Alaska Public Media, in partnership with the Anchorage Daily News, presents the Anchorage Mayoral Runoff Debate, moderated by Lori Townsend and Tom Hewitt.

Good evening.

Thank you for joining us for our Anchorage mayoral runoff debate.

We're coming to you live from Alaska Public Media.

I'm Lori Townsend, news director for Alaska Public Media, and I am Anchorage Daily News opinion editor Tom Hewitt.

Tonight, we've asked the two runoff candidates for mayor, incumbent Dave Bronson and challenger Suzanne LaFrance to return to the studio for our second debate of this election season.

The questions will ask tonight were built from community input and answers from both candidates at previous debates and forums.

Our candidate comparison tool available on the Alaska Public Media and Anchorage Daily News websites, was also updated today with new answers from the candidates.

We'd also like to hear directly from you, the audience, about what issues matter most to you.

If those of you watching on TV or online scan the QR code on your screen, it will take you to a live pool where you can share your most important priority as a voter.

For those listening on radio, you can go to Alaska Public Mortgage p. O. L. L. Later this evening, we'll check back on those results.

But before we get into the questions, we'd like to give the candidates a chance to introduce themselves.

Each candidate will have one minute for an opening statement.

The order of these statements was randomly determined.

Mr. Bronson, we'll start with you.

You have one minute.

Great.

Thank you.

Tom , Lori, Public Media.

ADN Thanks for having this forum.

This is these kind of forums are very important to our democratic process and the greatly appreciated my wife and I, Deb, came to the city of Anchorage, Alaska, in 1991.

We came for two years on a corporate commitment, flying commitment for Northwest Airlines.

We never quite got around to leaving because we came to love this place.

Our two kids were born here.

We built a home here in the mid-nineties and we we couldn't be more blessed than living in this great city.

As mayor, we've accomplished a great deal of things.

We brought nearly $1,000,000,000 of investment into the city.

We've we've unstuck some major projects like the the Port of Alaska that was kind of jammed up.

And we got that project moving and it's back on calendar and back on schedule and budget.

There's major development coming in into this city.

There's a lot of developers that want to come in and invest in our city, and we've got a great city moving forward.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Ms.. LaFrance, you have one minute.

Thank you.

To the ADN and Alaska Public Media for hosting us here tonight.

We live in an amazing place with incredible potential.

We all also know we have some problems, whether that's the staffing crisis at APD, a lack of a plan on homelessness, or the fact that our young people are leaving Anchorage.

The mayor is the CEO of our city.

The CEO is supposed to bring people together and solve problems.

Local government isn't about red or blue, left or right.

It's about getting things done.

I'm running for mayor to bring a nonpartisan, low ego, problem solving approach back to city hall.

I want City Hall to look like Anchorage and be known as a place where things get done.

I'm a lifelong Alaskan, a mom of three, and I have 25 years of business experience.

There's a lot to do and I'm ready to get to work.

Thank you for those opening statements.

And with that, we'll begin.

The questions for each of these candidates will have 45 seconds to respond.

For our first question, this mayoral term has been marked by strong division in the community.

How would you make sure residents work together better in the next three years?

Mr. Bronson, you have 45 seconds.

Well, residents certainly do need to work together, as does government.

But at the end of the day, we have to compete in the arena of ideas and there are times when we don't agree.

Our government is set up that way to create opposition, to create even conflict.

Because when we disagree on ideas, we have to have a path forward.

I agree with the Assembly probably 70% of the time.

However, in those times when I disagree, I'm going to voice my concern because I'm going to stand in the way of bad ideas.

I've done that for three years.

But, you know, disagreeing, agreeing is not disagreement in the sense that I don't think people are bad.

I just think too often the assembly is wrong and I'll oppose them.

I work for the people.

I don't work for the assembly.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Ms. LaFrance, 45 seconds.

You know, it starts from the top.

And as mayor, I'll set a tone of respect.

Because even though folks have different ideas, it's really important that we all come to the table with respect for each other so that we can solve problems and make this place a better place to live.

I'll employ a strong team of competent, qualified people who are ethical and who are passionate about our community, who are committing to carrying out that culture and that tone of respect.

It's all about working together at the local level.

It's all about ensuring that basic services are provided to the people of Anchorage and being respectful of each other is the way that we will ensure that we have the best solutions.

Thank you.

Next, Anchorage has many derelict and undeveloped properties such as the Northway Mall or many downtown parking lots.

What would you do to incentivize development of properties within the municipality?

Ms. LaFrance, we'll start with you.

We certainly do have a number of properties and parking lots that need attention and I'm committed to working with the Assembly to develop more incentives so that those properties get developed, whether that's for more housing, which we certainly need more of in our community or for parks or whatever need, we'd best suit our community plans.

At the end of the day, it's all about Anchorage making Anchorage more livable and more affordable.

And certainly we want to ensure that Anchorage is a place where people want to be and can have a really good quality of life.

That's how we'll be economically competitive and that's how we'll become an even stronger community.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance.

Mr. Bronson.

Yeah, Tom, you're right.

We do have a lot of dilapidated properties, and that's why we advanced working in concert with a bill in Juneau to deal with that situation.

