In his final days as Anchorage mayor, Bronson says he’s focused on a smooth transition

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson astatine nan Alaska Public Media workplace connected June 18, 2024. (Adam Nicely/Alaska Public Media)

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson was elected 3 years agone connected a activity of unrest complete pandemic-related shutdowns and ungraded astatine City Hall.

Now, he’s preparing to vacate nan city’s apical occupation aft losing his reelection bid to erstwhile Assembly chair Suzanne LaFrance, who will return agency July 1 arsenic nan first female elected mayor.

Bronson said he has nary contiguous governmental plans aft he leaves office, and is focused connected making judge nan modulation is arsenic soft arsenic possible. 

This question and reply has been lightly edited for magnitude and clarity.

Dave Bronson: At various levels we’re speaking. Their caller municipal guidance met pinch ours [Tuesday], pinch Kent Kohlhase. We’re meeting, you know, astatine parallel levels. I’ve instructed my squad to cooperate completely, to make nan modulation perfectly arsenic soft arsenic possible, because that’s what’s champion for nan city.

Wesley Early: Have you had a chance to talk pinch Mayor-elect LaFrance successful a much charismatic capacity than nan concession? 

DB: No, not since nan concession because nan teams do each nan work. Suzanne and I benignant of group nan tone, and past nan teams execute together. 

WE: So arsenic you modulation retired of office, what are you proudest of astir successful your word arsenic mayor?

DB: Well, I deliberation we turned nan area connected a fewer things, you know. Coming retired of COVID was was a situation and past getting nan metropolis benignant of restarted, that was a large portion of it. There was ever challenges, location ever is astatine executive levels of business aliases authorities aliases military. And truthful we stimulated business development, finance downtown. Block 41 is simply a large project, a mates 100 cardinal dollars. Block 96, we brought that to fruition successful a business pinch [Anchorage Community Development Authority]. Of course, nan bum rumor has ever been a challenge. We addressed that, spent a batch of clip connected that. And I walk a batch of clip connected that personally. But we made immoderate existent improvements. We benignant of formalized nan acold upwind sheltering process. 

One of our large challenges has ever been, and going guardant for a while it will be, that’s nan building of nan homes, nan places to unrecorded that group need. We brought on… I signed a modified methane state statement past year, which brings connected 1,100 caller tons successful nan Eagle River area and astatine Potter Reserve West development. That’s a large thing, because successful coordination pinch what Senator Sullivan has been moving on, we conscionable heard astir it this morning, astir $770 cardinal for improvement for bringing nan caller subject operations up here, to see housing.

WE: So do you person immoderate regrets? Or are location things you look backmost astatine and deliberation you wish you would person done a small otherwise successful your clip arsenic mayor?

DB: You know, early on, it was immoderate existent challenges. We came successful and we were short connected people. A batch of group near aliases were not retained. So I deliberation I made immoderate mistakes on, you know, immoderate folks that I hired. You know, a couple, three. I would do that complete certainly. But we recovered our footing and we sewage our legs nether america successful astir a year. And we started moving forward. Kent Kohlhase came connected committee arsenic municipal manager. That was a very large betterment for america successful that he brought truthful overmuch municipal acquisition pinch him. Very stabilizing influence 

WE: As an Anchorage resident, what are you hoping comes retired of a LaFrance administration? Where do you deliberation she should focus?

DB: Well, I deliberation that’s for her to decide. I want her to beryllium successful because nan metropolis needs to beryllium successful going forward. I’m very overmuch encouraged by nan early of nan city. We’re starting… we dream that nan Supreme Court will springiness america immoderate latitude connected really to woody pinch homelessness because that’s a large challenge. It is for each metropolis successful nan country. But nan amicus little that we signed successful nan Grants Pass case, I deliberation is going to springiness us… and we should perceive thing wrong a mates of weeks and past we tin move forward, Mayor LaFrance tin move guardant and that’ll supply her a batch of latitude connected on moving that challenge.