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In advance of the April 6 Anchorage municipal election, the Anchorage Daily News asked candidates running for Anchorage mayor a series of issue questions. These include questions suggested by readers. Read all the mayor and school board candidates’ responses here.
Q: Please discuss your commitment to transparency and openness in Anchorage municipal government. Do you have suggestions for improving either?
Government meetings should be open to the public or livestreamed. A municipal YouTube channel that addressed weekly activity would be nice.
I am completely committed to transparency and openness in our government. Without either of those, it’s impossible to get the necessary buy-in from our fellow citizens, as we consider significant changes. I am committed to communicating with all citizens through MainStream Media and Social Media. I will consider expanding upon those techniques developed during the COVID shutdowns, such as using Zoom to encourage input and connections.
I’m all about transparency in government. I, too, have been frustrated by city officials avoiding uncomfortable questions, making decisions without supporting regulatory or legal framework. Actions of the municipality related to contracts and agreements with private companies and organizations should generally be available to the public unless there is a justifiable reason not to do so, and those reasons should be publicly vetted. Without transparency, large amounts of public funds are spent on items the public might not approve of, and actions taken by the municipality become undiscoverable. I will push for a very open government and demand transparency. I think a review of ethics for municipal office holders and employees would be a great start, with real and enforceable penalties.
I am committed to making our local government transparent and accessible. This starts by ensuring that the municipal website is easy for constituents to use. While the new COVID-related portions of the site are user-friendly, some of the legacy sections are difficult to navigate. Constituents also need a better calendar of municipal meetings. Even after we fully resume in-person public meetings, I will work with the Assembly chair to continue online events and provide flexible testimony options. My administration will hold more town halls on the municipal budget, listening sessions on important topics, and public Q&A sessions. We will utilize technology to further increase accessibility and improve reporting tools for things like potholes, abandoned cars and ADA accessibility issues.
Transparency is insufficient if not coupled with proactive communication. Most issues the government deals with are done in full legal compliance with the Open Meetings Act. But this does not really help the public understand what is going on within government and what issues are being addressed. We need to do a lot better in reaching out through various mediums to alert the community to what issues will be addressed and what actions the city is taking. We cannot expect busy citizens to be constantly checking the muni website to track what is happening.
I am fully committed to transparency and openness in municipal government. In my briefings after the Nov. 2018 earthquake, during the 2019 wildfire season and as incident commander overseeing the city’s on-the-ground response to COVID, I tried always to “tell the truth, and boldly” — good, bad or other. Doing so not only builds trust, it appropriately attends to the fact that municipal employees are paid by, and serve, the public. That said, the municipality’s public records process could certainly be improved. Collecting and producing records is no one person’s job in the city, because, historically, there hasn’t been the volume of work to justify a dedicated position. But the workload has steadily grown, and responses now come slower than they should.
As mayor, I do not intend to sit in my office. I will be giving blanket Slip and Fall waivers to construction sites to continually review their progress. I will be calling for 20-minute meetings with different groups across industries at different times to resolve matters quickly.
I am fully committed to transparency and openness and will do everything in my power to ensure that municipal officials are responsive and accessible. I believe that the Municipality of Anchorage must deliver high quality public services for all people in every neighborhood; work hard to create economic opportunities for residents and businesses; prioritize community participation and inclusion for all; and make policies and decisions that create a stimulating and enjoyable lives for residents while limiting the growth of unnecessary government bureaucracy.
As mayor, I am committed to transparency in our municipal government.
Total transparency and openness will be required in all of the city government with no exception. I will also not allow sealed legal settlements as well.
Read more questions:
Why are you running for mayor?
What’s the biggest challenge facing city government and how would you address it?
Describe how your administration would approach the coronavirus pandemic
Would you make changes to the Anchorage Police Department and policing policies? Why?
Is the Anchorage Police Department adequately staffed?
Describe, with specifics, how you would expand and diversify Anchorage’s economy.
What’s your vision for Anchorage’s economy in the future?
Is taxation in Anchorage too high/about right/too low?
Do you have ideas for alternative sources of city revenue? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would cut? Explain.
Are there city programs or services you would expand? Explain.
What’s your view of current Anchorage land-use plans? Would you push for changes?
Name a program dealing with homelessness in Anchorage that you believe is working
Are there specific transportation projects you would initiate in the municipality if elected?