Anchorage residents have launched a recall effort to remove Mayor Suzanne LaFrance after she failed to present annual surveillance reports to the Assembly and make the reports publicly available on the municipal website according to Municipal Code.
A press release from the Recall LaFrance effort states that LaFrance “violated Anchorage Municipal Code by neglecting to perform her duties as required by Anchorage Municipal Code 3.102.040.”
Municipal Code requires the mayor or a designee to “transmit to the assembly and cause to be publicly posted on the municipal website an Annual Surveillance Report” with specific reporting requirements. However, the 2026 annual surveillance report did not reach the Assembly until the September 1 regular meeting— three months late. The 2024, 2025, and 2026 surveillance reports could not be located on the municipal website as of today, September 8.
The Anchorage Assembly discussed the reporting failure at the September 1 regular meeting but postponed further action to the next regular meeting on September 15. At the September 1 meeting, the Assembly approved approximately $600K for upgrades to the control room hosting APD’s surveillance technology. Last year, the Assembly approved $11.8 million to establish 750 surveillance feeds throughout the city.
At the next regular meeting, September 15, the public will have an opportunity to testify on an ordinance designed to protect public safety by limiting the use and retention of surveillance footage. Read the ordinance here: AO-2026-108. Learn more about testifying here: Assembly – Public Testimony.
Other Anchorage residents are raising concerns about the expansion of surveillance in the city. In an op-ed published on Must Read Alaska, Marcus Moore described the September 1 meeting as “Feelings up front. Trust me bro in the middle. Money at the end.” Referring to Benjamin Franklin’s famous quote, he adds: “Franklin already settled this. People who give up essential liberty to buy a little temporary safety deserve neither. Anchorage is not special.”
According to the Recall LaFrance press release: “Mayor LaFrance has aggressively pursued the expansion of surveillance technology throughout the Municipality of Anchorage. She has repeatedly stated that the Anchorage Police Department’s current policies regarding drones, surveillance, and artificial intelligence sufficiently protect Alaskans’ right to privacy. Additionally, she has downplayed calls from the community to enact stricter safeguards in the municipal code to govern how surveillance technology is used in policing. Alaskans’ right to privacy is not negotiable. Protect your privacy: Recall LaFrance.”
To sign the petition, visit https://recall-lafrance.com/.
