By LAURA TEMPLE
The Assembly continues to say that Mayor Dave Bronson has no authority to create policy and that it is only a function of the legislative branch. This behavior is dangerous and compromises our democracy.
The attack on the executive branch by the Assembly (in particular Chris Constant, Meg Zalatel, and Felix Rivera) is detrimental on many levels. They continue to claw away at the mayor’s executive authority while simultaneously calling the mayor and his administration “incompetent”.
Constant loves to talk about incompetencies almost as much as he likes to talk about fantasies, but let’s focus on incompetencies for now. At the Tuesday, Nov. 7 Assembly meeting, the Assembly proposed an ordinance to approve an operating agreement by the administration between O’Malley Ice and Sport and the municipality to operate the Sullivan Arena.
During over an hour of arguments, some Assembly members continued to berate and accuse the Bronson administration of not following the law, of being incompetent and placing blame on Bronson for the very mess that Constant and Zaletel created. They seemed to be actively practicing the adage of “a lie said often enough, loudly enough becomes true.”
I watched the entire debacle and the behavior of some Assembly members is abhorrent – namely Chris Constant, Meg Zalatel and Felix Rivera. They couldn’t seem to grasp the concept that the administration has no obligation to seek Assembly approval for operating agreements. Talk about incompetence. It’s their job to understand the code. They could not wrap their heads around the fact that operating agreements are not leases (incompetence again), and even after hearing lawyers and real estate professionals explain what an operating agreement is, they continued to accuse the mayor of lying, not following process, and wasting tax payer dollars by not informing them of an operating agreement.
The mayor apologized for not bringing it to their attention out of courtesy … but he really didn’t need to do that. As a member of the electorate, I strongly believe it is they who owe the mayor an apology. The patience the administration practiced during that assembly meeting was an act of God.
Anchorage, pay attention! Constant is doing everything in his power to prevent Bronson from winning his mayorship next year. He called the mayor a “squatter” in the municipality and is doing everything in his power to have him removed including by spreading misinformation, lying, and stripping the executive branch from the authority it has.
The future of our city depends on who is elected this coming April. Do your homework, don’t just listen to media that’s being maniuplated by certain assembly members who are attempting to usurp what and who YOU voted for.
Laura Temple is a resident of Eagle River.
How did so many whack jobs get voted to the Assembly at one time? Time to reevaluate the situation!
Contributing factor is how many more Anchorage residents and Alaska residents become dependent nailing a government taxpayer paid job. Suzanne downing was interviewed on I’m Glad you Said That” 89.3 radio hour with Jim Minnery and pointed to the elephant in the room about today Anchorage has shifted to a government employment town which brings more democrat left leaning voters. I’d like to see a digital artist and filmographer use media, computer, and advertising to make private sector jobs good to the younger generations of GenZ and unemployed/job hopping millennials but settled yet in government job and government, non profit, education jobs bad. Too many young adults go to Alaska Career College, UA, Alaska Charter hoping at the end they’ll get a job certificate for a ……. Government paid job that produces anything monetary back to the economy.
Contributing factor is how many more Anchorage residents and Alaska residents become dependent nailing a government taxpayer paid job. Suzanne downing was interviewed on I’m Glad you Said That” 89.3 radio hour with Jim Minnery and pointed to the elephant in the room about today Anchorage has shifted to a government employment town which brings more democrat left leaning voters. I’d like to see a digital artist and filmographer use media, computer, and advertising to make private sector jobs good to the younger generations of GenZ as well as media appealing to unemployed/job hopping millennials not settled to see government job, non profit, health care, education jobs bad. Too many young adults go to Alaska Career College, UA, Alaska Charter hoping at the end they’ll get a job certificate for a ……. Government paid job that produces anything monetary back to the economy. They don’t realize a weak private sector, no growth in the private sector eventually government paid employees will find themselves forced out of their tax-payer jobs.
Because Republicans became lackadaisical and stopped voting. Democrats are passionate, they support any one with a D behind their name, make phone calls, donate time and money, lie about issues and the TV & paper print them as truth, and VOTE.