That bill today is moving forward and we hope it comes to success.

We certainly need to deal with that.

And again, we brought up Roger Brooks two years ago to do a study.

He studies how many major cities and how to develop moving forward in flat parking lots are quite clearly a bad idea.

So flat parking lots need to be developed.

They need to be built up and in not just parking lots.

That's how we generate more revenue.

That's how we bring in more tax base and offset the property taxes that the homeowner is forced to pay.

All right.

Thank you.

The Anchorage School district is planning to close some schools, citing declining enrollment rather than just budget constraints.

What would you do to reverse this decades long pattern of outmigration?

Mr. Bronson, you have 45 seconds.

Well, I think we need to govern better because the valley isn't shrinking.

The valley is growing.

And unfortunately, too many people in the last ten years, since 2013, 2012, when we peaked at about 301,000 people.

We need to ask why they're leaving here and going there.

And it's because, quite frankly, we took a shift politically at that era and people are running away from the politics here in Anchorage.

We can't have that.

We need to get back to the middle.

We need to govern more moderately and certainly more responsibly.

We need to spend less money as government and we need to make the development and the building of the homes that are absolutely critical to developing and bringing back our kids.

We need to make that cheaper and less expensive for the builders.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson, Ms. LaFrance.

The outmigration of young people and working families is perhaps the biggest threat not just to our economy, but to our community.

And we've got to make Anchorage a more livable and affordable place.

And Anchorage needs to be a place where families can see opportunity to raise their kids with good schools, good jobs, safe streets, opportunities for recreation and a place to retire, as well as start a business, grow business.

And as far as affordability goes, we've got to bring the cost of housing down by simply building more housing and also pursue ways to ensure that quality childcare is accessible to all families, because that's a huge economic issue as well.

Thank you.

The bond proposal to bring back public bathrooms to Anchorage was voted down in the election.

Do you see a lack of public restrooms in Anchorage as an issue, and if so, what would you propose to address it?

Ms. LaFrance, we'll start with you.

You know, I do see it as an issue.

It's something that has come up for years.

I mean, not just for folks who are out jogging, but parents of small children and other other people who are visiting our community, who are out and about and trying to find a restroom.

And I think that it means that, you know, the proposal that was put forward, that wasn't the right one for the community.

So it's back to the drawing board.

I know that, you know, given the need for restrooms, we'll need to explore other options and if maybe it's not the Portland loo or something like that, but definitely bringing folks together to brainstorm and come up with potential solutions is something that we need to do.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance.

Mr. Bronson.

Well, certainly it is not the Portland loo.

I opposed that measure because it's a bad idea from front to start.

They cost a half a million dollars a piece.

The average price of a home and in Anchorage is about 474,000.

We know what the problem is.

The our homeless population doesn't have a place to go to the bathroom.

And that's one good reason why I proposed a large navigation shelter.

And on Tuesday and Elmore is what it did is it provided beds, cots, toilets, showers, wraparound services, so caseworkers can help these people and get them on the road to success.

But once again, the Assembly, led by Ms.. LaFrance, killed that idea.

And now we're dealing with a half million dollar toilets.

All right.

Thank you.

Before we continue with questions, a quick reminder to our viewers and listeners that we want to hear what matters most to you.

Follow the QR code on your screen or go to Alaska Public Dawgs polls to participate in the live poll about what topics matter most to you as an Anchorage voter.

We'll be looking at the results later in the program.

All right.

Let's now continue with questions.

If the Supreme Court rules that it is legal to criminalize sleeping or camping in public spaces when there is no shelter available, would you make it the municipal policy to cite or arrest people for that reason?

Ms. LaFrance will start with you.

You have 45 seconds.

You know, I'm watching that case closely.

And at the end of the day, we've got to have a way to address homelessness because we're not doing that effectively now.

And what we know is that when we abate camps in one area, pimps will simply move to another area.

So the court case really will not have an impact on our ability to actually solve the problem of homelessness.

And so what we've seen is that the current approach is not working.

It's costs money, it's cost time, it's cost lives.

And we need to have a coordinated plan that involves stakeholders where we will make progress to ensure that there is not only emergency shelter, but that folks have a way to access treatment and housing.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Well, the case being heard is is Johnson versus Grants Pass, and it's dealing with the greater issue of Martin versus buoyancy.

So in admissible attorney sat through the deliberations last week at the Supreme Court and she brief me yesterday on the results of this this or this change in law.

If we get what we think we're going to get, it will give us greater latitude to enforce municipal code.

At the end of the day, we have to decide as a city, are people going to sleep on our streets?

Are we going to allow that or are we not going to allow that?

Because that's what this issue is under Martin versus Boise.

We wouldn't have to have anyone sleeping on the street had we provided enough shelter space.

We didn't do that.

I proposed a plan to provide a large shelter and to our ALMA.

And again, the assembly killed it multiple times.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson and Mr. Bronson, this question is specifically for you.

Your proposal for a mass shelter is back before the Anchorage Assembly.

And given previous experience with the Sullivan Arena, how confident are you that an even bigger shelter would be the most effective path forward for Anchorage?

Well, the shelters are about the same size.

They can hold roughly 400 people.

