Anchorage Assembly candidates: What needs addressing in your district?

Alaska Dispatch News asked candidates for the April 4 election to the Anchorage Assembly to answer a series of questions on the issues. We're publishing their responses daily. The answers were fact-checked when facts were cited and edited for length, spelling, grammar and writing style.

Question: Briefly tell us about something in your Assembly district that needs attention from elected officials.

District 1: Downtown

Warren West

Crime and drugs use is out of control in my district. More emphasis is needed on education and job skills, finding good employment and secure rehabilitation clinics.

Christopher Constant

The old Native Hospital site has been a blight on the north downtown area for nearly a generation. Also, the concentration of people suffering from social challenges is exceedingly high with little opportunity for job training or skill-building to escape the pernicious cycle of poverty that entraps people there. I propose to convert 5 acres — one parcel — of the site into a working urban farm that also serves as a job training program for individuals who experience homelessness and also for people attempting to avoid criminal recidivism. If successful, the farm would create a farm-to-table market for locally grown produce in the Anchorage Bowl.

Christopher Cox

The greatest thing that needs attention in my district is crime prevention and getting a handle on the existing crime. A person has a greater chance to get murdered in the city of Anchorage than in Chicago. That is ridiculous. How did we get here? Clearly the current administration has no clue what to do. The current administration is taking lessons from Rahm Emanuel when it comes to handling crime in the city. Ethan Berkowitz has absolutely no clue what he is doing. Crime is the issue that is taking over my district, District 1, and it must be addressed immediately.

David Dunsmore

I've gone door to door throughout our neighborhoods and public safety is on the tip of everyone's tongue. That means adequately clearing snow from roads in neighborhoods like Government Hill, Inlet View and South Addition; clearing sidewalks for pedestrians in downtown, Mountain View and Fairview; providing safe, reliable public transportation for people to get to work; and fighting petty crime all throughout the district. Crime has become a problem in neighborhoods where it was never a problem before, and in Mountain View and Fairview where crime has been too high for years people are getting cynical wondering if anyone even cares. We must address this epidemic now.

Mark Alan Martinson

Turn off the heated sidewalks and streets, we already have snow removal equipment and manpower to handle it. Also, increase pedestrian safety; sidewalks should be more than just snow-storage areas. Let's design some routes and pathways for people who are not in cars.

Albert Langdon Swank Jr.

The Port of Anchorage expansion project, building development, zoning, master planning, parks, parking, property rights and noise ordinances.

District 2: Chugiak-Eagle River

Gretchen Wehmhoff

Chugiak-Eagle River and Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson continue to lose when it comes to public transit. A transit system that brings people to Anchorage for shopping, employment and events such as Fur Rondy and the Iditarod would increase the economy, workforce and reduce problems exacerbated by the inability to get residents to work. The last bus to Eagle River is scheduled to leave Chugiak-Eagle River in September 2017. There is little to no taxi service in the area, yet Chugiak-Eagle River has 10 percent of the Anchorage population. Chugiak-Eagle River is expected to grow by thousands in the next decade. Public transportation planning to these communities and to the Matanuska Valley requires planning now for the future.

John Laurence Brassell 

I have had the opportunity to talk to many people in Chugiak/Eagle River, and one of their first concerns is crime. Unfortunately, we have candidates who are running for this seat who have supported such bills as Senate Bill 91, criminal justice reform, which in my opinion is soft on crime. I will work to protect our homeowners from new taxes and ensure their families and home investments are secure.

Fred Dyson

The area north of the bases is unique and is not as "needy" as the core of Anchorage. Our schools are generally great. The university here is the best-run effort in the state. We have our own road board and parks board who run the best operations in the state. We could use some help with a few things but mostly we need to fight off a big city to the south of us whose regulations seems to want to restrict our freedoms and engulf us with the elitist attitude of making us "nice." Leave us alone.

Patrick Donnelly

Did not respond to questions.

District 3: West Anchorage

Tim Steele

We have been working on the Spenard Road upgrades for over 20 years. The Spenard Road segment from Hillcrest to 30th Avenue will be done this summer. The Turnagain area has been advocating for years to upgrade Turnagain Boulevard. The segment from Spenard Road to McRae Road will be started this summer if the capital project bonds pass. This area has a flooding problem and needs utility upgrades and roadway improvements. The Sand Lake area has new roundabouts along Dimond Boulevard, at Sand Lake Road and also at Westlake subdivision. A solution to surface water flooding in the Sand Lake and Westlake areas is in progress. There are other issues as well.