Look around Anchorage. There’s your answer.
Gerrymandering the districts to the point a glass of water with a (D) following their name would get elected in a landslide.
Also, going to 100% mail in voting to make it easier for ballots from certain districts to get rejected, or more ballots than realistically expected to be counted from other districts.
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The people of Anchorage had little to do with this assembly getting re-elected.
People get the government they deserve.
Anchorage has had multiple opportunities to dump these people and actively chose not to.
Sounds easy, but show me how to do that with the district map drawn to heavily support the leftists, and 100% mail in voting.
Mail in voting!! There ya go!! Perfect breeding ground for corruption. Just like ranked choice voting.
The Mayor is the people’s executive of their will. If the assembly no longer represent the will of the people a police complaint should be filed and the next assembly meeting of the people they should ask for resignations, then nominate new representitives of the neighborhood and swear them in immediately. Or Anchorage may have lost their constitutional, guaranteed Republic form of government. When elected representatives turn on and against their people that elected them that may be a true insurrection situation. .
Actually, mostly no. In the Anchorage system, the Politburo is the most direct expression of the will of the people. The legislative branch makes laws.
The electoral system has the mechanism you’re looking for. At the end of each term members must stand for re-election. The fact the members remain virtually unchanged election to election shows they are representing the voters according to voter’s wishes.
Additionally, they system allows for a recall mechanism. That has been tried repeatedly and failed every time. Every time.
An argument can be made they don’t represent the will of the silent majority of people. This is a fallacy. If the silent majority can’t be bothered to vote, they are de facto voting for the incumbents. Electorally and practically speaking, if you don’t bother to vote you don’t count.
Anchorage has not lost its Constitutionally guaranteed form of government. An argument can be made Anchorage in its laziness gave it away.
You have the government you deserve.
They have taken an oath to secure and defend the Constitutional rights of the people. They can take illegal group actions in opposition to the will of the people. I believe they often do. The US Constitution still stands . Anything in conflict with the US Constitution is void from inception for effect. AS though it never happens. Code is corporate bylaws applying to them on the clock. The process for elevating the legislators to tyrants and monarchs is not code ratified by judiciary notwithstanding. It is the people activating a constitutional assembly to “change” the foundation law of the land, the US Constitution not bylaws of bankrupt corporations.
You have the government you asked for & voted for. No one “deserves” communism.
One problem: the Assembly WOULD’NT resign.. that’s the whole problem!!. They THINK THEY’RE the only ones that is right and everyone else(including the elected Mayor)don’t represent Anchorage-ites. It would have to be a “forced” action.
> The Assembly continues to say that Mayor Dave Bronson has no authority to create policy and that it is only a function of the legislative branch. This behavior is dangerous and compromises our democracy.
That’s literally what the legislative branch of the government job. Bronson isn’t king nor is Constants. Don’t like it? Vote or GTFO.
The Mayor and Governor are executors of the people per our guaranteed republic form of government which still stands according to the foundational documents. The political will of the people was never ceded nor delegated to the legislative servants. The servants due not ascend a throne and rule as 👑 monarchs contrary to faulty liberal teachings barely taught in crumbling deficient public schools to the purposeful ruination of American liberties and republic form of government at the behest of foreign influences, WEF, WHO, monarchies and their agents etc.
Please take a civics class.
I have. Study the documents.
Dude, number one, you live in a constitutional Republic. Number two, everyone who works in government is your employee, their lives depend on your tax dollars.
Clearly you (and apparently the certain members of the assembly) do not know the difference between an ordinance and a policy. The assembly passes ordinances as in law governing the city (purportedly in compliance with municipals code). The executive then makes policy to implement and execute that law. The assembly demanding to make and enforce policy is in violation of the separation of powers and municipal code. Speaking of municipal code, I watched the entire meeting and the fake indignation of certain members regarding supposed violation, yet when the assembly decided that they had the authority to create a mask mandate in violation of municipal code that apparently as A-Okay.
The city charter provides certain powers to the Executive (Mayor), and others to the Assembly (Legislators).
