Anchorage Office of Equity and Justice official pushes back at Trump DEI order in now-deleted social media post

Days after President Donald Trump issued sweeping executive orders to dismantle diversity, equity, inclusion and access initiatives in the federal government, Anchorage’s municipal Office of Equity and Justice leader pushed back on the orders, saying they “dealt a blow” to communities but that the city office is continuing to do its work.

In a now-deleted public social media post on Saturday, Anchorage Chief Equity Officer Kim Waller said the president’s orders falsely represent what diversity, equity and inclusion efforts mean at the local level. The work of the city’s office is not discriminatory or illegal, Waller said.

“In my office, and at the Municipality of Anchorage, no one is being hired, promoted or given any rewards based upon the color of their skin. Hard work is hard work, no matter what race or gender,” Waller said in the post.

Waller’s statements were met by a broad response on social media, both supportive and critical. It was not clear why Waller later deleted the post. She did not answer a questions about that on Monday.

In an emailed response to other questions, however, Waller reiterated her stance that the city’s hiring practices are legal, and said that her office’s work is not at odds with the president’s executive orders.

The president’s orders include a stop on all federal work on diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility initiatives, saying, “Americans deserve a government committed to serving every person with equal dignity and respect, and to expending precious taxpayer resources only on making America great.” Another order to “end illegal discrimination” and restore “merit-based opportunity” revoked historic affirmative action, or equal employment opportunity, executive orders.

The aim of Trump’s orders extends to the private sector, with potential implications for federal contractors and for grant recipients, including local governments like Anchorage, which could face more scrutiny over their programs.

“While these orders haven’t yet been put into effect at the state or local level, I was informed by municipal attorneys that we need to be prepared. And we are,” Waller said in the deleted social media post.

Anchorage has long had its own Office of Equal Opportunity, which is nested under the Office of Equity and Justice, according to the city’s organizational chart. In 2020, the city moved to add the city’s Office of Equity and Justice and the chief equity officer position under a proposal from former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, during nationwide protests against police brutality and systemic racism.

According to city code, the chief equity officer is tasked with “analyzing and identifying systemic inequities in the municipality,” including for educational and economic opportunities, health and wellness, and access to resources and municipal services.

The offices of Equal Opportunity and Equity and Justice are set out in city code, and so are not directly impacted by dismantling at the federal level, Assembly Chair Chris Constant said. They are funded by municipal, not federal, dollars, he said.

“There is no executive order that will make us stop caring about our neighbors and fellow Americans,” Waller said in her deleted social media post. “There is no law that will stop us from uplifting the voices of the voiceless, to assure that everyone has fairness and dignity in their lifetime. There is no level of threat that will make us so fearful that we will walk away. I’ve assured municipal lawyers I will not resign.”

Asked about Mayor Suzanne LaFrance’s position on Waller’s social media statement, the mayor’s office said LaFrance is “focused on the same priorities she’s been focused on since day one: public safety, bringing more housing to Anchorage, and getting the snow cleared from our streets.”

In a July statement announcing Waller’s hiring, LaFrance said she was “grateful that Kim will be bringing her talents and experience to drive equity in our Municipal policies and programs.”

The mayor’s office on Tuesday said the municipality is “actively monitoring and assessing the impact of executive orders and other directives coming out of Washington, DC.”

In her email, Waller said the city has “long had a purely merit-based, equal-opportunity system of hiring and workforce development that does not allow race- or sex-based preference.”

“Our hiring practices are already in full compliance with applicable federal law. The executive orders focus on equal opportunity; we take pride in already being a truly equal opportunity employer,” she said.

As the municipality seeks to fill numerous vacancies across its departments, part of her office’s role is to make sure municipal job opportunities are open to everyone in Anchorage, she said in the email. That means doing proactive outreach to all sectors, like veterans, “people with valuable language skills,” and those with “life experiences and talents that can help us better serve” residents.

“We do not read the president’s recent executive orders as calling any of that essential work into question,” she said by email.

In her social media post, Waller also said part of her office’s work is to connect with communities and organizations that “feel they have no voice in local government,” she said.

That work includes providing support to people who experience hate, discrimination or bullying due to their identities; helping to ensure language access for the residents; educating city workers on tribes and tribal relationships; and working with the police department and with immigrant and refugee communities, she said.

“My office will continue to work within the parameters of what has been set before us and we will do so fearlessly,” Waller said in the post. “This is the work that brought forth civil rights, voting rights, rights for women, veterans, the elderly, Title IX, rights for the LGBTQ community, for indigenous people, Americans with disabilities and so much more.”