Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson went rogue in Juneau on Thursday, presenting his personal, unilaterally created legislative agenda in closed-door meetings with legislators, rather than the one he put together and agreed to with the Assembly in an open public process in December 2023.
Bronson’s agenda, which started out by misspelling his own name, “Bonson,” directly contradicts two written municipal priorities: full restoration of the Eklutna River and the implementation of a defined benefits public pension program as a way to recruit and retain public employees like police officers and firefighters.
It may also violate municipal code.
According to municipal code 2.10.075, which governs the adoption of the legislative agenda, the Mayor is responsible “to implement the annual state legislative program,” which is to be created “With the recommendations from the mayor and assembly members […] by December 10 of the preceding year.”
According to one of the legislators in the meeting, Bronson presented his one-page personal agenda and a resolution passed by the Assembly asking for $4 million to run the Solid Waste Services building through the summer for unhoused individuals, but not the official legislative agenda. That agenda was put together with public input and states that the municipality supports “full restoration of the Eklutna river” and creating “a new defined benefit pension option for state and municipal peace officers and firefighters,” or a separate ordinance passed by the assembly also calling for full restoration of the Eklutna River.
Instead, Bronson wrote that he was in support of efforts to recruit and retain employees but that a defined benefit is not the “best route to achieve the goal,” and that he “does not support full restoration of the Eklutna River.”
Historically, the Eklutna River hosted some of the most productive salmon runs in the state, which have been decimated by a century of water diversions and hydroelectric projects. A 1991 agreement between federal agencies, the state, the municipality, and area electricity producers calls for studies and a plan to protect and restore fish and wildlife to the area. The Eklutna Village and the Municipality have long supported full restoration of the watershed, while the electricity producers have proposed a plan that would only partially restore the river, leaving the final mile dry and disconnected from the lake.
The official legislative agenda is a 12-page, professionally edited and typeset document that gathered public input, was negotiated between the Assembly and the administration in worksessions, and discussed before being passed by the Assembly as an official policy document at a regular Assembly meeting in December.
Assembly member Meg Zaletel sent an email asking Bronson to “fully comply with the code,” and discontinue or correct the flier to represent the interests of the municipality.
“The Mayor’s opportunity to disagree with the policy of the Municipality on Eklutna River restoration as well as the legislative program was during the deliberation of both items before passage, through debate or amendment, and then subsequently after they passed during his opportunity to veto, which he did not exercise in either instance. After the time for veto lapsed, the passed ordinance and legislative program became the policies of the Municipality,” Zaletel wrote.
In addition to misspelling his name and adding two personal policy wishes that are contrary to municipal policy, Bronson left out many items, including snow removal, support for mental health and behavioral needs, increased school funding, road safety corridors, and election reform that would ask the state to clean up the voter rolls.
“Mayor B(r)onson has demonstrated time and time again, he is incapable of fulfilling his oath of faithfully implementing the code,” Assembly member Chris Constant said in a statement “But honestly, I feel kind of bad for Mayor Bronson. It must have been so embarrassing for him … walking the halls of the capitol and realizing people were laughing behind their backs.”