The Sullivan Arena, we know this in shelter and navigation facilities need to be purposely, purposefully designed.

This shelter, the one that we're spending $5,000 a month to store down Lower 48, was purposefully designed for homelessness.

And that has to do with things like the height, the walls and everything like that.

The Sullivan Arena was probably the worst designed building for homeless, lots of dark corners, lots of spaces where you can't track people, you have to supervise people in shelter.

And that's why we designed the shelter that we have.

And I just hope we can get it up here.

That's how we help people.

And Ms.. LaFrance, this question is specifically for you.

You've previously stated that you're in favor of more small shelters scattered throughout Anchorage, but how would you convince individual neighborhoods and communities to allow these kinds of shelters near homes?

Well, it's important to have a robust public process and to engage folks.

I mean, we've got some real decisions to make in our community.

A mass shelter is a bad idea, and I voted for the Navigation Center to move forward when through a collaborative process between the assembly and the administration, it was reduced down to 150 people.

Now, at the end of the day, we had to start moving forward with Mr. Bronson's shelter because it's the cost ballooned and ballooned and the rules for spending public money were not followed.

The mayor's administration broke the law, and so it became an issue of fiscal responsibility to stop that project.

And, you know, three years later, it's back up before us again.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance, for both candidates again.

Anchorage is popular.

Wooded areas present the risk of wildfire even in the middle of the city.

What would you do to help mitigate that risk?

And Ms.. LaFrance, this questions to you first.

Yeah, wildland fire danger is a huge risk to our community, and we've seen that with some really dry summers that we've had in the McHugh Creek Fire as well.

When I was on the assembly and I've been off for about a year now, I was a co-sponsor of an ordinance that enabled the fire chief fire department to declare a wildland fire danger area and to have more strict controls to better manage that.

I believe also we need to continue to support the fire wise program and also to work with the communities, especially those who abut those areas with where there is wildland fire danger excuse me to focus on those resiliency efforts and do drills as well, because evacuation is also a big issue.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance.

Mr. Bronson.

Yeah.

So the threat to stuck again heights, that neighborhood is quite acute If we have a very dry summer.

Two summers ago we did have a dry summer and Tudor Elmore fire was quite impressive.

Had it gone away, had the wind speed been much higher, it would have gotten away.

We do need firebreaks to prevent to protect stuck again heights.

We also need a back exit off that property because it's one road in, one road out.

I've been working with the military officials to work to get us a temporary bridge put in so we can get a back exit out of that in case of a fire.

But again, you know, they live on a hillside in the woods in in a dry summer.

It's it's a big challenge, but we'll get there.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Next up, we'll watch a video question provided by Anchorage Youth Vote.

But first, we want to hear what matters most to you.

Follow the QR code on your screen.

Or go to Alaska Public Dawgs poll to fill out a quick survey.

Now on to our video question from Madison, a student at Eagle River High School.

What is your perspective on the role of public protest in democracy?

As mayor, how would you respond to public protests?

Thank you.

And Mr. Bronson, you may respond to Madison's question first.

You have 45 seconds.

MADISON Thank you.

I strongly support public protest, but it needs to be lawful, nonviolent, and it certainly shouldn't be damaging private property.

We're seeing throughout the country on our universities protests going on that are extremely problematic and very anti-Semitic in their nature and are and I don't support that.

I think the university presidents can do a far better job of of maintaining the law on their campuses.

This this shouldn't be allowed because there is lawful protest and then there is unlawful in that you can't damage someone else's property.

You can't prohibit someone's access to property that they have access to, say, a classroom.

So but we don't have that problem up here, and I'm glad to see that.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Ms.. LaFrance, I strongly support First Amendment rights.

Free speech is critical to our democracy, and that includes protesting.

I do believe that protests and demonstrations of free speech need to be lawful and should not include damage to property or violence or intimidation.

But, you know, it's so important for a healthy democracy for people to be able to speak up and to feel safe doing it as well.

And as mayor, I would support peaceful protests and folks exercising their First Amendment rights.

Thank you for those answers.

For our next section, we're going to give the candidates a chance to ask questions of each other.

Each candidate will have 15 seconds to ask their question, followed by a one minute answer from your opponent and a 32nd rebuttal.

Mr. Bronson, you may ask the first question.

You have 15 seconds to ask.

Suzanne, several years ago, nearly 220 businesses were shut down by you in the city.

Small businesses, by and large.

Do your COVID restrictions and in code enforcement against them.

Do you remember any names of those small businesses that you shut down?

The pandemic was certainly a challenging time for our community, and we learned lessons from it.

And one of the lessons is that also we need to be prepared.

And right now, the municipality is not prepared to handle an emergency.

And, you know, we've hit a staffing vacancy rate at the health department at 40%.

We are down over 50 police officers as well.

And we've seen in the last two winters how snow has created an emergency here and has shut down businesses.

And this last winter, we saw that during one of the most profitable times of the year, the holiday season.

A number of our businesses here in Anchorage were shut down because the snow wasn't cleared from the streets.

And so I'm concerned about the municipality being in a position to handle not just emergencies, but things that happen every year like snow.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance and Mr. Bronson, would you like to give a rebuttal?

Well, yeah.

