As expected, former liberal candidate for mayor Bill Popp has endorsed Suzanne LaFrance for mayor.
Lining up with the radical Assembly, Popp chose one-party rule as his roadmap for Anchorage, instead of the incumbent Mayor Dave Bronson, who is tied with LaFrance as the two head into a runoff election for May 14. Neither achieved 45% in the March-April election.
The election that ended April 2 won’t be certified until April 23. Popp came in a distant third place. It is expected that if LaFrance wins, he will return to his city job. He left his job as CEO of the taxpayer-funded Anchorage Economic Development Corporation last summer to run for mayor, but in endorsements such as this, a quid-pro-quo promise is almost certainly in the works for Popp to return to another high-level, taxpayer-funded job at City Hall. When Popp left AEDC, the board of directors appointed Jenna Wright to be CEO.
“I believe Suzanne shares my perspectives on solutions to the key issues facing our city and as Mayor I believe she will assure our government will effectively address the issues our city faces today while setting in motion long-term strategies to revitalize Anchorage and set our city back on a path to success and vitality,” Popp said. He held his press conference in front of City Hall at 1 p.m. Wednesday.
