Chair Suzanne LaFrance says she won’t seek reelection to the Anchorage Assembly as most seats will be up for a vote this year

A slew of new candidates have registered to run for seven open seats on the Anchorage Assembly in the upcoming April 4 municipal election.

The Assembly’s current chair, Suzanne LaFrance of South Anchorage, announced Friday that she wasn’t running for reelection. Member Austin Quinn-Davidson of West Anchorage had previously announced she was not seeking another term.

“The work has been rewarding and challenging and I have loved serving on the Assembly,” LaFrance said in a written statement. “... I am not seeking reelection to a third term but will continue to be involved with our community. Our future can be bright and I’m excited about what comes next.”

That means only two Assembly incumbents are in this year’s race. Assembly Vice Chair Chris Constant of North Anchorage and member Felix Rivera of Midtown are seeking reelection.

By the time registration for candidacy closed Friday at 5 p.m., 22 people had filed for the seven Assembly seats. Anchorage voters will elect at least five new members.

[What questions do you want to ask candidates for Anchorage Assembly and school board?]

Departures mean the 12-seat Assembly’s membership could, potentially, change by more than half. When results are finalized, the members also will choose a new Assembly chair.

As chair, LaFrance has led a recent Assembly inquiry into Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration and its hiring of a former Health Department director, who fabricated work history and credentials on his resume. Earlier this week, in an effort to force Bronson officials to relinquish information on the matter, LaFrance issued the first subpoena in the municipality’s history, according to Assembly members and city attorneys.

LaFrance and Constant have also launched an inquiry into a host of explosive allegations against the mayor and his administration by fired former municipal manager Amy Demboski.

Whichever member takes up the mantle as chair will lead the city’s legislative body during a time of instability in the mayoral branch, as top Bronson executives depart and as Assembly members question the administration’s competency. The next chair will shape the Assembly’s approach to its continuing inquiries.

[Earlier coverage: Anchorage Assembly could see significant turnover in the coming months]

In the race for the Anchorage School Board, four candidates had filed by Friday’s closing deadline. Two challengers are running against incumbents for the two open seats. Anchorage School Board members Andy Holleman and Dave Donley are both running for reelection.

Assembly

District 1: North Anchorage

Christopher Constant — incumbent

Constant has represented the downtown district, now North Anchorage, since 2017, and currently serves as vice chair. Prior to coming into office, he was an active participant in the Fairview Community Council, and he has a professional background in real estate and nonprofit grants and contracting. This is Constant’s third bid for the seat, after which he is barred by term limits from running again.

Website: constantforanchorage.com

Nick Danger

Danger is a former operating engineer with Local 302 and had a past career out of state as a professional wrestler, stuntman and actor. Danger has served on the Girdwood Board of Supervisors, Public Safety Advisory Commission and Alaska Safety Advisory Council. In recent years he has run unsuccessfully for the Assembly and state House in the West Anchorage neighborhood that includes Spenard, which under redistricting now falls under the North Anchorage district boundary.

Website: nick-danger.freeservers.com

John Trueblood

Trueblood works as a project manager for Steelhead Communications, a telecommunications construction and installation company. He listed no past elected positions on his declaration of candidacy and has no apparent campaign website.

District 2: Eagle River, Chugiak, JBER

Cody Anderson

Anderson works as an operations executive at Mountain City Church, formerly Anchorage Baptist Temple, and part-time as an aircraft quality assurance inspector for the Alaska Air National Guard. According to state campaign records, this is his first time running for office. He is running for the seat that opened after member Jamie Allard was elected to the state House, and that is temporarily held by Robin Dern.

[Find your Anchorage Assembly district here]

Jim Arlington

Arlington is the business development and marketing director for Afognak Native Corp. He last ran for office as a Democrat against then-state Sen. Anna Fairclough, losing by a wide margin. He has no campaign website.

Roger Branson

Branson is a mental health and recovery advocate who has been involved in homelessness issues in Anchorage. He ran an unsuccessful campaign as a Republican for state House last year to then-Assembly member Jamie Allard.

Website: rogerbranson.com

Scott Myers

Kevin “Scott” Myers works as a real estate agent and has lived in Alaska since 2010. He is campaigning as a strong conservative option, and has the endorsement of several prominent local officials, including Mayor Dave Bronson, Rep. Jamie Allard, and former Assembly member for the district and municipal manager Amy Demboski, whom Myers lists as a rent-paying tenant at a property he owns.

Website: scottmyersforalaska.com

District 3: West Anchorage

Anna Brawley

Brawley works as a planner and project manager for consulting firm Agnew::Beck. She moved to Alaska in 2011 and has served as president of her community council as well as chair of Anchorage’s Budget Advisory Commission. She is running for the seat currently held by Austin Quinn-Davidson, who is not seeking another term.

Website: brawleyforanchorage.com

Dustin Darden

Darden is a consistent presence in local politics, testifying extensively and often disruptively at Assembly meetings over the years and regularly running for local offices. He is a former maintenance worker for the Municipality of Anchorage and now works for Reliant Transportation.

Website: facebook.com/dustin.darden.5

David Eibeck

Update: On Saturday, Jan. 28, Eibeck announced he has decided not to run for the Assembly.