I'm glad we brought up the snow removal issue.

We've got a second height.

We just had the second highest snowfall in the history of the city.

And I would just like to know from Ms. LaFrance, what would you have done different?

All right.

Thank you.

I guess no answer.

I'm happy to respond.

You've got 12 seconds.

Well, first of all, I would ensure that we have enough operators and that we're paying a competitive wage.

Doing an equipment audit is critical and also coordinating with the state and with the school district.

Thank you.

And now, Ms. LaFrance, you may ask a 15 second question of Mr. Bronson.

Thank you.

The mayor is responsible for delivering and executing the budget.

The financial audits have not been done since for the last two years.

Right.

And the books haven't been closed.

Why is that?

And what's your plan?

So in the budgeting process, okay, we've got a lot of things going on.

You're good to go.

You're good.

Okay.

So in the budgeting process, one of the very first things that has to be done is grants have to be accounted for under COVID and FEMA.

The Assembly wrote over 240 grants.

Each and every one of them have to be accounted for.

The volume was is staggering.

It's a lot of work for each one of those grants.

And then at the same time, when when we were in the midst of processing those grants here a year ago, the entire team of five accountants that process those grants left for the state because they got a 30% pay increase to go to the state and do the exact same job.

That slowed us down.

It really did.

And that's a problem, however, is what the assembly should have done three years ago when they wrote these grants was they should have given one grant to a nonprofit like the Rasmussen Foundation, and then we'd only have one grant to process instead of nearly 250.

All right.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance, we have 30 seconds for a rebuttal, if you'd like.

Thank you.

The thing is, the municipality doesn't know how much money it has, and that's the job of the mayor and the administration.

It also puts us all at risk taxpayers, because the municipality is at risk of losing federal grants.

It's at risk of our bond debt rating going down.

And there's also a risk that the municipal party could lose itself insurance.

This is unacceptable.

And at the end of the day, it falls back on the taxpayers.

As mayor, I'll be focused on getting the books done.

All right.

Continuing with our regular questions.

Anchorage is one of the most diverse cities and contains several of the most diverse high schools in the country.

What do you see as being the strengths and challenges of having such a diverse community?

Ms. LaFrance will start with you.

You have 45 seconds.

You know, local government all about working together to solve problems and our diversity.

It is a strength because when we engage folks in that process, in the public process and and participate in different aspects of the municipality, whether that's serving on commissions or just even attending meetings and being a part of community council, it helps us to better understand the problems that we face because we them differently depending on a number of factors.

It also enables us to come up with better solutions to solve the problems.

So I look forward to ensuring that Anchorage is not only a welcoming city, but that everybody is included in our local government processes.

Thank you.

Mr. Bronson, 45 seconds.

Well, within the municipality, I think much of our strength, if not most, of it, comes from our diversity.

When I came into office here three years ago in the municipality, in the normal way, only 22% of the workforce was minority.

Today it's 26% and we are on our way to being at 29%, which is the average across the city.

I think that is a great success and we did that by simply promoting the jobs, the great jobs within the municipality to all the communities.

We didn't show favoritism.

We just communicated clearly to to the various communities.

And they stood up and they took the jobs.

And we're quite proud of that.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Our next question, what do you think contributes to Alaska's high rates of violence against women?

And what would you do to address it here in Anchorage?

Mr. Bronson, you have this first.

Well, a lot of the violence against women is is in the homeless community.

It's it's tragic.

We certainly need to deal with it.

However, if we can get these people, especially the women, into shelter, they can be supervised.

Therefore they can be protected.

And when they're living on the streets, the violence against them or the potential for violence against them is is at the beck and call of the perpetrator.

We need to separate them.

We need to protect these women by putting them into a shelter.

And that's why for three years, I've been trying to build a shelter.

And somehow this shelter got political.

I don't know how.

But at the end of the day, that's the path forward.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Ms.. LaFrance.

Thank you.

Domestic violence is an issue that cuts across every line economically race, class, gender.

And, you know, it's something, too, that is unacceptably high in our community.

In Alaska.

And alcohol is certainly and substance misuse is certainly a big driving factor, not just in domestic violence, but in a number of other crimes.

And so it's critical that we have a fully staffed health department to do the kind of outreach and education to ensure that there are there is help available.

And we are also supporting things like Freeze law.

Thank you.

All right.

Ms.. LaFrance, this question is for you specifically.

Some undecided voters have shared concerns with us that you are too closely aligned with the current assembly.

How will you assure voters that checks and balances will still be in place if you are elected?

You have 45 seconds.

Thank you.

The mayor and the assembly have different jobs to do, and the job of the mayor is to ensure that the municipality is running and that basic services are provided.

The job of the assembly is to provide policy and also to approve budgets.

They're different roles and I'm proud to have represented my constituents and stood up for taxpayer interests when I was on the Assembly.

I can tell you that when I was on the assembly, you know, not everybody agreed and that there was healthy debate.

And that is exactly what I would expect as mayor from the Assembly, because you've got 12 different people who are working to do their best to stand up for their constituents.

And there's going to be some healthy disagreement.

Thank you.

And, Mr. Bronson, another question specifically for you.

