Haines Borough Clerk Julie Cozzi. (Haines Borough)

Haines’ longtime borough clerk is retiring after 15 years in the position. Julie Cozzi spoke with KHNS about her role in the borough – including stints in the manager seat, working through recall elections, and being the liaison between the public and the government.

Julie Cozzi has been the Haines Borough Clerk since 2003. For her, the job is about avoiding the politics.

“It is a liaison role between the public and the elected officials,” says Cozzi. “And in some respect, with other departments as well.”

Cozzi says that means making sure the public knows she’s not on any particular side of a political battle.

“The public needs to know that there is someone who tries to be as neutral as possible to help them navigate what can be sometimes a very confusing system,” says Cozzi. “And, it can be political. I think the most exhausting thing in this job is ducking under the line of crossfire.”

In 2016, some Haines residents launched a recall campaign against three members of the assembly. And, it wasn’t the first recall election during Cozzi’s tenure as clerk.

“It is the most trying thing I think I’ve experienced,” says Cozzi. “And unusual for me – unusual for clerks in general are recall elections, thankfully so. I’m unusual because I’ve gone through two in my 15 years as clerk. So whether I like it or not, I’ve become the state expert among municipal clerks on recall elections.”

The rules for recall elections are laid out in state law.

“The thing that wasn’t difficult was the process,” says Cozzi. “Because, it’s laid out for you and I was doing my job. What was difficult was knowing how much it was hurting people that were involved. And I never like that part at all.”

Cozzi points to another challenge during her time in the position — frequent turnover in leadership.

The borough has struggled to keep managers over the years.

“I think I’ve lost count but it seems like – we’ll if you count interim managers it’s probably been somewhere around 13,” says Cozzi. “In that time, because of the turnover I’ve had to serve as acting manager a lot. I even served six months as interim manager. It was quite interesting. I’ve learned a lot.”

Cozzi says she thinks the public has appreciated having a consistent face in the clerk’s office.

“A lot of people have told me that they really appreciate the fact that I’ve been here as hopefully a stabilizing factor,” says Cozzi. “If nothing else, when people look back at the time that I’ve spent as clerk, hopefully that’s what they’ll think of most. Is that I cared enough for the community and was willing to do what had to be done to get us through transitions.”

She hopes Debra Schnabel, who was hired as manager last year, will have longevity in the position and help bring stability to the borough.

As for what’s next for Cozzi? She’s not quite ready to share just yet.

“There are just a lot of opportunities that I want to be open to,” says Cozzi. “But also, I hope that I can continue to serve the community, even though it will not be in the capacity of borough clerk. I don’t know what that looks like yet. Right now I want to rest a little bit. But who knows – maybe I’ll get on a board. I don’t know what it looks like.”

Cozzi’s retirement is effective at the end of March.

“I love that I’ve been given the opportunity to do this job,” says Cozzi. “And I’m really going to miss it. I’m going to miss the mechanics of it. The actual work. And I’m going to really miss the people that I work with.”

The borough’s deputy clerk Alekka Fullerton is on track to take over the position.