Epidemiologist Janet Johnston Resigns from Health Department

Municipal epidemiologist Janet Johnston has allegedly been forced out of her role at the Anchorage Health Department by Anchorage Mayor David Bronson as Covid-19 case counts rise across the city.

Johnston suggested moving on from the Health Department a few weeks ago, but the Bronson administration didn’t let her do that on her own timeframe. According to sources, Johnston said she was recently given the option of resigning or being fired by Anchorage Mayor David Bronson.

Johnston submitted her resignation yesterday, July 26 but attempted to make her last day of work with the Health Department on August 4 to support upcoming meetings and provide for a smooth transition.

Human Resources watched her clean out her desk, according to a source.

On July 23, Johnston sent a Covid-19 risk assessment update for the Municipality of Anchorage to the Anchorage Health Policy Committee through David Morgan, the Anchorage Health Department Director appointed by Anchorage Mayor David Bronson.

Community factors provided in Johnston’s Covid-19 risk assessment noted:

• The more transmissible Delta variant is spreading broadly in Anchorage.
• Case counts and hospitalizations are increasing rapidly in Anchorage and across the state.
• Case counts and hospitalizations are expected to continue increasing until we see a significant increase in vaccination coverage and/or the use of non-pharmacologic interventions, such as masks and social distancing.

Johnston has long been considered a respected employee of the Anchorage Health Department. She will begin a new job at ANTHC next Monday as Senior Epidemiologist in the liver disease and hepatitis program.

On Twitter, former Municipal Manager Bill Falsey wrote that the next big question is whether the Bronson administration will fill the position with someone else or whether the administration will eliminate Johnston’s position “altogether.”

The Anchorage Daily News reported this afternoon after The Blue Alaskan broke the news of Johnston’s departure that she did indeed resign on her own, saying, “I thought it was time for me to move on” and that she was proud of the work she did while at the Anchorage Health Department. Johnston reportedly did not say why she felt it was time to move on after serving less than a year in her role with the Health Department.

Anchorage Health Director Morgan shared concerning comments on social media about the Covid-19 pandemic—in one, quoting a “comedian” writing, “If you think the coronavirus panic in an election year right after three failed coup attempts against Trump is a coincidence, you might be as dumb as a rock!”

Last Friday, Bronson stealth-appointed Jim Wojciehowski to the Health Commission.

Wojciehowski has written for the far-right publication Alaska Watchman and testified numerous times in front of the Anchorage Assembly, sometimes referring to mask-wearing as “panic porn.”