During previous interviews and during a debate earlier this week, you referred to your opponent as while describing yourself as normal.

Can you explain what woke means and how it applies to your opponent?

Well, it's kind of like the Supreme Court when it talks about obscenity.

It says, I don't know what it is, but I'll know it when I see it.

And woke is kind of that same thing.

It's a political ideology of the far left.

I don't think it's healthy.

I don't think it reflects science.

I don't think it reflects certainly good public policy.

We can look at the effects of woke ism right now.

Again, whatever that is on the campuses throughout the lower 48, the protests, the violence.

It's an ideology that's particularly harmful to our society, to our culture, and certainly anathema to what I think is normal.

All right.

Thank you.

This question is for both candidates again.

Opioid addiction has been a problem in Anchorage for many years, and as recently as 2023, deaths from addiction remain very high.

What would you do to curb those numbers?

Ms. LaFrance, you have 45 seconds.

Thank you.

We certainly have a lack of treatment options in our community.

And as mayor, I would work closely with the state agencies as well as staff up the health department to ensure that we are finding ways to bring those treatment options here to Anchorage.

Because a lot of times, too, when folks are ready, there just simply isn't space.

There's work to be done with providers as well.

And there's also an opportunity for education and outreach in the schools and in the broader community.

I mean, at the end of the day, people have to have access to be able to live healthy lives and having good jobs, good schools is a ways in which that we can do that.

All right, Mr. Bronson, 45 seconds.

Well, Suzanne, if we find ourselves in agreement.

Yes.

When they're ready.

There isn't space.

There isn't space.

Because when in the middle of a concrete for poor for that space, she stopped the construction project.

So, yeah, we don't have space.

I spent the last three days in Cuddy Park, and I see firsthand.

I talk to these homeless people firsthand.

And alcohol and drug addiction is prevalent.

It's fact.

It's almost universal in these camps.

These people, we need to get them front and case managers in front of in front of health department workers that I work with each and every day.

And we can't do it because we're trying to do it in a field and we should be doing it in a shelter.

That's what that's what civilized societies do.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Our next question.

Pedestrian deaths have been an ongoing issue in Anchorage.

What can the city do better to address the problem?

Mr. Bronson, this questions for you first.

Well, again, pedestrian deaths, by and large, are within the homeless community, as sad as that is.

That's the reality of it.

Because they're wandering around town in an inebriated or intoxicated state and they should be in a shelter where they can be supervised and rehabilitated and brought back to being productive citizens.

Again, we have a common theme here, and we're all hearing it.

Homeless people and the homeless challenge in our city is a big challenge.

And housing only isn't the option because sheltering is the first step in housing.

And until we get the sheltering issue fixed built, we're going to keep having these discussions and these problems.

Thank you.

Mr. Bronson, Ms. LaFrance.

Thank you.

Pedestrian deaths have been unacceptably high.

We've got some really dangerous roads in our community.

Many of these roads are state roads, and that means that being very involved in the amounts process to ensure that excuse me, when new roads or upgrades to roads are done, there are plans for multi-modal transportation and safe walking routes.

This is an issue that came up to specifically in when I was on the Assembly and we were working with the school board on safe routes to school.

And there are some ways in which, whether it's speed bumps or changing temporarily changing the lanes to ensure that it's safe.

These are areas I would pursue as well.

All right.

We're going to take a short break, But before we do, we'd like to remind you again that we want to hear which issues matter most to you.

Scan the QR code on your screen or go to Alaska Public Mortgage p0ll to fill out a short survey on what matters to you as a voter.

We'll be reviewing those results later tonight.

Now, while we take a short break, here's an opportunity to look at what happens to your ballot after you vote.

Anchorage's First vote by mail election was held six years ago, and each year the Municipal Election Center invites the public to observe the process.

Alaska Public Media's Matt Fabian went to this year and spoke with the municipal election administrator, William Northrup, about how the city keeps the vote counting process secure ballots can come in to the Election Center one of three ways through one of our 18 secure drop boxes behind me or they can come in via the United States Postal Service, or they can come in through in-person voting at one of four Anchorage vote centers.

As ballots come into our election center, they are sorted through our order system here so that as they get sorted, this can take an image of the voter signature and check the voter off the voter list.

Once a image is taken, it is then sent to our signature verification team who are trained by professional document.

Forensic experts will look at the voter signature and compare it to the signatures that we have on file from the State of Alaska Division of Elections.

The envelope opening team will start removing the batches of ballots that have been sorted twice from this cage.

They will then bring the batches to their table where two people will work together to disassemble these in a way where the voter's information remains confidential.

Those ballots then get put into another cage ready for scanning.

Once the ballots are all scanned in, they are then put in our vaults where they will remain for the rest of the election.

Once the ballots are scanned, we begin called adjudication.

This is just another means of ensuring that people's votes get counted.

If there are any ambiguities that are on the ballots themselves.

One of the highlights of this system, as well as the system for sorting and signature verification, is they are air gapped, which means they are not connected to the network whatsoever.

So another security feature is that the Election Center live streams their security camera video on their YouTube channel so the public can see what's happening there at any given time.

Our next question is a video question from Madeline Hall Dorf with AARP, Alaska.

