Last week saw a flurry of new election activity as several people filed letters of intent to run for the seven Assembly seats that will be open for April’s Anchorage Municipal election.
Throughout last week, the Alaska Division of Elections continued to tally ballots for State elections. Final results in the ranked choice election will be out this Wednesday. While the results of some races are pretty well settled, others will need to be ranked before we know who will go to Juneau.
Anchorage Assembly members Forrest Dunbar and Jamie Allard will both likely be heading to Juneau in January, leaving additional seats in East Anchorage and Eagle River vacant. Although municipal code does not require the Assembly to temporarily appoint someone to fill the vacated seats, the Assembly has voted to do so in the past and may do so again.
If the Assembly chooses to fill the seat by appointment, the member vacating the seat would start the process by submitting a resignation letter, which would be followed by an application period, interview and possible appointment. It has been a recent precedent for the Assembly to appoint someone to the temporary seat who is not currently running for the elected term.
Anna Brawley and Brian Flynn both filed last week to run for the open West Anchorage District 3. Karen Bronga filed on Sunday to run for the East Anchorage seat that will be vacated by Forrest Dunbar. She joins George Martinez, who has been running for several months now to fill Pete Peterson’s seat.
Kevin Scott Myers has filed to run for the Eagle River seat that will be vacated by Jamie Allard. Dayton Keliikipi has filed to represent Midtown. Keliipiki has begun to build a website which appears mostly copied from Arizona Congressional Candidate Alex Stovall, which you can read about here. Felix Rivera and Christopher Constant will both be running for re-election.
Rachel Ries filed on Monday for the South Anchorage seat held by Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance. Ries ran unsuccessfully for Anchorage School Board in 2022.
Here is a closer look at the candidates who filed most recently:
West Anchorage District 3:
Anna Brawley is a Planner and Project Manager with Agnew Beck Consulting. She’s a long-time community advocate in West Anchorage, where she has resided since 2012. She serves as President of the Turnagain Community Council President and is Chair of Anchorage’s Budget Advisory Commission.
“I am excited for the opportunity to step up and work for my community,” Brawley said in announcing her candidacy last week. “I’ve been a neighbor, volunteer, and advocate for West Anchorage for the last decade, and I believe in Anchorage’s potential to be a vibrant city.”
Most recently, she worked with a broad coalition on a comprehensive rewrite of Alaska’s alcohol statutes.
Brian Flynn works in real estate and was appointed to the Heritage Land Bank Advisory Commission by Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson in November, 2021. He is a frequent donor to Republican candidates. His recent donations include Dave Bronson for Mayor, Stephanie Taylor for Assembly, Kathy Henslee for both State House and Assembly, and Tuckerman Babcock for State Senate. His spouse, Rachelle Alger, is the Municipality’s Purchasing Director, appointed by Dave Bronson in August of 2021.
East Anchorage District 5:
Karen Bronga has lived in East Anchorage since childhood and works as a teacher for the Anchorage School District. She has a background in mental health and taught 6th grade, middle school, and elementary health.
She has been on the board of the Scenic Foothills Community Council since 2013. Bronga’s community work focuses on safer neighborhoods, implementing traffic-calming measures to dangerous streets and trail connectivity.
“Being in the classroom and working for my community council, I know the struggles of working families and issues in our area of town,” Bronga said in an interview. “I am stepping up to work with others to move our city in the right direction and work for positive solutions for our community.”
Eagle River District 2:
Scott Meyers, who filed for the Eagle River seat, is an associate broker with Remax in Eagle River. He serves as the Alaska representative for the REALTOR® Political Action Committee (RPAC). According to the REALTORS® website, the purpose of RPAC is to promote and solicit donations for the election of pro-REALTOR® candidates who understand and support their interests. He has held other leadership roles and won various awards during his real estate career. Meyers moved to Alaska from Oregon in 2012.
Looking ahead:
The Anchorage Assembly will hold its regular meeting Tuesday night. On the agenda is a measure which would eliminate parking minimums within the municipality.
Requiring a mandatory amount of parking can stifle development. If passed, this would allow the market to determine how much parking is necessary, rather than municipal code. There are also several bond measures, including one that would place a $22 million bond for school facility improvements on April’s ballot. There is also a resolution and ordinance calling for the Bronson administration to seek Assembly approval before settling any claims over the amount of $50,000 for the unlawful Hickel Contract.
If you have any comments or tips please contact me at yarrow@thealaskacurrent.com