What the assembly is claiming, that Bronson is overstepping his authority as Mayor is wrong. The Mayor’s office has the authority to make the agreements he is making, not the Assembly.
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In a government that has a separation of powers form of balance, some power belongs to the Executive, others belong to the legislature.
The next election will DEPEND on VOTER TURNOUT!
Conservatives unite and get out and do something that the city hasn’t seen in years!
And every conservative must take at least ten like-minded voters to the polls. Drag them if you have to.
Rich, while I agree with you, I have a more cynical outlook. More and more it seems to me, if we ditch the failed mail-in ballot arrangement, return to in-person voting we may get better results and bringing people along, will actually make a difference. I suppose my attitude stems the poor voter turn out with mail-in voting and from the lackadaisical attitude of Barb Jones, who allowed people access to the supposed “air-gaped” computers with media during the vote count and her documented hostility towards election observers..
There may be a ray of sunshine. If memory serves assembly members can only serve 3 consecutive terms. It seems that Chris and Felix are on their 3rd term.
Well baby Chris and his little friends need to be voted out. All of us taxpayers see it so we will see how mad the voter is at these three incompetent little children.
Constant & Rivera were voted in by LANDSLIDES last April.
Pay attention. This is what the liberals & renters of ANC want.
Definitely not ALL RENTERS, I’m sorry.. You’re wrong on that matter.. There are many renters who are conservative and dislike what the Assembly thinks they can do.
Apologies. Of course you’re right.
I was renting when I started voting GOP back in the 80’s
I always wonder what % of renters are on State rental assistance.
Many of our lib votes are recent transplants from the 48, I see them on a neighborhood App I’m on everyday.
Moved up in the last 20-30 years & caused this growing, but now accelerating pattern.
Sorry George, I take umbrage with your definition of “recent” transplants. If you have spent 20-30 years in this state (and not just the summers), you are a local. My concerns is for people like Liz Snyder or the quintessential cheechako Jenny Armstrong, who got off the plane barely two years ago and now sits in the legislature.
I do pay attention you need to read it again I said that the voter needs to speed up or we will get more of the same. It’s up to the voter.
How long do we have to wait to get another shot at these people that just won in April?
This is depressing
Terms for assembly are 3 years and limit out after 3 consecutive terms.
Since you complain about the recent transplants, one would assume that you would have a better grasp of the basics here.
On the Muni website you can look-up when each assembly members term expires (it however no longer mentions how many terms they have served already)
George, I would be careful with this “Landslide” declaration. When Reagan won. THAT was a landslide! He carried 44 states!
Chris on the other hand just garnered 3803 votes out of 35664 possible and 6164 actually cast votes for a turnout of 17%. It is clear to me that there is a lack of enthusiasm in his district and people are not voting (rather than vote for a conservative….the horror). While the other districts didn’t have a great turnout either, they at least managed between 25-45%. Felix managed to get 5724 votes while his opponent received 4821, definitely NOT a landslide with only 10841 votes cast.
(Numbers from the official election results on the Muni website)
Sounds like it is becoming time to begin public shaming our employees. They want to treat the mayor with complete disrespect, turn about is fair play. Exactly where is the full accounting of the assemblies use of covid funds? Good place to start asking them in public.
Government is supposed to govern and make running this city easy without all the issues. We have never had all these political issues before these three came along. This mess is all the assembly’s doing.
Well said! Look out Anchorage, the Marxists are after your city and they will be successful if YOU LET THEM!!
They have our city. 5 of them were elected/ re-elected in landslides last April.
Can we take it back is the question.
Maybe, if people don’t forget the homelessness & crime these Bolsheviks have brought us.
And in Fairbanks we’re next – we got our butts kicked because we let them… 20% voter turnout is fixable.
These idiots are the village’s idiots that elected them and keep electing them to their position. You can’t fix stupid.
The Gaylord’s are at it again, what a shame! Always 2 steps forward and 3 backwards with them.
The Administration won a lawsuit on this issue. Problem is his weak legal office not willing to fight and he needs to stop apologizing to them for anything!
