Former Anchorage Assemblyman and Air Force veteran Dick Traini passed away last Friday, September 4, 2026, at the age of 77. Traini had served 19 years on the Anchorage assembly— the longest service of any Anchorage assemblymember. He also served as Assembly Chair five times.
Assembly Chair Anna Brawley and Vice Chair Daniel Volland offered the following statement on the passing of Dick Traini:
As Assembly Leadership, we extend our heartfelt condolences to the Traini family for their loss and invite the community to remember former Assembly Chair Dick Traini.
Over 19 years of service representing Midtown on the Anchorage Assembly, Mr. Traini served for more of our 50-year history as a Municipality than any Assembly Member ever has or likely ever will.
Like many members over the years, he stepped into leadership through his community council, serving for eight years as President of the Campbell Park Community Council before being first elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 1991. His commitment to public service carried him through several terms across three decades, working on municipal priorities like strengthening public safety, protecting parks and trails, and reinforcing fiscal responsibility. As Assembly Chair, he instilled a reverence for the business of the Municipality that we uphold in the Assembly Chambers to this day.
Although we never served alongside former Chair Traini, we serve by his wisdom as it has been passed from member to member: “You can either be an active member of the community, or you can be a potted plant. Don’t be a potted plant.”
Traini’s family invites those wishing to celebrate his life to attend his service at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on September 19th at 4pm.