David Nees

West Anchorage has water drainage issues in the West Park neighborhood that should be addressed by the city. West Anchorage is scheduled to have its bus service reduced to once an hour. The Spenard Road redesign has impacted several local business owners, trampling their rights as property owners. Rising property crime rates in neighborhoods is my greatest concern. At a recent "coffee with cops" meeting in Spenard, the mayor spent half the time talking about homeless housing first. The residents finally asked, "Mayor, could we talk to the policeman about crime? It is much more important than your social program."

District 4: Midtown

Felix Rivera

Besides public safety and homelessness, when I go door to door or to community councils in Midtown, I hear concerns for pedestrian safety. Midtown is home to the nexus of roads which Anchorage residents use. As we have seen in recent months and years, many of these roads are not pedestrian — or for that matter, vehicular — safe. Speaking from my lengthy personal experience of using public transit as my sole source of transportation, sidewalks in the winter disappear, causing safety hazards for many. Other areas, like the stretch of Tudor between Elmore and Lake Otis, are also worrisome.

Marcus Sanders

People in the district are concerned about maintaining the U-Med district. As we know, the University of Alaska, Anchorage Providence Hospital and the Alaska Native Medical Center are major players in the economic growth and promote health in our district, not to mention growing the emerging community. Those are just some of the reasons why I, Marcus Sanders, am the best candidate to represent the people that live in our district on the Anchorage Assembly.

Don Smith

First and foremost, we need to properly maintain our streets in the municipality. Proper snow removal is essential. The idea that we can leave huge piles of snow in everyone's cul-de-sac is wrong and dangerous. The other day I had a delivery that came in a medium-size truck to my home. The driver could not get around the snow pile in the middle of our dead-end street. What would have happened if there had been a fire? We need to take back control of our street corners. Panhandling is against the law and should be enforced.

Ron Alleva

Promoting the U-Med district. We need to make it the epicenter of growth and innovation for our city, and make it the anchor of education, health and economic prosperity for the state. We need to address the issue of crime prevention. Officers are saddled with writing tickets to benefit the treasury when their time is better spent making Anchorage safer. I won't buy votes, nor take contributions over $27. I don't believe in propaganda literature, sound bites, or 30-second spots. To me it's all political pollution without substantial backup. I have the backup to win, not only for my district, but for all of Anchorage.

District 5: East Anchorage

Pete Petersen

When I was elected to the state House in 2008, Muldoon Fire Station 6 and Fire Station 3 in Mountain View were falling apart. I worked hard to get funding to rebuild both stations. East Anchorage residents were upset that our roads had been ignored for years, so I went to work to get DeBarr, Northern Lights and Muldoon fixed along with many neighborhood streets. The Glenn Highway and Muldoon interchange has been a major congestion problem — I was proud to get this project started and the new interchange will be finished next summer. My job is to listen to east side neighbors and help them find solutions.

Don Jones

Crime and roads. Nearly every door I've knocked on has mentioned something about how their car was broken into, they don't feel safe walking at night, or their kids can't walk safely to the bus stop. This is unacceptable. My friends and neighbors in East Anchorage deserve representation, and they simply aren't getting it from my opponent.

District 6: South Anchorage

Suzanne LaFrance

Southeast Anchorage has drainage issues which cause problems for downhill residents. These issues cause glaciation and damage roads that were not designed to handle the runoff. Last summer's wildfire at McHugh Creek nearly reached populated areas such as Potter Valley. Providing secondary access and egress during emergencies is critical. The few locations that are suitable for secondary access should be identified and roads constructed in order to ensure public safety.

Albert Fogle

Residents from South Anchorage to Girdwood have many concerns, not just one. I feel public safety, sustainable budgets, property tax relief, street maintenance, trails, parks and public access need to be addressed. South Anchorage needs police officers patrolling the Seward Highway from Anchorage to Girdwood. South Anchorage property owners need strong representation on the Assembly to push back against the steady increases we have seen in property taxes. We need an Assembly that honors the spending cap and the tax cap.