Palmer City Council member Richard Best resigns amid turmoil

Originally published March 18, 2025

What you need to know:

• Palmer City Council member Richard Best resigned Tuesday, citing ongoing statements about him from fellow council members and concerns that his presence could be hindering the council's effectiveness.
• Best’s resignation is expected to be accepted at the next council meeting, and the mayor must appoint a replacement within 45 days.
• His resignation comes amid broader city tensions, including a recall effort against Mayor Steve Carrington and disputes over council procedures and ethics.

PALMER – Palmer City Council member Richard Best has resigned, effective immediately.

Best said he resigned because of continuing statements made about him during city council meetings and because he felt his presence could be hindering the council's work.

“Just the ineffectiveness of the body right now—I want to do good things, and if I’m not being part of the solution, then I must be part of the problem,” Best said in an interview.

Best said he submitted his resignation to the Palmer city clerk and Mayor Steve Carrington via email at about 12:45 p.m. Tuesday.

“When called upon to serve my community, I will always respond, so this is not goodbye … it is simply until next time,” he wrote in the statement.

Best's resignation follows turmoil over possible city sanctions against him in connection with a series of criminal charges.

Best pleaded guilty in May to refusing a chemical test after a traffic stop in downtown Palmer early last year, according to court documents. A charge of driving under the influence was dismissed as part of the plea, the documents state. His license was revoked for 90 days.

A 2022 Anchorage case in which police arrested Best on charges of driving under the influence and reckless driving is still pending.

State prosecutors late last month dismissed a charge of driving with a revoked license filed against Best after a January traffic stop. His attorney wrote in a court filing that police misread a database during the stop, leading to an incorrect charge.

Palmer City Council members Victoria Hudson and John Alcantra asked the city attorney to draft an ordinance containing the sanctions, which would have prevented Best from officially representing the city at public events and from voting on matters related to public safety, they said.

Hudson shelved that proposal after Best's mother died early this month, she said in an interview Tuesday before the resignation announcement.

Best said "personal attacks" from council members have created significant pressure. He said resigning will allow him to focus on other issues.

“I’m going to take care of my stuff,” he said.

Best first joined the council in 2006, according to the city's website, and was last re-elected in 2023.

Vacant council seats are filled by mayoral appointment after a 14-day application process, according to Palmer city code.

Best's seat will officially become vacant after the City Council accepts his resignation, a step that will likely happen at a meeting scheduled for next week, Carrington said in an interview.

The mayor must appoint a replacement within 45 days of the official vacancy, a deadline that will likely fall in early May, he said. That appointee must run for election in October to keep the seat.

Carrington is the subject of an ongoing recall effort, with a vote also scheduled for May. An exact date for that election has not been announced, he said.

Best's resignation comes on the heels of an emergency vote by the Palmer City Council on Monday to cancel two outside investigations into officials' actions that Best ordered last week.

Best directed the city's interim manager to spend up to $30,000 to hire an outside attorney to conduct two investigations focused on what he said were "disparaging and defamatory statements" made against him and city employees by council members during meetings, as well as allegations made by City Attorney Sarah Heath that led to the October resignation of former City Manager Stephen Jellie, Best said in an interview. 

Council members are permitted to issue directives to city staff so long as they have the support of one additional member. Council member Jim Cooper supported Best’s directives. 

Council members Carolina Graver, Josh Tudor and Hudson requested Monday's emergency meeting to reconsider the investigations, arguing that an order to spend city funds should require a vote of the full council, not the direction of just two members.

They also said they were not given a chance to object when the orders were issued. Had they been given the opportunity, they would have worked to stop them during the meeting at which they were ordered, they said.

The council voted 4-2 to rescind Best's investigative directives, with Cooper and Carrington voting no. Best did not vote, saying he believed the action was illegal. Palmer city code does not allow the council to reconsider approved measures, he said.

Heath said the vote to overturn the directives was legal because Best ordered the investigations through a directive, not through a council vote. Palmer law allows a majority vote of the council to overturn directives, she said.

-- Contact Amy Bushatz at contact@matsusentinel.com