Anchorage Mayor-elect Suzanne LaFrance’s administration is starting to take shape.
This morning, LaFrance announced that she is hiring Becky Windt Pearson, a senior vice president at GCI, as municipal manager and Katie Scovic as her chief of staff. Scovic most recently worked as LaFrance’s campaign manager.
“Anchorage faces challenges on many fronts,” LaFrance said in a prepared statement accompanying the announcement. “I am confident the team we’re building will hit the ground running. Katie and Becky not only bring expertise and experience to the table, but also a deep commitment to work collaboratively and improve our community. I am grateful for their willingness to serve.”
Windt Pearson brings an accomplished resume to the municipality. At GCI, she has held senior positions, including senior vice president, general counsel, and chief administrative officer. She is familiar with municipal work as she served as the municipal attorney from 2017 to 2020, during former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz’s administration, and worked on the sale of the city power utility.
Prior to working on LaFrance’s campaign, Scovic was a senior manager at consulting firm Agnew::Beck, communications director under Acting Mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson and an associate director of homelessness initiatives at Cook Inlet Housing Authority.
“These two women reflect the effective, problem-solving team it will take to tackle the big challenges in front of us,” LaFrance said.
The mayor has broad appointment power to fill positions throughout city government, such as department directors, police and fire chiefs, budget positions and the city librarian, though most positions are subject to assembly approval. Outgoing conservative Mayor Dave Bronson often struggled with this, frequently clashing over what the assembly said were deeply unqualified appointees. With LaFrance and the Anchorage Assembly more closely aligned, it likely won’t be as much of a problem.
With the runoff election certified, LaFrance is set to be inaugurated on July 1.
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.