Stephen ‘Joey’ Sweet will fill Alaska Sen.-Elect Forrest Dunbar’s seat on the Anchorage Assembly until April when voters will pick a long-term replacement.
A majority of the Assembly voted for him to fill the seat Friday.
The seat has been empty since Tuesday when Dunbar officially stepped down. The winner in April will finish the remaining two years of Dunbar’s term. Sweet does not intend to run for the seat.
Karen Bronga, a retired educator and long-time community volunteer, is the only person filed to run for election to finish the final two years of Dunbar’s term.
Five people applied for the appointed position. Sweet was appointed to the seat over Rich Foehner, a retired US army vet; Jim Wojciehowski a retired physicians assistant; Harry Crawford, a former legislator for East Anchorage; and Hilary Morgan, who has worked for several area nonprofits.
The Assembly questioned the applicants for about 90 minutes before voting to appoint Sweet. Applicants were asked about homelessness, the proposed Tudor and Elmore Navigation Center, and the importance of public civility, among other issues.
Sweet has a Masters in public administration and was appointed student regent for the University of Alaska by Gov. Bill Walker in 2017. He works as an office administrator for Angelus Memorial Park Cemetery, and has arranged a leave of absence during his time on the Assembly.
During questioning, Sweet said he believes public administration, oversight, accountability, and equity are the core responsibilities of Assembly members. Sweet promised to keep an open mind and said he would try to work with everyone, including Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, who is often in conflict with the Assembly. He stated that in doing so, he would not compromise on his responsibility to provide accountability and oversight.
On homelessness, Sweet endorsed the work the Assembly is currently doing and believes in using policies that have already proven successful in other locations. Sweet spoke about how most of his graduating class has left Alaska and expressed concern over Alaskan youth leaving the state for better job opportunities.
Sweet initially received five votes, with two votes each going to Morgan and Crawford and one to Wojciehowski. Jamie Allard, also heading to Juneau, was not present. Because no candidate received the required seven votes to win the appointment outright, a ranked-choice voting process was set off, with Wojciehowski and Foehner eliminated from consideration. Ultimately, Sweet received seven votes needed.
“Thank you for the confidence that you’ve all shown in me,” Sweet said after getting the required seven votes. “I’m humbled. I’m honored. I’m really going to make the absolute most of this.”
The Assembly will repeat this process on Jan. 19 to fill the Eagle River seat Allard is vacating on Jan. 17.
