The Anchorage Assembly has ordered an investigation into shelter contracts with Henning, Inc., a nonprofit that runs the city’s main shelter sites. A string of leaked text messages detailed an apparent effort to drum up votes for conservative Mayor Dave Bronson from homeless clients with the promise of “cigs, coffee and bus passes.”
The text message string, the source of which has not been disclosed and appears to be incomplete, was brought up at the Anchorage Assembly’s Tuesday meeting. Assembly Chair Christopher Constant brought it forward, telling the Assembly that the document was as he received it beyond a few redactions of sensitive information.
The 12-page document details an apparent effort to encourage homeless clients to vote for Bronson. It also includes an exchange about fighting and carrying handguns at shelters and an apparent effort to fool oversight. Anchorage Housing and Homeless Coordinator Alexis Johnson, a close ally of Bronson, also appears in some of the threads, including providing information about her handgun of choice — a purple 9 mm — and information about the voting deadlines, as well as additional efforts to secure city funding for the nonprofit.
At the Tuesday night Anchorage Assembly meeting, several members expressed shock at the tone and content of the messages and what they say about the nonprofit contractor that has been tasked with operating the city’s main shelter sites, including the 200-bed shelter at the former Solid Waste Services building and the Golden Lion.
“If, in fact, the worst-case scenario is true then we have vulnerable clients being managed by people who we need to really understand what’s going on,” Constant said. “The fact is if it’s true, we can’t stand that for any amount of time.”
The leaked messages also include several apparent admissions from people involved that they’d be in trouble if the messages ever leaked, with Henning CEO Shawn Hays allegedly writing: “Oh my gosh, is this thread on Alexis government phone? If it ever gets subpoenaed, we’re all going to have to leave town.”
The Assembly took up and unanimously passed a resolution ordering a full review of the Henning contract, specifically with attention to the well-being of the people entrusted to the nonprofit. The resolution stops short of ordering a review of Johnson’s behavior and participation in the threads, but that could be addressed through other avenues, such as an HR investigation.
Other members suggested that it fit into a pattern of questionable behavior by Henning, with Assembly member Daniel Volland pointing out that the nonprofit faced allegations from employees over how it ran the shelter at the Sullivan Arena.
“I think there’s a lot that’s disturbing in the document we have before us,” he said. “Particularly, on the last page, an implication that perhaps this operator was incentivizing people to vote with cigarettes, coffee and bus passes specifically for Mayor Bronson. I’d certainly like to get to the bottom of it … I’m interested in the Health Department really looking at whether or not Henning is a responsive and responsible bidder. This is not the first time that allegations have come forward against Henning from previous employees.”
For his part, Mayor Bronson was absent from the meeting altogether. Bronson’s time in office is limited after he lost by a large margin to former Anchorage Assembly chair Suzanne LaFrance in last week’s runoff election.
On Twitter/X, Johnson replied to some posts claiming that the texts were taken out of context but conceded that they were legitimate. She claimed the texts about influencing votes left out a message where she said she didn’t care how people voted, but she didn’t provide any evidence backing up those claims.
In response to another message that showed Johnson saying she was “about to commit a felony,” Johnson claimed it was in response to someone publishing her address online.
“It was a hyperbole,” she wrote, addressing another thread where Henning Deputy Director Rob Seay talked about squaring up with a client. “Same with Rob’s boxing lessons. Rob’s been in long term recovery and he gave up drinking and took up boxing. So when a client asks for alcohol, Shawn responds with he needs boxing lessons.. saying he needs to get sober. But the annotation said we’re wanting to commit violence against a client of CWS. Thats just not the case. And it’s unfortunate that these ss paint a picture that resembles that.”
Conservative Assembly member Randy Sulte also supported the report. He noted that it shouldn’t erase some of the city’s success with the 200-bed shelter run by Henning, noting that it has been successful in helping people find permanent housing. However, if they’re doing everything right, he said, then they shouldn’t have any fear of an audit.
“We can’t lose sight of that,” he said. “I think this model has shown success and if it’s working, should be rewarded. I’ll also say that I’m sure Henning and any operation should always welcome an audit, and should never be afraid to share the facts and stand scrutiny as long as they’re always doing the right things.”
The results of the review are expected in about two weeks.
The texts
Matt Acuña Buxton is a long-time political reporter who has written for the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner and The Midnight Sun political blog. He also authors the daily politics newsletter, The Alaska Memo, and can frequently be found live-tweeting public meetings on Twitter.