Anchorage Assembly candidates see tight races as campaigns rake in unprecedented amounts of cash

An unprecedented amount of money is flowing in to support candidates in the race for Anchorage Assembly ahead of the April 5 municipal election, political observers say.

Candidates and observers say the unusually large sums garnered so far — some in the hundreds of thousands of dollars — are due in part to a big change in state campaign finance law that has entirely lifted limits on individual donations. But they say there is also a bigger reason at play: the politicized battle over control of the city government.

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson, a self-described conservative, and the liberal-leaning Assembly majority have clashed over hot-button issues including Bronson’s proposal to build a large homeless shelter, a mask mandate, the city budget and Assembly confirmation of a few of the mayor’s executive appointments. The disagreements have resulted in a flurry of vetoes and veto overrides, a lawsuit, legislation over control of the Assembly chambers and an Assembly inquiry into the sudden retirement announcement of the city’s former police chief.

“There’s an ideological battle going on between Bronson and the Assembly, so a lot of money’s going to flow into that,” said Bill Evans, a former Assembly member and moderate conservative who unsuccessfully ran for mayor last year.

Bronson is supporting four conservative challengers in hopes of unseating the Assembly incumbents: Randy Sulte, who is running against Assembly member John Weddleton in South Anchorage, Stephanie Taylor, who is running against member Forrest Dunbar in East Anchorage, Kathy Henslee, who is running against member Meg Zaletel in Midtown, and Liz Vasquez, who is running against member Kameron Perez-Verdia in West Anchorage.

In Chugiak and Eagle River, incumbent Crystal Kennedy is not running. Conservative candidate Kevin Cross, candidate Gretchen Wemhoff, who previously ran as a Democrat for state House, and Vanessa Stephens are all vying for the seat.

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Candidates say they’re busy knocking on doors and talking to voters by phone to get out the vote. Many, including Weddleton, Taylor and Dunbar, said they believe the race will be close.

Messaging focuses on divides — and agreement

Municipal elections are technically nonpartisan, according to city code — candidates, Assembly members and the mayor do not identify themselves as members of political parties. But candidates and observers say that issues the city has faced in recent years, such as the COVID-19 pandemic and related restrictions, have deepened partisan rifts in city politics and resulted in starker choices for Anchorage voters this year.

“Let’s be realistic. We’re fooling ourselves thinking it’s nonpartisan,” said Sulte. “It’s amazingly partisan.”

The challengers and the mayor himself have focused much of their political messaging on the divides between Bronson and Assembly majority, and have said they see the Assembly incumbents as blocking the mayor’s agenda at every turn.

“People are extremely frustrated by the actions of our current Assembly,” Taylor said by email, adding that “there is deep division on our community.”

“People want change, common sense, and representatives who will actually listen to the people,” Taylor said.

Bronson hammered on that message this week on the Dan Fagan Show, a conservative talk radio program.

“I’ve been seeing these political ads coming out which say how much the Assembly is working with me. I just want to remind your listeners that I’m in a lawsuit with the Assembly precisely because they’re not working with me,” Bronson said. “They’re trying to take my control and management of the city away from me.”

But the Assembly incumbents have challenged the notion that they are inherently anti-Bronson or not working with the mayor, including in their campaign messaging.

Perez-Verdia said it’s normal for the mayor and the Assembly to disagree on city policy, such as when a mayor proposes a budget and the Assembly disagrees with a portion and makes changes to it. The mayor and his supporters have characterized many of the recent disagreements as attacks on the executive branch’s power and as political moves, he said.

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“In the past, that was never seen as blocking the mayor or a personalized attack on the mayor, and so that’s something that feels different this time,” he said. “That is the normal course of our job that we’re supposed to play, which is to provide checks and balances.”

Despite a rapid-fire series of disagreements since Bronson took office, the administration and Assembly have reached agreements on much of the city’s regular business, such as the effort to rebuild the Port of Alaska.

They’ve also negotiated a plan to tackle homelessness and end pandemic-era mass care, and the Assembly confirmed a majority of the mayor’s executive appointments. That includes the recent confirmation of Bronson’s chief equity officer — even as the mayor is suing the Assembly over the position after he fired the previous one, asserting that he should have the right to fire officer without Assembly consent.

