Alaska mayor apologizes for inappropriate relationship
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz on Monday admitted to having an inappropriate relationship with a female reporter, three days after she made online allegations against the married official.
“I apologize to the people of Anchorage for a major lapse in judgment I made several years ago when I had a consensual, inappropriate messaging relationship with reporter Maria Athens,” Berkowitz said in a statement released by his office late Monday afternoon.
“I’m embarrassed and ashamed for the hurt I’ve caused my family and our community. I take responsibility for my actions,” he said.
The acknowledgement comes at the end of three days that roiled Alaska’s largest city, a span that saw both his denial of accusations Athens made on Facebook and her arrest.
It was not immediately clear what the messages involved and how long it lasted. Berkowitz declined an interview with The Associated Press through a city spokesperson. A message sent to Athens on Facebook was not immediately returned.
Athens, the anchor for the combined Fox/ABC station in Anchorage, posted a video on her Facebook page Friday, the same day the station barred her from the studio. In the video, she claimed she would break a story that Berkowitz posted nude photos to a website. She later also posted what she said was a photo of the mayor’s nude back side.
Berkowitz’s office immediately denied the unsubstantiated allegation and said it talked to the station manager, who is Athens’ boss. The release from the mayor’s office said her boss at the station also disavowed the story.
Later that day, Athens was arrested after trespassing in the television studio after being told she could not return there. She allegedly accosted the station manager, who charging documents identify as her boyfriend, and she was arrested by police.
Athens was charged with criminal mischief and disorderly conduct and was released on bail Monday.
Both Anchorage police spokesperson MJ Thim and Berkowitz noted police and the FBI investigated Athens’ claims and found there was no evidence of criminal conduct on Berkowitz’s part.
Berkowitz, 58, was elected to his second three-year term as mayor in 2018.
