OPINION: Why Suzanne LaFrance is the pro-jobs candidate for Anchorage mayor

Our unions represent Alaskans who work in construction, oil and gas, health care, long-term care and the service sector. We’re supporting Suzanne LaFrance for mayor because she’s the best candidate to restore economic growth in Anchorage. We want to share some details about her background, because while LaFrance is too humble to brag about her record, we have no doubt she’ll be a highly effective champion for economic growth.

Prior to representing South Anchorage in local government, LaFrance worked for two decades in the private sector and earned a great deal of respect from her peers in the telecom industry. When LaFrance was elected to the Anchorage Assembly as an independent, she quickly earned a reputation as someone who could find solutions and get past partisanship. Our unions have a long record of endorsing pro-jobs candidates from multiple parties, and we are reassured that LaFrance’s centrist views and record of bringing people together could help our local government be more collaborative and productive. We need an executive who focuses on results, not on scoring political points.

Anchorage has incredible opportunities to grow. Continued increases in air cargo are generating both construction and long-term job opportunities, not just near the airport but throughout our community. Rapid advancements in technology mean we can drive down the cost of energy and build out more generation and storage that make our economy more competitive while protecting consumers against price increases that would result from reliance on imported energy sources. Infrastructure investments thanks to our congressional delegation mean we can modernize our transportation system — if done right, those transportation investments can help spur reinvestment Downtown, in Midtown, and along some of our older commercial corridors. Growth in tourism means more infrastructure investment in the private sector and more opportunities to expand local businesses in the hospitality industry. Strong demand for housing means more job opportunities in construction, with positive spillover effects for local restaurants and local retailers.

To capitalize on these opportunities for job creation, we need a seasoned critical thinker with both private sector and local government experience. We’ve worked with LaFrance over her years of private and public sector work, and she has the character and temperament to lead Anchorage to economic recovery. If she gets elected as mayor, LaFrance will be ready on the first day to restore competence and efficiency to the municipal government.

We can’t afford more dysfunction around homelessness, more unplowed streets, more short staffing of critical agencies like the Anchorage Police Department. Anchorage doesn’t have time for more scandals, more gridlock or the failure to execute the most basic functions of local government.

Anchorage has incredibly talented working people, entrepreneurs and business leaders. It’s time we had a mayor who can be our partner in working to restore economic growth, which starts with a competent, honest, non-partisan municipal administration. Suzanne LaFrance is the clear choice for mayor.

Joey Merrick is business manager/secretary-treasurer of Laborers Local 341. Aaron Plikat is business manager of United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 367. Bronson Frye is the business representative of the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades Local 1959 and serves as president of the Building and Construction Trades Council of Southcentral Alaska.

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