Take charge and fight them at every step!
We have a republic, not a democracy.
Thank you
I agree that a forensic audit of the Assemblies’ Covid fund spending spree is a MUST.
Where or Where did the 153 million really go.
We know Zalatel is double dipping. What about Constant and Rivera.
If the three aforementioned would quit acting like children and let Mayor Bronson do the job I voted for
him to do it would be quite amazing.
Thomas totally agree.
I wonder, now that the navigation center is good and dead, if their entire purpose of this “delay” and “renegotiation” of the contract with O’Malley was to have the Sully as an emergency shelter location again, now that it is fixed up. That 36 mos clause stops that from happening. It also makes the mayor look good to the hockey community and we clearly can’t have that.
BTW it was over $161 million and yes it is time for an audit considering that the “Coalition to END homelessness” seems to increase the numbers instead of ending anything.
It would also be nice to know how much of taxpayer dollars are spent per homeless individual to house and feed them in a hotel for 6 months. The next question then is to ascertain if there is an exist strategy for each individual to have them transition to a permanent home and self-support. Are there any limits, time or monetary, or is it a revolving door with people just going back to the green belts for the summer and hotels paid for by us in the winter…..
I am going to hope this isn’t true but anything is possible with these toxic people. Word on the (terrible messed up rutted snow clogged) street is that plow drivers are deliberately trying to make the Mayor look bad since the Union wants a piece of him. For those of us that don’t get paid over-time or time-and-a-half and can’t afford fancy new 4X4’s that is not OK. If the woke assembly got out from behind their masks and stopped wasting our money on weirdo consultants who steal ladies clothing I’m sure we could pay for our streets to be cleared appropriately. Not buying the ‘big storm’, old equipment, too difficult whining argument either. It’s Alaska and there is no reason our roads/sidewalks should not be maintained properly each winter.
Yes. Heard that last winter also, why would our union Dem voting drivers want to make the city look well run, when they want Bronson out.
The head of plowing has been there 28 years & all of a sudden he forgot how to do this?
But I don’t know why Bronson is almost powerless w/ no control of funding & no veto power.
The sad part is half the blue collar union people are GOP, it’s their union bosses that worship Democrats.
I was at the Muni when Mayor Dan was there & the general attitude was, we’ll just wait this a-hole out & things will get better in 4 years when we toss him.
Looks like you’ll believe anything.
You are spot on with your assessment of the muni operators.
I had many talks with an operator who didnt like working under the chaotic conditions the entire department was wrapped up in and finally quit.
I cant believe Chris’s relationship with Sam Brinton on our dime is not being investigated and public scrutiny be given a chance to judge the need for this policy change.
His campaign manager from last election he shouldn’t have been let go. The young man was a good worker, he had had the energy and knowledge to deal with the contentious Left. He had the ability to pull voters together.
Bronson may not have his campaign manager from last season. His voter base from last season can at least stay together. Actually the push-back seeing the Leftist Assembly all tight up like a wedgy is riding up their cracks has been smugly amusing cause they may control everything else Anchorage EXCEPT the Mayor’s office. We, the Bronson base voters, can at least stay together to see them not control the coveted office another four years.
Unfortunately Mayor Bronson is almost powerless.
The wackos have a 9 person block to override any veto & they control spending, not him.
Game over for ANC (unless the assembly changes in the future & we get a good Mayor)
Oh Mr constant! A constant reminder! Of your follies in DC?
When I’m around most assembly members, I smell a dirty, stinking, low-down, commie and, yes, incompentent rat.
Move to the valley and screw that assembly.
Sadly they have the Valley in their sights as well considering the lack of voter turnout makes it an easy target for the Assemblies screwed up agenda.
Voters everywhere need to wake the hell up and pay attention to the direction we are headed.
Everyone needs to spend at least 3 days downtown any major city on the west coast to realize the real life effects of their greed using the homeless as pawns to pad their wallets.
Our once great city has turned into a cesspool of lib dip shxt voters. Albeit a small session pool, the dumb a@@ people who don’t get off their duffs allow it. Reap what you sow people.
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