Anchorage Assembly member Karen Bronga not running for reelection

Karen Bronga motion waves connected predetermination time astatine nan area of Boniface and Northern Lights. (Elyssa Loughlin/Alaska Public Media)

East Anchorage Assembly personnel Karen Bronga says she will not tally for reelection adjacent year.

Bronga is simply a retired coach who was elected successful 2023 during a typical predetermination to capable a vacancy connected nan Assembly aft erstwhile personnel Forrest Dunbar was elected to nan authorities Senate.

“It was benignant of ever successful my caput that I was conscionable filling a abstraction while I waited for personification who really wanted to tally for agency to beryllium ready,” Bronga said Tuesday.

Bronga said she’s proud to service her constituents, pointing to her defense for cyclists and her deciding ballot connected allowing duplexes to beryllium built successful immoderate residential area successful Anchorage.

“I emotion each nan parts of learning astir my city, but I’m conscionable not really a personification who loves each nan meetings and, you know, digging done codification and things for illustration that,” Bronga said. “It’s conscionable not my accomplishment set, I guess.”

Bronga has endorsed Yarrow Silvers arsenic her replacement. Silvers precocious served arsenic a legislative adjutant and had antecedently written for nan left-leaning governmental blog The Alaska Current. Bronga said she met Silvers erstwhile nan 2 served connected nan Scenic Foothills Community Council. 

“She was ever nan 1 who was going to whip up nan solution that made a connection of really nan assembly felt connected an issue,” Bronga said. “So you know, she’s acquainted pinch that. She enjoys going to Assembly meetings.”

In a run statement, Silvers said she wants to “ensure nan decisions affecting our organization genuinely service nan needs of nan people.”

In an email to Alaska Public Media, Silvers said her apical privilege will beryllium addressing nan deficiency of readiness and nan precocious costs of lodging successful Anchorage.

“High rent prices aren’t conscionable affecting our unhoused neighbors but are pushing moving families to nan brink,” Silvers said. “I judge that if we tin tackle lodging affordability, we tin create much stableness for moving families and beryllium amended positioned to thief our unhoused neighbors get backmost connected their feet pinch entree to safe, imperishable lodging solutions.”

In summation to Bronga, Silvers said she has nan endorsements of 5 different Assembly members, 2 authorities senators and an Anchorage School Board member. 

So far, Silvers is nan only personification who’s revenge to tally for nan East Anchorage seat. The adjacent municipal predetermination will beryllium held connected April 1, 2025.