After the video, each candidate will have 45 seconds to respond as mayor of Anchorage.

How do you plan to increase affordable and attainable housing options for all resident to choose how they live as they age?

Ms.. LaFrance You may answer first.

You have 45 seconds.

Housing is expensive, hard to find, and a real financial barrier for folks to live here or move here.

There's a lot that the municipal government can do.

We need to increase the number of housing units in our community.

We can engage in public private partnerships like we've seen in Minneapolis, where bringing up the number of housing units have brought the cost down.

When I talk to developers, they tell me that every project is different.

And so we've got to have a culture of getting to yes and troubleshooting to ensure that those projects can move forward.

I'm committed, committed to bringing municipal assets like the Heritage Land back lands to the table and also cutting red tape to make it easier to build here.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance.

Mr. Bronson.

Yeah.

Speaking of getting the last year, Ms. LaFrance voted against the whole Mills project, which would have brought 152 homes into into Girdwood.

Absolutely essential.

On the other hand, I supported it.

I still support it and finally got passed them.

Just this year in Eagle River, I signed a modified methane gas agreement with the Accounting Corporation, and that's going to bring on about 1200 units into Eagle River.

A great project, a great partner with the including the corporation.

And that's how we move forward.

We need to create Mary up our dirt soil with investors and capital to build the homes that we need so our kids can afford, come back and not live in our basements, but live on their own.

Following up on that last question, can you give specific examples of projects or neighborhoods that reflect your vision to improve housing?

Mr. Bronson, you'll go first, 45 seconds.

Well, my vision, it's not universal throughout the city.

I think the local communities, the community councils have a say in this.

But again, if it's private property, the owner of the property or the developer of the property has the say.

Unfortunately, it seems to me that every time government gets involved on telling who and and what and how to develop their own property that they own, clearly it's a violation of their private property rights.

It pretty much it pretty well mucks up the system.

I think the marketplace will answer it.

I think the local communities will will make the right answer.

They know what they want in their neighborhoods and the public process allows for that.

All right.

Thank you.

Ms. LaFrance, 45 seconds.

One of the things I love about Anchorage is the diversity of our neighborhoods.

And, you know, there are some exciting projects that have gone forward, like the Devin Hamm project Downtown and Elizabeth Place, Symbolic Corners inspired.

And, you know, there are some really nice houses to have on Government Hill there that have that are fairly new.

And I think that shows that there is a demand here for all kinds of housing in different price points.

We know that there's a real shortage of starter homes and it's it's hard to make multifamily projects pencil out.

And that's why I'm in favor of incentives and continuing to cut red tape.

Thank you.

What role should the Anchorage Public Library play, if any, in deciding which books should and should not be available to users?

Ms.. LaFrance, we'll go to you first on this.

Thank you.

Well, there are processes in place right now for determining whether or not a book should be removed from the shelf.

And I'm 100% in support of having those processes in place.

You know, I'm a mom of three.

And, you know, when conversations about book banning or anything come up, I my my thoughts always go to, you know, how do we get kids to read more?

Because really, that is the issue.

And, you know, ensuring that children have access to, age appropriate materials and that there is a process for talking through and assessing and and also, you know, weighing in the role of professional librarians as well is really important and needs to be in our remain in our community.

Thank you, Ms.. LaFrance.

Mr. Bronson.

Yes.

I think the library staff has an absolutely essential role in selecting the reading the reading materials in our public library, but that cannot be at the expense of what parents think and about parents want.

So there is things called or there is a notion of age appropriate reading material, and our kids need to be exposed to age appropriate for their age.

The right reading material.

Unfortunately, there is no review process anymore because the library board is completely dysfunctional, because the Assembly leadership refuses to vote to confirm people that have applied to be on the library board and library advisory board.

And that's an essential step in the review of books.

All right.

We have a couple more questions before we review the results of our live poll.

So here's one last reminder to participate.

We want to hear from you.

You can use the QR code on your screen or go to Alaska Public Dawgs poll to tell us what issues matter most to you.

For our next question, Anchorage is increasingly taking on the costs of public services that the state of Alaska used to provide.

What would you do to ensure Anchorage's need for public services are met in the face of increasing costs and state aid?

Mr. Bronson, this question goes to you first.

Well, first, we need to prioritize.

In my world, public safety, public health is the highest order of public service.

And and that's why I gave the police department recently the largest pay increase in the history of the municipality, because our officers were leaving too often for greater pay in other areas.

I've really worked hard at staffing up in getting the equipment that the fire department needs.

This this is this is a real challenge.

I do know we need to start spending a whole lot less on homelessness.

We really do.

And since 2017, since Missoula Finance came into office, we've spent $247 million on homelessness.

And boy, I don't think we're there yet.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Ms.. LaFrance We have certainly seen a major reduction in community assistance from the state come to the municipality over the years, and there is a need for Anchorage to be self-sufficient because we can't rely on Juneau.

Some folks have said, Hey, you know, we should consider implementing a sales tax.

And I want to say that I am 100% in favor of having that conversation.

And ultimately it will be up to the voters.

But taxpayers are not getting a great bang for their buck right now.

Scandals, lawsuits, mismanagement.

That's all costing you money.

