By SUZANNE DOWNING
Sept. 20, 2026 – Ketchikan Gateway Borough Mayor Austin Otos is calling on a borough planning commissioner to resign after she questioned at a public meeting how much more “white people” should have to pay for the Ketchikan Indian Community.
Planning Commissioner Darlene Dollimont-Svenson made the remark during a Planning Commission meeting last Tuesday. Video of her comments circulated afterward. “How much more do white people have to pay for KIC in this community?” she asked, referring to the federally recognized tribe, not to Natives themselves.
She later said she misspoke, was just concerned that the community keeps having to pony up for the KIC, that KIC gets variances others don’t get, and she just wanted to bring up a conversation that Ketchikan residents had asked her to inquire about. She is married to an Aleut and has many Alaska Natives in her family. She adopted and raised a Native daughter. She categorically denies that her remark was intended to be racist; she just is concerned that KIC gets special treatment.
In a letter responding to the statement, Otos said borough officials are expected to act fairly and impartially. He praised the borough’s working relationship with KIC and said he took “great exception” to the commissioner’s words.
The Borough Assembly is scheduled to consider a motion Monday, Sept. 21, condemning Dollimont-Svenson’s statement, according to the mayor’s letter.
Otos said borough code does not provide a way to remove her from the Planning Commission, but he called on her to resign. This may be seen as a First Amendment encroachment, a violation of her right to free speech. Otos also said further remedies could be pursued. Dollimont-Svenson is a commissioner representing a rural seat with a term that ends in March, 2027.
The controversy started after KIC received substantial government Covid funds and started buying up properties around town. KIC opened up a homeless shelter in the middle of the business district, which has cost local business owners greatly.
Subsequently, there has been a months-long dispute over KIC’s plan to turn the former Salmon Falls Resort into an “addiction healing center.” The tribe purchased the property last fall. Some nearby residents have raised concerns about the proposed use, while tribal leaders have described the center as a needed source of treatment and healing. It’s uniquely zoned because it’s in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Parking is one of the big issues.
Dollimont-Svenson previously opposed aspects of KIC’s zoning request. At a January Planning Commission meeting, she asked the tribe to provide a fuller plan to neighboring residents and raised questions about possible effects on local services and fees. Borough meeting records say a KIC representative responded that the tribe would pay service area fees, though the property would be exempt from property taxes. The Borough Assembly later moved the project forward.
The mayor’s letter says the Assembly will consider a public condemnation Monday.
31 thoughts on “Ketchikan borough mayor demanding planning commissioner resign after remark about tribe’s excessive code variances”
Well, somebody has a pair of giant size stones for kicking the native beehive
How racist, asking the question why Natives get preferential treatment and appeasement discounts. Never, never, never ….question why white man must pay the burden of the beast. This person needs to be sent back to DEI camp and straightened out. Public education fails again. A rebel voice snuck through.
Dr. Dan,
I’m assuming most of your clients are ill-affected Democrats? Does Medicare cover psychosis issues? With all of the mentally ill Democrats running around and coming apart, your business must be booming. Haven’t heard from you in awhile. Stay in touch.
Thank God! In death we all can put the racial identity to bed in the grave. We can’t help the racial identities we were born with by the bodies we were born in. Thank God we get to leave it behind. I Pray and I hope that that’s what in Corinthians that what it means after death we’ll have new bodies.
Cause I hate seeing how people can divide themselves by their skin tone and genetic racial heritage. I really hate the racial divisions and it all comes down because if the way we look. We got that going on in the American churches. White church. Black church, Yupik church, Native church, Samoan church, Filipino church, Korean church, Chinese church. Hispanic church. They are all going hell. The illiteracy.
Why are you bringing up race??!?!
This is about ONE group of ppl in our town that gets preferential treatment.
It would not matter WHAT race they are, as the ISSUES are the subject.
Let’s say they were all Australians.
WHY do they get to cut a ton of REQUIRED parking spots out of their building plans?
WHY is everyone virtual signaling that one group?
WHY are they allowed to have a drug treatment center illegally rezoned for THEM when small children live next door in a remote neighborhood where it could be dangerous for families in the immediate area if one of their clients were criminally inclined?
Why is Free speech / a woman targeted, threatened & attacked by everyone from the mayor to city council candidates for wondering these same things?
