The Nome Common Council unanimously reversed its decision to grant a chauffeur’s license appeal to Harold Michael Ahmasuk during a special meeting Friday, just three days after narrowly approving the appeal.
The 6-0 vote effectively reinstates the city’s original denial of Ahmasuk’s chauffeur’s license application. The decision came after public testimony opposing the license and an extended discussion with the city’s attorney about the council’s authority to reconsider its earlier vote.
Ahmasuk was convicted of second-degree sexual abuse of a minor in April 1985. He was 30 years old at the time of the offense, according to Alaska Court System records, and pleaded no contest to the charge.
Nome City Clerk Dan Grimmer denied Ahmasuk’s application Oct. 1, citing a city ordinance that prohibits issuing chauffeur’s licenses to individuals convicted of felony offenses against another person.
Ahmasuk appealed the denial in a handwritten letter dated Oct. 6.
At Tuesday’s meeting, council members Kohren Green, Adam Martinson and Randy Oles voted to grant the appeal. Council members Scot Henderson, Mark Johnson and Adam Lust opposed it. Mayor Kenny Hughes broke the 3-3 tie, voting in favor of Ahmasuk.
Henderson requested city staff schedule a special meeting to reconsider the vote the following morning.
Watch a replay of this meeting:
City attorney says earlier appeal was not finalized
Much of Friday’s meeting centered on what process the council would need to follow to potentially reverse a decision it had already made.
City Attorney Sam Severin, participating remotely, explained that the council’s earlier decision was not final because it had not completed the process required under Nome Municipal Code, which requires the council to also issue written findings of fact and conclusions of law when deciding an appeal.
Severin said the requirement makes the appeal process a two-part procedure, and the council had completed only the first part Tuesday.
“The process is simply not done. The appeal is not over,” Severin said.
Because the process remained incomplete, Severin advised that the council could continue deliberating and reach a different decision.
Council member Henderson repeatedly pressed Severin on the clearest way to resolve the issue without adding time to the process.
“I think the public needs some pretty clear direction on this today,” Henderson said.
Council member Johnson backed up his vote to deny the appeal on Tuesday, saying that the city clerk had provided clear documentation supporting the original denial. He questioned how the council could produce the required written findings of facts and conclusions of law when the council’s Tuesday decision did not appear to follow city code.
“I don’t think that there are any grounds to back up the decision,” Johnson said.
When pressed again by Henderson, Severin confirmed that the council could simply vote to reverse its earlier decision and direct city staff to prepare written findings supporting the reversal.
Henderson made the motion, which Johnson seconded.
All six council members voted in favor, including Green, Martinson and Oles, who had supported granting Ahmasuk’s appeal Tuesday.
The council must still adopt the written findings of fact and conclusions of law at a subsequent meeting to formally complete the appeal process
Residents raise public safety concerns
Before the vote, four Nome residents addressed the council during public comment.
Ashley Earp and Billi Jean Miller, co-owners of the now inoperational taxi company Bootz & Co. Cab, urged the council to uphold the original denial.
Earp cited Ahmasuk’s criminal history and questioned whether someone with a conviction for sexual abuse of a minor should be allowed to transport passengers.
“Cab drivers are tasked with providing safe transportation to the community, including women, children and elders,” Earp said. “I think I speak for many women when I say a cab driver with this history is not someone I would ever want to get into a car with.”
Miller delivered a statement about her own experiences and criticized the council for initially granting the appeal.
She also questioned whether Steven Longley, who operates a transportation service known as EZ Shuttle and has employed Ahmasuk, holds the proper business licensing and insurance to operate a taxi service. Miller alleged that Longley’s state business license identifies his operation as a “towing business” rather than a taxi service.
Longley, who regularly appears at council meetings, did not speak during Friday’s public comment period. During Tuesday’s meeting he defended Ahmasuk and argued that the city’s chauffeur licensing ordinance contains conflicting requirements.
Nome resident Jeremy Jacobson also questioned the council’s earlier decision. He read excerpts from Nome city code that outline the requirement to deny issuance of a chauffeur’s licenses for certain felony convictions involving offenses against another person.
“I was under the impression that even council members are still subject to the law,” Jacobson said.
Thomas Simonsson echoed those concerns, emphasizing that his objections were about the city’s responsibility to follow its ordinances rather than Ahmasuk personally.
“I do not see anything in the ordinance allowing those considerations to override a mandatory ground for denial,” Simonsson said.
He questioned whether the council had exceeded its authority by granting an appeal involving a conviction that appeared to fall under the ordinance’s mandatory disqualification provisions.
Written findings supporting Friday’s decision are expected to return to the council for approval at a future meeting. Until that process is complete, the appeal has not been formally finalized, although the council’s latest vote directs the city to uphold its original denial of Ahmasuk’s chauffeur’s license.
