Zach Fansler

Fansler was born in Lebanon, Pennsylvania. He has lived in Bethel, Alaska since 2011, and lived there previously from 2001 to 2004.[1] He served on the Bethel City Council from 2014 to 2016, and has worked for the Tundra Women's Coalition and was on the faculty at the University of Alaska Fairbanks.[1][2] Zach also worked for Angstman Law Office providing legal services & the k300 as a manager.

Fansler was first elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 2016. While he ran unopposed in the general election, Fansler defeated Bob Herron in the primary with 57% of the vote. Herron was the Majority Whip for the Republican Party at the time.[3]

In 2017, Fansler visited villages in the Yukon–Kuskokwim Delta to learn about the threat to the communities posed by flooding and erosion due to climate change. Fansler said that the erosion "is something that we see in almost every village that we go to," and while he would not make a promise, he said that he was hopeful that the visit would help him better advocate for solutions.[4]

On January 25, 2018, the Juneau Empire reported that Fansler was being investigated an incident that took place on the night of January 13, in which Fansler twice slapped a woman while drunk in a hotel room, which caused a rupture in her eardrum. Fansler's attorney denied the allegation on his behalf.[5] Text messages provided to the Empire show that Fansler said the following the morning after the incident:

I'm really sorry. I really, really like you and I'm sorry I ventured into my kink bdsm so early with you. I am so, so sorry to upset you. Can we please start over and try again?[5]

Fansler received condemnation from BDSM communities for the statement, with the head of the Alaska Center for Alternative Lifestyles saying that consent is integral to BDSM activities.[6] Bryce Edgmon, the Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives, asked for Fansler's resignation, stating that "Credible information came to my attention yesterday afternoon that Rep. Fansler had possibly behaved in a manner unbecoming of a legislator."[5]

On February 2, Fansler announced that he would resign from the Alaska House of Representatives, effective February 12.[2][7] He pled guilty to second-degree harassment, and was sentenced to ten days of suspended sentence, as well as eighty hours of community service, a year of probation, a yearlong ban from alcohol, and an order to seek treatment for alcoholism.[8]