WHY are we not allowed to ask legit questions concerning these “Australians” when NO ONE ELSE would be accommodated in the same manner??
It is not what race, it is the chickensht way our town is turning woke, liberal, & blind. But now we are racist if we ask.
If they are acquiring non native land by purchase, it should be subject to property tax. The article reads like they want to place a business (treatment facility) in a residential area, it should not be allowed.
They DO want to. A family that moved out the road to that neighborhood with small grandchildren live on the property next door. If these ppl walked away from the center (it is not a lockdown facility & no trained guards planned), how safe are the neighbors?
Ketchikan Gateway Borough has broken their own codes for rezoning, something that would not have been allowed for other groups. It is in litigation now.
Also, KIC has been allowed to cut the required number of parking spaces considerably for the other property in town that no one else is allowed to do…
The Borough has prevented anyone from speaking about it at meetings unless your property is adjacent to their property.
Retired ppl as well as a small family live next door. They moved out the road to BE secluded, but now feel unsafe.
There is talk of bringing incarcerated addicts from down south & have this facility running 365 days a year, 30 beds always full. We do not have enough addicts for that here.
WE ARE AN ISLAND without enough housing for US. Where will they go after the 30 days? What if they DON’T successfully complete the program? Kick them out? To wander around? Drop them off in town? What if they walk away, break into the neighbor’s house looking for? Drugs, money, something else?
This is a public safety issue & the ones that ignored our zoning laws to OK that center are NOT living next door to it.
The neighbors objected and were ignored even though those objections are part of the mandatory criteria that fails the rezone
In Christ’s Church, we don’t think that way. That thinking of division between race or finances or education level was in the old way living.
Meaning a Christ sister could meet a sister n Christ whose address is on Hillside living either brown or white skinned and she wouldn’t even care if her sister n Christ she earned significantly less than her. Meaning souls are unified in Christ no matter wealth level, social acceptance level, nor racial ethnic background.
I hadn’t met anyone like that in Southeast nor Anchorage or anywhere I traveled on the Alaska road system. Only one other Christ sister meet and she was 85 years old from Sitka and now in heaven. I keep looking for someone not prejudiced.
I pray you meet Him when you pass…. You’ll certainly not find that perfection outside of Jesus Christ.
You have it SO wrong.
I was married to 2 native men, lived in a remote native community for 18 years, have 5 Native children, NONE of whose ever expected someone to break laws & codes to accommodate THEM, when no one else got the same preferential treatment.
And NO ONE calls anyone racist for expecting EVERYONE to play on the same level playing field, not have laws broken BY THE BOROUGH & PUBLIC officials just for them!
Ppl like you STOKE the racism claims.
Asking a question is NOT BEING RACIST.
The woman under attack is MARRIED to an Aleut, adopted & raised a native child…
Well, considering that Natives don’t pay for healthcare, don’t pay for schools in every little village, don’t provide detox centers for their numerous alcoholics on the streets in Anchorage and Fairbanks, collect set-aside contracts from the Federal and State governments, and receive dividends from their Native Corporations, it seems like maybe they have enough things paid for by the rest of us and don’t really need more zoning wavers or exceptions, but maybe that’s just racist? No, it isn’t. The truth is not racist, and neither was the comment she made.
Agree.
🤜🤛👍
100%!
And I was married to 2 natives, have 5 Native children who NEVER expect special treatment or attacked anyone for asking a question that was NOT racist & should be covered by free speech.
Our mayor is a virtue signaling child that, if I am correct, STILL LIVES WITH HIS PARENTS
A planning commissioner worthy of retaining as she has eyes wide open to what really is gross abuse of the public system. I agree with Tamra Nygaard above. Sadly it seems those willing to stand up for what is right end up thrown off the boat.
Follow the money, plain and simple. Kickbacks, campaign contributions, and a voting block reaping the financial rewards of said variances. Now wait until the massive amounts of federal dollars start pouring in to help fund the operations of said center. The political wheels get greased, pockets get lined on both sides of the equation, and the tax payers get fleeced. No wonder they are screaming for her resignation, how dare she shine the light into the dark corners of the backroom dealings!
I wish someone on the Juneau Assembly had the balls to speak up a little more on that.
