ANCHORAGE AWAY

Anchorage Mayor Resigns After Admitting to ‘Inappropriate Messaging Relationship’ With TV Reporter

The mayor said Monday he’d had a “consensual, inappropriate messaging relationship” with a local TV anchor and apologized to his family.

The mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, announced his resignation late Tuesday, a day after he admitted to a “consensual, inappropriate messaging relationship” with a local TV anchor. Ethan Berkowitz, mayor of the city since 2015, said in a statement via his chief of staff, “It is with profound sadness and humility that I resign as the mayor of the municipality of Anchorage.” The crowd who heard the announcement cheered, as protesters had gathered to oppose the extension of Berkowitz’s emergency powers, according to Alaska Public Media. The TV anchor with whom Berkowitz conducted a relationship, Maria Athens, alleged via a video on her Facebook page that photos of the mayor appeared on an “underage girl’s website.” Anchorage police investigated and found no evidence of wrongdoing. Athens later posted a photo of what she said was the mayor’s rear end and reportedly left voicemails for Berkowitz telling him to kill himself and saying Athens herself would kill his wife. She was arrested following an altercation with her boss Friday.