Anchorage Assemblywoman Debbie Ossiander was blind-sided by a call for a vote for new leadership at the conclusion of the Dec. 15 Assembly meeting. But she is determined not to let the 6-4 vote to replace her as chairwoman of the body with Assemblyman Patrick Flynn, who represents downtown and Government Hill, get her down.

"I didn't really see it coming, but I always knew my tenure was tenuous," Ossiander said. "I have frequently voted with the minority on issues the Assembly was pretty divided about, but I certainly hoped I could've continued."

The city charter and laws allow for the Assembly, at any time, to vote for new leadership, requiring that at least six of the body's 11 members support the action. Assembly members Flynn, Matt Claman, Harriet Drummond, Elvi Gray-Jackson, Mike Gutierrez and Sheila Selkregg voted to reorganize.

Flynn and Ossiander were then nominated for the position. The final vote was by secret ballot, with Flynn winning, 6-4. Assemblyman Dan Coffey was absent. Gutierrez was then elected the Assembly's new vice chairman, replacing Drummond. That vote was by secret ballot, too.

Ossiander said she was "disheartened," but understood she was often on the losing end of many votes.

"I tried my best to be fair," Ossiander said. "I know we've had some very difficult issues."

Gutierrez and Flynn said the plan for reorganizing the Assembly leadership has been in the works for awhile.

"It's something that had been talked about for quite some time, but the middle of the budget process was no time for a change in leadership," Gutierrez said. "I do feel badly a couple of members apparently didn't know about it."

While Gutierrez said the change had been planned for several months, several Assembly members said they had only heard rumors of the change. Ossiander said it caught her by surprise.

Assemblywoman Jennifer Johnston said she knew some members had planned to oust Ossiander, but she had never been involved in any such discussions.

"I'd been hearing rumors of others trying to do this." Johnston said. "April is when elections happen, so I think this is definitely a short-term change, and it took a while for them to get their six votes."

Selkregg hinted that the vote to oust Ossiander was less about her abilities than it was about leveling the political playing field with Mayor Dan Sullivan.

"What the six votes are saying is, 'we have a strong, capable mayor, who is engaging in change, and we have six votes on the Assembly that don't always agree with him,' " Selkregg said before the vote. "To balance out that power structure, we needed to reorganize."

Ossiander retains her Assembly seat representing Eagle River, Chugiak, the military bases and a sliver of Muldoon.

The Assembly voted her into the chairwoman spot in April, and she steered the body through a series of high-profile controversies that divided the community and brought hundreds of people to meetings, including an effort to change the city's equal-rights laws to prohibit discrimination against gays. After months of public hearings, the Assembly passed the law 7-4, but Sullivan vetoed it.

"I want to assure the body I've tried my best to be fair in this office," Ossiander said. "I continue to believe that we can work well together, and I certainly am dedicated to continuing to work for the good of the Assembly, and the city."

Sullivan said the move will have little impact on his actions regarding matters he considers using his veto powers to block.

"There is still a 6-5 divide on the Assembly," he said. "That's not enough to override a veto should I decide to cast one again. So the change in leadership really changes nothing."

As for Ossiander, who is considering running for a third term in the April election, the vote to change leadership has not appeared to deter her.

"I basically had decided a week before the meeting that I would run for a third term, and being voted out did little to change that," she said. "In some ways I'm tired of this job, but I want to finish what I've been working on for the last six years, and serving a third term gives me that opportunity."

No longer the chair of the assembly will also offer Ossiander a greater opportunity to speak her mind.

"As the chair I spoke for the entire Assembly and often had to keep me thoughts to myself," she said. "Now I have the luxury of speaking for Debbie and the people of the Chugiak-Eagle River area.

"I look forward to another term," she continued. "If the people see fit to re-elect me."