Minorities are never, ever guilty of greed, nor do they work to take advantage of anybody or anything. They are not Fallen, they are perfect. To mention anything other than that is a sin. Marxism is the way to human evolution and perfection. Only white men, free enterprise and property can be criticized. A hyphenated-last-name, appointed public official who is married into a family of minorities and a woman to boot, dare to speak something like what she did betrays her own privilege. It demonstrates mental pollution and must be dealt with immediately, harshly and driven away from any future public discourse. She must be made an example, to strike fear into the hearts of others who might dare to THINK FOR THEMSELVES, rather than The Masses.
Bob Bird, you are correct. She is being ‘made an example to strike fear into the hearts of others’. Regarding the Salmon Falls Resort that Ketchikan Indian Corporation (KIC) purchased to make a ‘rehabilitation’ center, they went to the Borough Planning Commission to change the zoning from resort to commercial. The Commission denied their request for lack of necessity. The fact that under the original zone, they were covered, and a commercial zone in the midst of a rural residential area was poor planning. KIC took their denial to Facebook and all the media crying foul stirring up support and convinced the Borough Assembly (Austin Otos is Mayor) to override the Planning Commission. Now, KIC wants to exclude the requirement for a large number of parking places they are required to provide for their new building to house homeless in the center of town. Parking in Ketchikan is premium. The Ketchikan Borough Planning Commission passed KIC’s request by all but one vote, breaking no less than 4 Borough Codes in doing so. Ms. Svenson was the lone dissenter. She then asked a poorly worded question of the Commission, and is now hung out to dry. Everyone is jumping on the bandwagon to distance themselves from her—like lemmings. Change the focus, that is the key.
Never apologise to others if their marxism gets offended.
You will lose self respect and be treated with contempt by them to boot.
Slow down a minute, so KIC received Covid funds from the taxpayers and instead of using those funds for their designated purpose, used them to buy up property?
Hmmm I seem to recall the Inspector General intervening when the Anchorage assembly planned to use Covid funds to purchase properties……
Maybe an investigation of the use of that money by KIC is in order and kudos to the planning commissioner for asking questions!
You couldn’t mean the Alaska Black Caucus building, could you?
Thanks Chuck, I had forgotten about the Black Caucus building, great catch!
I was referring to the plan the assembly had back in 2020 to use CARES funds(dedicated to help small businesses etc) to partially fund the purchase of 4 buildings for homeless and drug rehab. Their creative accounting (replacing already appropriated funds for EMS/fire with CARES money) and plan using the “liberated” funds for the purchase of said buildings, got them a call from the Inspector General of the Treasury. They were told that no part of COVID money (liberated or not)could be used for unrelated purchases. Seems to me that KIC has some explaining to do……..
Anchorage assembly is not a
Native organization.
That’s the whole point.
NO ONE WILL SAY ANYTHING TO THEM, which is reverse racism.
In fact, the child mayor (still lived with mommy & daddy when he was elected) & others BROKE our codes & laws several times for KIC.
We ask ourselves here: what happens to those drug addicted individuals (many of whom will be brought up here to this small island from down south) after their 30 days? Will they be released into our community to take up More Of our tight housing? What if they relapse?
Their plans should have been to finance training & outreach programs for Native youth, teach them to do Habitat for Humanity type building skills to help their elders, many of whom’s homes are falling apart… but not much additional Federal money for that, compared to current plans…
How many KIC campaign contributions and votes did the Mayor receive last election cycle?
Spent a few decades as a Trooper all over Alaska. Happy to see someone finally bringing this issue up. Natives all over the country have learned that claiming to be Victims the free breadbasket never goes empty. Never do you read they are thankful for the billions given to them by Europeans, nor the many benefits such as schools, free legal, schooling, preferential hiring and promotions (including the state of Ak) and all the rest.
Interesting that as an Ex Trooper for decades in Alaska this site will not allow me to post what I’ve seen w/them.
Your remarks have me grateful that I am not Native if you are a State Trooper.
I’m glad you were not allowed to post your experiences. We are not here to BECOME racist, just to advocate the SAME TERMS & RULES FOR ALL.
We KNOW the things that have happened if we have been here for decades.
At least all the serial killers were not native. Have anything to say about them? Or all the crooked politicians that continually take our dividends or otherwise harm us with their anti Alaskan bs? Murkowski & Peltola in particular…
You are at least supposed to PRETEND you have no bias…
The neighbors objected and were ignored even though those objections are part of the mandatory criteria that fails the rezone