And as mayor, I'll put an end to that kind of wasteful spending.

And I'll also be supportive of a productive conversation about other revenue measures.

All right.

Thank you.

Alaska is seeing the effects of climate change faster and more dramatically than the rest of the country.

What challenges and opportunities do you think this presents?

Ms. LaFrance will start with you, 45 seconds.

Well, we've got an opportunity to dust off the climate Action Plan, which has been sitting on the shelf for about three years now, and we've got an opportunity to update it as well.

Certainly, energy is on people's minds when we experience that cold snap this winter and it cast into question the future of natural gas and how do we have a sustainable, reliable, affordable system of energy.

I believe that at the municipal level we've got an opportunity with solar and wind as well to offset some of those costs.

And I, as mayor, am committed to doing an energy audit as well and pursuing areas where beneficial electrification action might be an option.

All right, Mr. Bronson, 45 seconds.

Well, we are experiencing diverse changes or significant changes in weather, but I've never seen a period in human history where the weather wasn't changing that.

That being said, the single biggest threat facing this city right now, say after report collapse is cooking that natural gas.

I met with the technical committee, which advises ten of US mayors or 11 of US mayors on the cooking that natural gas.

We're in really big trouble.

And we got bad, bad news from this group of professionals today.

And solar isn't going to solve it.

Wind isn't going to solve it.

We have got a time crunch.

We've got a couple of years and it starts getting real serious.

So providing cheap and plentiful energy is what we've got to focus on.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

What is one thing that you admire about your opponent?

Please explain.

And you have 30 seconds.

You don't get to a feud live with this one.

Mr. Bronson, you can go first.

Well, I think Suzanne and I share a desire to serve our community and serve it well.

How we do that, how we go about that is is quite different.

I think less government is better.

Government smart government is better.

Government.

And I think adding programs, spending more, spending profusely on things like homelessness is not the best way to forward for a city.

That's that's the way I look at government.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Ms. LaFrance.

Thank you.

I admire Mr. Bronson's relationship with his wife, and he clearly speaks very proudly and fondly of his children, and rightfully so.

You know, family is so important and a reason why people why families decide to raise their children is in a community is because of the schools.

And here, you know, we have had fluctuations or a lack of funding from the state.

And as mayor, I'll be a champion of public education and neighborhood schools.

Thank you.

Before we move to our second round of letting candidates ask each other questions.

Let's review the results of the live poll.

We had two questions tonight.

The first asked you to rank your priorities as a voter, while the second asked if you'd already made up your mind as a voter.

It looks like the topic that viewers ranked highest was homelessness, followed by mu And let's see who we're going to see here.

Can you read that, Tom?

It looks like a ballot.

I bet that looks like about 87.7% have decided.

And about 10% said they have not.

And 3%, perhaps.

Is my math working?

Yes.

Said they do not plan on voting.

Now, we'll give the candidates another opportunity to question one another.

As a reminder, you'll have 15 seconds to ask your question.

Your opponent will have one minute to answer, and then you'll have 30 seconds to give a rebuttal if you want.

Mr. Bronson asked the first question last time.

So, Miss LaFrance, this time you may go first.

Okay.

The mayor is a nonpartisan position who works for everyone.

And on the campaign trail, you've talked a lot about political parties and left versus right.

Why is that?

Well, as we mentioned in a previous conversation, there is nothing that is nonpartisan in politics anywhere in the country.

And that's never going back to Lincoln-Douglas.

It's never been nonpartisan because there is a statute that says this is officially a nonpartisan race in municipal actions.

Doesn't make it so.

So we disagree.

We have a very different view of looking at the world.

You are in lockstep with the assembly.

I am not.

I am the balance to you in the assembly.

Were you to be still on the assembly?

If you were to be mayor?

At the end of the day, there is no balance in government.

There is none whatsoever.

One half, at least, of the political spectrum at that point gets no representation.

That's not good government.

It has never been good government.

And the notion, quite frankly, that somehow politics is nonpartisan is naive.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Ms.. LaFranchi, you'd like to give a rebuttal?

Yes, sir.

It's not about left versus right.

It's about getting things done.

It's about good governance and ensuring that basic services are provided to residents.

And here at the local level, we have this amazing opportunity to set aside the issues that divide us at the state and national level.

And we can do that by focusing on issues that are specific to our community, by working together to make this a better place to live and by working together to address these problems.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

You may ask your question now.

You have 15 seconds.

Ms. LaFrance, when you came into office in 2017, the municipal or the assembly budget was $3.7 million.

When you left as assembly chair six years later was $8.9 million.

All that money, all that increase it to the question, sir, what did the taxpayers get for that 7 minutes?

I.

One minute.

Yes.

So every budget that I voted for and that was approved by the Assembly when I was on the assembly was balanced.

And within tax cap.

It also focused on services.

And the assembly budget was no different.

And in fact, we added capacity to the Ombudsman's office with the goings on in the last three years.

That was money that was proven much needed.

Now, since we're talking about finances, we need to take a look again at how we don't even know how much money we have right now because the financial audits haven't been done for the last years and the books aren't closed.

And this is a tremendous liability to taxpayers.