Eibeck is self-employed, operating a property management company. He ran unsuccessfully as a conservative candidate last year, coming in third in a three-candidate race for state House. He lists no past experience on local boards or political organizations and his campaign has a minimal online presence.

Brian Flynn

Flynn came to Alaska 21 years ago and has lived in West Anchorage for 18. His background is in real estate and as a small-business owner. He’s campaigning as a fiscal conservative with endorsements from two sitting Assembly members, and is married to Rachelle Alger, the purchasing director in Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration.

Website: flynnforanchorage.com

District 4: Midtown

Jenny Di Grappa

Di Grappa is a first-time candidate for the Anchorage Assembly. She works as the chief of philanthropy and community relations for the Food Bank of Alaska, according to its website. In 2021, Di Grappa was named as one of the Alaska Journal of Commerce’s Top Forty Under 40.

Website: digrappaforassembly.wordpress.com

Felix Rivera — incumbent

Rivera is running for a third term as a Midtown representative. He’s been a member since 2017 and previously served as the Assembly chair. Rivera has largely led the Assembly’s recent homelessness legislation as chair of the Committee on Housing and Homelessness.

Travis Szanto

Szanto is a first-time candidate for Assembly. He owns a business, Sky Works LLC, which provides carpentry services, according to his candidate filing.

District 5: East Anchorage — Seat H

Karen Bronga

Bronga is a first-time candidate for public office. She’s a longtime Anchorage School District teacher, now retired, and grew up in East Anchorage. Bronga has served for the last year as an officer on the Scenic Foothills Community Council, according to her website. She is currently listed as the council’s vice chair on its website. She and her opponent are running for the remaining two years of former member Forrest Dunbar’s term.

Website: karenbronga.com

Leigh Sloan

Sloan is a self-employed consultant for political campaigns and educational services, according to her candidate filing. She has served as a pastor, a campaign manager and as the director of Alaska Parents’ Rights in Education. She is the founder of the organization Brave Nation and hosts its podcast.

District 5: East Anchorage — Seat I

George Martinez

Martinez ran in the 2021 race for Anchorage mayor and lost. He is president of the Northeast Anchorage Community Council. He has worked as a program director for the Alaska Humanities Forum and also worked as a special assistant for former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz. Martinez has also been a proponent of local arts. This seat is for a full three-year term to replace Pete Petersen, who is barred by term limits from running again.

Website: georgeforanchorage.weebly.com

Spencer Moore

Moore is the director of outreach at Mountain City Church, formerly named Anchorage Baptist Temple, in East Anchorage. He’s worked as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay and attended college at Liberty University, according to his LinkedIn profile.

District 6: South Anchorage

Darin Colbry

Colbry has run for office several times but has not won, and lists his occupation as a DoorDasher in his declaration of candidacy. In 2018, he lost in the Republican primary for governor of Alaska. He also ran in the 2021 race for Anchorage mayor, and in 2022 he made a bid for a South Anchorage Assembly seat. This seat is currently held by Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance, who is not running for reelection.

Mikel Insalaco

Insalaco lost in a 2022 race for a seat in the Alaska House. He describes himself on his personal website as a digital designer, communications strategist and development manager. He is the founder of Egoforge, a marketing, branding and business development firm.

Zachary Johnson

Johnson has been a tactical flight officer, pilot and field training officer with the Alaska State Troopers, according to his website. He’s served in the U.S. Marine Corps and volunteered as a firefighter/EMT with Girdwood Volunteer Fire and Rescue. Johnson is secretary of the Hillside Community Council, according to the council’s website.

Website: zacforalaska.com

Rachel Ries

Ries ran in the 2022 election for a school board seat and lost against the incumbent. She serves as a commissioner on the city’s Budget Advisory Committee, is a member of the Anchorage Hillside Home and Landowners Association and was vice-president of the Huffman/O’Malley Community Council before stepping down to run for office. She also served in the National Guard and transitioned to active duty, serving in Afghanistan in 2012 as a medevac pilot. Ries is a student at UAA working toward a master’s degree as a project manager, according to her website.

Website: riesforalaska.com

School Board

Seat C

Irene Boll

Boll initially ran for a school board seat in 2018 and lost, and is running again. After the race, Boll went to college at the University of Alaska Anchorage, where she is set to graduate with a bachelor’s degree in psychology with a minor in social welfare, according to Boll’s campaign website.

Website: ireneboll.com

Dave Donley — incumbent

Donley, who has been on the school board since 2017, is also the deputy commissioner in the state’s Department of Administration. He previously served in the Alaska Legislature as a state representative from 1987 to 1992 and a state senator from 1993 to 2002.

Website: dave4asd.com

Seat D

Mark Anthony Cox

Cox ran for Seat A last year and lost, and Seat B the previous year and lost. He graduated from the Anchorage School District and served in the U.S. Army. He is a business owner of a job placement agency, a landlord and real estate agent.

Website: macforanc.com

Andy Holleman — incumbent

Holleman has been on the school board for five years. He worked as an Anchorage School District teacher as well as president of the local teachers union, the Anchorage Education Association.

Website: voteandyak.com

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include current information on South Anchorage Assembly candidate Rachel Ries’ community involvement.