ANCHORAGE — Suzanne LaFrance became Anchorage’s first elected female mayor on Monday.
The official swearing-in happened at a private ceremony in the morning before a public celebration held in downtown’s Town Square Park at an event attended by hundreds, including former mayors and other elected officials.
“From Girdwood to Chugiak, we live in an incredible place with incredible people. We’ve also got some big tasks ahead, Anchorage,” she said during her speech following a swearing-in administered by Jane Angvik. “At the municipality, it starts with good government. It starts with transparency and accountability. And I am committed to that.”
A small group of demonstrators made sure one of those big tasks — the city’s handling of a recent string of police shootings — wasn’t forgotten. With shouts of “release the footage” throughout much of the inauguration event, LaFrance recognized the group during her speech.
“I want to recognize the people here who are practicing their First Amendment rights. I am very grateful to live in a country where we have freedom of speech and expression,” she said.
After much of the crowd had cleared out, LaFrance approached the group of protesters to speak with them. She extended her condolences over the loss of life, taking time to listen to a family member of Bishar Hassan, a man who was killed by police in 2019. While some protesters seemed to want to engage in discussions with the mayor, others were skeptical that the moderate would bring in the changes they wanted to see, such as a citizens’ oversight committee.
In comments with reporters after the event, LaFrance said that newly appointed police chief Sean Case and municipal attorney Eva Gardner are working on drafting new and more transparent policies on the release of body cam footage. Case, in previous interviews, has said that he supports a firm deadline to release footage, arguing that it is a step in improving trust with the public.
LaFrance echoed those sentiments, noting that it’s vital for the public to understand the process that goes into the release of body cam footage and keep them updated throughout the process. However, she stopped short of talking about specifics of any changes that might be coming.
The city’s ongoing struggles with homelessness were also top of mind, with LaFrance saying that she was deeply disturbed by a recent shooting where two men are accused of shooting into a camp, killing one and injuring others. She said her administration would be focusing on improving safety for everyone.
“Public safety is the number one job of local government and a responsibility that I do not take lightly,” she said.
LaFrance also addressed the future of housing in Anchorage, saying that she would not veto the recently passed HOME Initiative. The ordinance passed the Anchorage Assembly by a narrow margin last week, effectively eliminating single-family housing throughout much of the Anchorage Bowl to increase housing density and eventually lower housing prices. The narrow vote was susceptible to a mayoral veto, which didn’t come under now-former Mayor Dave Bronson but could have been issued by LaFrance.
“At the end of the day, I feel like it was a good compromise, and it’s time to move forward,” she said. “There’s a lot of other work that needs to be done around housing; definitely streamlining our code is important. There are a lot of actions we can take to make it easier to build here and ensure we have adequate and affordable housing stock.”
LaFrance also said that a big focus of her administration’s early days would be repairing and refilling several city agencies hollowed out under Bronson, who had remarkable turnover throughout his three years in office. She said it’s important to remember that the city’s job is to provide good services to its residents.
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.