And it's the job of the mayor to ensure that the basic services of the municipality are done, and that includes ensuring that the finances are safeguarded.

The Mr. has called himself a fiscal conservative.

That is not fiscal conservatism.

Mr. Bronson, you have 30 seconds for a rebuttal, if you'd like.

Well, it's kind of funny when she says I passed budgets that are under the TAPS tax cap.

The law says you have to produce the budget that's under the tax cap.

And on the budget, we do know how much money we have.

Just two nights ago, the assembly made a mistake.

We caught it.

It's not a problem.

We're going to we help them fix it.

They overspent the tax cap by $605 million.

We caught it.

We went to them and I says, Hey, I'll work with you.

Let's get this fixed.

And there's an emergency session called for tomorrow to fix it.

That's that's how you get things done.

Thank you, sir.

Now it's time for our Lightning Round for these questions.

You will only have 15 seconds to respond.

First question, starting with Ms.. LaFrance.

What do you think is the most important executive position the mayor appoints and why?

The municipal manager Because the municipal manager oversees the public safety departments and has a critical role in ensuring that the basic services of the municipality are provided and that the municipality is running smoothly.

All right, Mr. Bronson, 15 seconds.

The municipal manager, Maybe a close second would be the municipal attorney.

All right.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Would you support the implementation of new taxes in Anchorage?

Mr. Bronson, I could support a sales tax in there under the right conditions.

And those conditions would be that it dollar for dollar locked in, never to change dollar for dollar reduction in property taxes.

I don't know what this assembly with this assembly if we could ever get there.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson LaFrance.

Ultimately, that'll be up the voters to decide.

I am 100% in support of having the conversation.

I think we do need to look at the best ways in which to invest in ourselves.

There would be an opportunity to reduce property taxes as well as provide additional funding for muni service.

Right.

Onto the next question.

Do you support the state ballot initiative to raise the minimum wage in Alaska?

Ms. LaFrance, 15 seconds.

Yes, I do support this initiative.

Good jobs with competitive wages are so important.

They are the backbone of a strong community and critical for families as well.

All right.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

I do not.

The marketplace should dictate these wages.

And we see every time they do these extravagant raises in the minimum wage is what they do is they replace those young workers, by and large, or those low income workers with automation.

That's a lost opportunity.

And that's that's not good for our society.

Or these.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Bronson.

Do you see off leash dogs in Anchorage as an issue that needs addressing, Mr. Bronson?

I do.

At the end of the day, everyone should have the right to use their streets and trails as they see fit.

And if you want to go out and use a trail and not be accosted by a dog.

So.

But I am for dedicated use places where our parks where dogs can be walked off leash.

Thank you, Miss LaFrance.

Yes.

I mean, down here in the bowl, in high traffic areas in particular, dogs need to be leashed.

And there are some really great off leash dog parks and, you know, those are great opportunities to take your dog.

All right.

Thank you.

Do you support the current proposal before the Anchorage Assembly to reduce the number of residential zones from 15 to 5 as a way to increase housing supply?

There's a frenzy of 15 seconds.

I do support it, but I believe it needs more public process and perhaps additional changes.

I know that many folks in the public feel like rushed, but we've got to start doing some things differently if we're going to make some changes.

All right, Mr. Bronson, I don't know if five is the right answer.

I do know that over the last several years of the assembly and mayors have put very onerous restrictions in Title 21 and Title 23.

And those do need to be changed.

But whether it's five, six, four, ten, I just don't know the answer.

Thank you both for your answers.

Thank you so much.

Your answers this evening.

We'll finish out tonight's debate with closing statements.

You, Mr. Bronson, you may go first.

You have 45 seconds, only 45.

Well, thank you again for this opportunity.

I just want to say I love this city.

It's been the honor of my life to serve as the mayor of this city.

I've got great hope in and the city has great promise going forward.

We've got a lot of outside investment that wants to come in because we are a good place to invest in.

We just need to do better.

And some of the key decisions on cooking that natural gas, we need to do better, certainly on homelessness, because that impacts each and every one of us.

But at the end of day, we're going to do fine.

We're going to get this right.

We're going to work together.

And this city is is a great place to live.

I really appreciate your vote.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Mr. Bronson, Miss.

Of France, 45 seconds.

Thank you so much for this opportunity to be here tonight.

We really do live in an amazing place and we have incredible potential.

But we've got some things that we've got to get right first.

We've got to get the basics right.

And right now we've got an APD staffing shortage of over 50 sworn officers.

We don't have a plan on homelessness, and we've got to figure out a way to plow our streets of snow in the winter.

We've got to do all these things because the folks who live here rely on our municipal government to provide those local services and also so that we can tackle the really big issues we face in our community.

It's not about red or blue, left or right.

It's about getting things done and working together.

I'd be honored to have your vote.

Thank you, Miss LaFrance.

That concludes tonight's debate.

Anchorage residents, you have until 8 p.m. on May 14th to make your vote count.

You can visit our website, Alaska Public dot org to view more election coverage and use our candidate comparison tool, which was updated earlier today with new answers from both candidates.

For Alaska Public Media, I'm Lori Townsend and for the Anchorage Daily News, I'm Tom Hewitt.

Thank you for joining us.

Good night.