“Definitely going to be a hard-fought and close race”

Political observers and candidates say the election results will likely hinge on which candidates are more able to motivate their supporters to fill out ballots, and which side is most motivated in an election without the draw of mayoral candidates on the ballot.

Much of the political messaging from Assembly challengers attempts to capitalize on the same anti-COVID shutdown and anti-Assembly sentiments that carried Bronson to a narrow mayoral win last year, said Joelle Hall, president of the Alaska AFL-CIO. (Bronson during his campaign ran a TV ad that implied the Assembly members are “a bunch of idiots.”)

“Bronson was in the zone. In the moment. He just caught the crest right the right time. And the question is, is there still a crest?” said Hall, who is also chair of the Putting Alaskans First Committee. That committee has so far spent thousands supporting the Assembly incumbents.

Candidates, including incumbents, say many voters are frustrated with the same issues: the pandemic-battered economy, homelessness and crime.

Perez-Verdia said that voter frustration often leads people to vote for change. He and other incumbents said voters also want to see Assembly members elected who will hold the Bronson administration accountable.

Incumbent challengers Sulte and Taylor although they largely align with the mayor on many issues, they have some differences and don’t necessarily see themselves as a “rubber stamp” vote for Bronson’s proposals — for example, Sulte said he wasn’t on board with Bronson’s initial proposal for a large shelter in East Anchorage.

Meanwhile, money continues to flow into the race. Several candidates for Assembly seats have raised well over $100,000 apiece, according to the most recent reports filed with the state, which show campaign contributions up through March 4.

So far around $425,000 in campaign contributions and independent expenditures have been reported in the East Anchorage race. (An independent expenditure is used by groups or individuals who are separate from campaigns in order to support a campaign without making a direct donation.)

As of the most recent campaign reports, Dunbar had raised the most out of any Assembly candidate with more than $223,600. Opponent Taylor had raised the second-highest amount, with more than $159,000.

Sulte and Weddleton were nearly neck-and-neck in South Anchorage. Sulte had garnered about $101,150 in direct campaign donations, while Weddleton had a few thousand less at about $98,150.

In Midtown, Henslee had so far outraised incumbent Zaletel with about $113,850, while Zaletel had raised $83,500.

Perez-Verdia had raised more than $103,570, nearly double Vazquez’s $56,140 in the West Anchorage race.

The Alaska Center’s independent expenditure group has supported the slate of incumbents with about $16,000 for phone banking, door hangers and other expenses, along with Hall’s group spending thousands to support the incumbents and oppose their challengers.

Similarly, the slate of conservative challengers are getting support from other groups. Large donations to their independent expenditure appeared for the first time in state reports this week.

Group Reclaim Anchorage With Bronson reported $50,000 in donations this week, spending $46,400 on radio ads supporting the conservative challengers, according to its report.

William J. Yung III, the president of Columbia Sussex, which owns two major Anchorage hotels, has donated $20,000 to independent expenditure group Open for Business Anchorage. No reports have yet been filed showing how that money will be spent, but the group, formerly named Open for Business with Bronson, began preparing to support Bronson-friendly candidates last summer.

Hall said that the amount of money in the race leads her to believe that “there’s a lot of energy behind it.”

“Whether or not that translates to votes on the street from citizens? Sometimes, yes, and sometimes, no,” Hall said.

And although the Assembly races are district races, not at-large, some candidates and their supporters are spending money on far-reaching television and radio ads. Dunbar, Taylor, Sulte and Weddleton have all spent thousands on TV ads, according to Federal Communications Commission records.

Assembly member Pete Petersen, chair of the ethics and elections committee, said although TV ads for Assembly races are not unheard of, it has not been a common tactic in past elections.

“We felt that we had to be basically everywhere,” Dunbar said.

“It’s definitely going to be a hard-fought and close race. If you can see that just by the number of signs that are up for both myself and my opponent and by the amount of money that is raised,” Dunbar said of the East Anchorage race.