emergency ordinance) for 60 days in the dead of night — captioning the post:
"They are full of madness! You like your freedom... it's about to be taken at 10pm! #Communism"
Golmon Williams, in comments made in response to her Facebook post, appears to have encouraged others to "Recall Zaletel to get rid of these criminals" and wrote that Anchorage Assembly Member John Wedddleton "MUST go….No spine!"
Another comment bearing Williams' name said that the arrogance and self-righteousness of Assembly members in favor of an emergency ordinance that would mandate masks be worn in public spaces for 60 days were "stunning."
A comment made in response to Williams' initial post appeared to suggest that members of the Assembly should be prosecuted and arrested for treason and appeared to allege that voting for the emergency ordinance was tantamount to a "communist takeover," suggesting that "...someone in law enforcement or the military has to know these tyrants are purposely thwarting our constitutional rights!"
Golmon Williams "liked" the comment made in response to her post.
Forty-eight comments were made in response to Williams' public post, but after reviewing the post and the associated comments, only 39 comments could be found.
The apparent discrepancy between the number of comments is likely attributed to removed or hidden remarks from the post in which a commenter called for the citizen's arrest of all Assembly members who voted in support of the emergency order. The EO ultimately passed on a 9-1 vote, with Crystal Kennedy voting no and Jamie Allard leaving the meeting before the official vote.
Golman Williams replied: "They are criminals."
The original commenter later added that Assembly members must be "put behind bars."
Anchorage resident Yarrow Silver noted Williams' social media posts and associated comments, providing them in an email she sent to Anchorage Municipal Manager Amy Demboski and the Anchorage Assembly on Monday, October 18.
In her email, which she provided to The Blue Alaskan, Silvers wrote in part that she had concerns with the Board and Commission appointments, alleging that the process was being handled like a "political witch hunt" by Williams, who Silvers said "takes to social media to spread politically motivated mistruths such as the attached statement that Assembly members are "criminals."
"Stephanie Williams may not like the decisions the assembly makes in representing their respective districts, but to spread such inflammatory falsehoods from a position of city leadership is unconscionable and only serves to deepen the divide in our city," Silvers wrote.
In her email the same day, Municipal Manager Amy Demboski wrote to Silver, "Thank you for sharing; I will pass along your concerns to her supervisor."
Golmon Williams' supervisor is Anchorage Mayor David Bronson's Chief of Staff Sami Graham, who, like Williams and Demboski, belongs to the pro-Bronson Save Anchorage Facebook group.
When reached for comment and asked what Silver was specifically asking the Bronson administration to do about Golmon Williams' social media posts and comments, Silver responded that she would like "more professionalism and less divisive politics from the administration" and said she'd "like to see Mayor Bronson fulfill his campaign promise that although a conservative, he would lead the city from the center-right, which he and his appointments have thus far broken."
A Twitter account whose profile picture and name are both associated with Golmon Williams wrote a tweet on January 9, 2021, alleging that "criminals" stole the election for then President-Elect Biden and referring to Biden as an "enemy of the state."
In a tweet made on September 12 of this year, the Twitter account referred to President Biden as an "incoherent #illegitimatepresident."
On November 6, 2020, the same Twitter account sent a tweet that tagged Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, accused Twitter of censoring former President Donald Trump, and claimed that Twitter only permitted free speech for "extremist Democrats." Williams' tweet was made after Twitter had placed a warning label on a tweet belonging to Trump, warning that some or all of the content shared in it was "disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process."
The November 6, 2020, tweet was geotagged in Alexandria, LA, the same city and state Williams listed on her Facebook page.
Williams' name also appears in a 2016 article published by Outsports.com about Nattaphon Wangyot, a former Alaska State High School student who is transgender and competed in a track and field state meet.
Williams, speaking for the Alaska Family Council, was quoted in the article as saying Wangyot's participation in the meet was "not fair" and "not right" for female athletes even though Wangyot didn't win the state championship, finishing fifth in the 100-meter and third in the 200-meter races.
A paragraph in this post was updated for clarity.
