Anchorage Assembly’s move toward “reimagining public safety” is being launched as the governing body for 40% of the population of the state authorized a task force aimed at reviving the former Public Safety Advisory Commission, but with a new mission.
While the effort is being promoted as a way to enhance community involvement in public safety decisions, it is actually part of a broader national trend toward replacing traditional policing with ideologically driven alternatives rooted in the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) movement. The goal is not law enforcement, so much as good relationships with criminals.
The task force was authorized under AR 2025-111, a resolution sponsored by Assembly Vice Chair Anna Brawley and Assembly Members Kameron Perez-Verdia, and Felix Rivera. The resolution calls for a diverse group of stakeholders, including law enforcement, municipal departments, school district representatives, and community organizations, to participate in developing recommendations for a new advisory commission. Political consultant Denali Daniels + Associates will be paid to facilitate.
Assembly Member Felix Rivera, a Democrat who first moved to Anchorage to work for former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz, will help lead the task force. He said the goal is to create a more inclusive conversation around public safety.
“It’s essential that the community helps shape the future of public safety in Anchorage,” Rivera said. The term “community” has variable meanings in the leftist political vocabulary.
The nationwide “reimagining public safety” movement gained traction in the aftermath of the George Floyd protests in 2020, after Derek Chauvin, a Minneapolis police officer who was subduing a violent and drugged criminal ended up being arrested, tried, and convicted for the man’s death. Chauvin is serving a 22-year federal sentence, even though subsequent evidence shows that George Floyd died from drugs, a fact still being disputed by Black Lives Matter agitators.
The reimagined police movement prioritizes reducing police involvement in many areas of public life and redirecting resources to alternative responses such as mental health professionals, social workers, and community mediators. There’s less focus on stopping crime or arresting criminals.
Supporters of the “reimagining” say it’s the police department’s job to address the root causes of crime, such as poverty, mental illness, and trauma, and that police must work to build trust between “marginalized communities” and public institutions.
This approach has led to dangerous gaps in enforcement, lower police morale, and less accountability in cities where similar reforms have been tried, such as San Francisco and Oakland. In Anchorage, where crime, drug use, and chronic vagrancy have grown to crisis levels, the task force’s probable “soft on crime” recommendations may further weaken already strained public safety systems.
The Assembly’s resolution aligns with key principles of the equity-driven model: Reducing police roles in non-violent incidents, emphasizing community-centered engagement, and investing in social services instead of law enforcement infrastructure.
Anchorage’s previous Public Safety Advisory Commission was dissolved in part due to its limited influence and unclear mandate. Rather than strengthening law enforcement oversight through improved structures, the Assembly’s new approach appears to seek a fundamentally different model, one centered on non-police voices and restorative justice frameworks, in line with the broader national campaign by Democrats to replace traditional public safety institutions with ideologically motivated alternatives.
Meetings began June 26. The next one is July 10, with information available at this Anchorage Municipality link.
