By ANCHORAGE MAYOR DAVE BRONSON
The Anchorage Assembly is proposing a mask mandate that will pit neighbor against neighbor, shop owner against customer, and friend against friend. They will be asked to report mask mandate violations and businesses not requiring customers to wear masks. The fines will be large.
I strongly oppose this divisive power grab by the Anchorage Assembly because it is destructive public policy based on bad data. It is an infringement on the freedoms guaranteed to every Anchorage citizen by our federal and state constitutions.
First, I want to make clear that I share deep concern about the Covid-19 virus. I am more than happy to work collaboratively and cooperatively with anyone to find reasonable and practical solutions to address the various twists and turns of this virus, while honoring and protecting my constituents’ fundamental freedoms.
In the three months since I assumed office, my Administration has taken significant and meaningful steps to fight this virus and to protect the public health. Those include the increase of tests, vaccinations, and monoclonal antibody treatments in consultation with one’s personal medical provider. The total number of tests completed since we took office on July 1 is 163,094.
The total number of vaccines given through our vaccination sites were 5,455 doses (per most recent situation report). The total number of tests over the two weeks since Sept. 14 is 35,483. I have also empowered my department heads to provide teleworking options to Municipality of Anchorage employees and have encouraged our citizens to wear masks wherever and whenever they want.
So, while nine members of the Assembly spend a great deal of energy on stripping power from the office of mayor, I, as mayor provide the real help and treatment this city needs to fight this pandemic.
I am not against masking; I am simply pro-liberty. I am committed to protecting the physical and mental health of our residents, but I am also committed to protecting their freedom. I devoted almost 24 years of my life in the military to protect the liberty and constitutional rights of every American and every Anchorage citizen. I do not intend to stop now.
It is simply unconscionable for the Assembly to propose yet another mandate that depends on out-of-date data. While the World Health Organization has recommended masking throughout this pandemic, it also has acknowledged that the science behind masking is inconclusive. For example, in December 2020, the World Health Organization stated that: “At present, there is only limited and inconsistent scientific evidence to support the effectiveness of masking of healthy people in the community to prevent infection with respiratory viruses, including [COVID-19].”
Similarly, a May 2020 article, published in the CDC’s Emerging Infectious Diseases Journal, found there is “limited evidence for [the] effectiveness [of surgical masks] in preventing influenza virus transmission either when worn by the infected person . . . or when worn by uninfected persons to reduce exposure.” The study’s “systematic review found no significant effect of face masks on transmission of laboratory-confirmed influenza.”
A recent article published in the International Research Journal of Public Health studied the “total COVID-19 case growth and mask use for the continental United States.” The study found no “association between mask mandates or use and reduced COVID-19 spread in US states.”
Certainly, there are many studies that support the use of masks but, as I’ve just shown, there are also many studies that have found masking and mask mandates largely ineffective. That is why even the World Health Organization has recognized the science on masking is inconsistent and inconclusive.
Please understand, I share the concern about the staffing crisis at Providence Hospital. But let’s remember that the staffing crisis existed long before this pandemic. The hospital’s leadership has only compounded the problem by mandating a vaccine that some nursing staff will refuse and, as a result, will be fired.
We do not need a mask mandate to address our health care staffing crisis. Providence’s self-inflicted staffing problems do not justify infringing on people’s fundamental rights. The people of Anchorage should not suffer the consequences of poor business decisions at Providence Hospital.
There are claims that a mandate is necessary because some believe the very exercise of our God-given liberty is fueling this virus. But freedom is our friend, not our foe… or at least it should be. It is the surest guarantor of our security, safety, and health. But some seem determined to make freedom an alien in our city, a pariah in our restaurants, an outcast in our businesses, and a stranger to our places of worship.
COVID-19 is a serious public health concern, but there is a greater long-term threat to the future of Anchorage, and that is the culture nine of our Assembly members are creating – a culture that is legislating away our liberty. As long as I am mayor, I will fight to make Anchorage a sanctuary for freedom and a refuge for liberty again.
Freedom and individual liberty are the inheritance Alaska’s founders passed on to us, and they are the legacy we are charged with preserving for future generations of Alaskans.
I am duty-bound to stand against naked power grabs like this one. They are an affront to our Alaskan and American values. I invite the citizens of Anchorage and Alaska to stand with me.
Dave Bronson is the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska.
Finally a voice of reason. Thank you to Mayor Bronson and ALL who STAND with him. I TOO STAND with him.
Awesome mayor!!!
Aweful mayor!!
“Providence’s self-inflicted staffing problems do not justify infringing on people’s fundamental rights. The people of Anchorage should not suffer the consequences of poor business decisions at Providence Hospital.”
Excellent points!
Don’t forget to pray for Mayor Bronson and his family!
Yes we need to pray for the Mayors Bronson and his family
We need to pray for all Alaskans. Lack of leadership is killing them. Let’s pray that Bronson comes to his senses.
And we did stand with him. We infuriated The Negative Nine by leaping to our feet as one and applauding. It was a satisfying moment.
Not just Providence, don’t forget Native health systems and other clinics firing those refusing the jab, even those who had COVID and have natural immunity, which a Johns Hopkins study shows may be lifelong and not need twice yearly boosters.
also this past summer ANMC cut the pay if their prn nurses significantly, and many if them quit. this also put a crunch on their staffing issues
Natural immunity? Lifelong? Nothing lasts that long. What say you about the people who have gotten covid twice? Yes it does happen. Theory flew out the window. Got any more?
I don’t believe referring to a study by the prestigious John Hopkins University is the same as postulating a theory. Their study and those from Israel and others show that strong antibody resistance is generally developed in people who have had Covid. Are there exceptions? Of course, but as more data confirms this, people who can prove antibody presence should be treated the same as people who have been vaccinated and not have their freedoms restricted by government.
Johns Hopkins conjectures this. Facts show only about 20 months immunity since the first cases vs. the jab is only good for 3-4 months (must protect Pfizer profits). Time will tell. Many things offer lifelong immunity, or near so. MMR, OPV, smallpox, others. You can troll all you want, but a little research might give you just a thimble of credibility.
How many Greg? How many people have had symptoms twice? Not denying that it occurs, I just haven’t seen the actual numbers reported. Maybe you have. Genuinely curious.
Word on the street is the firings are just not happening. Bronson just tossed that out there because he had nothing else.
Maybe natural immunity confers long term immunity, maybe not. One study does not a firm conclusion make.
Why not take the safest known, reliable method? Dodge the risk of long term Covid. Get the vaxx. It’s far safer than natural immunity and is probably more effective if you’ve had Covid.
This bug is still teaching us how it works. Recommendations will change. It’s not because the scientists and MDs are flip flopping, it’s because they are following the evidence.
One can follow the latest information from those who are dedicated to tracking down Covid, or you can believe the incantations of witch doctors promoting their latest incantations or potions. The choice is, of course, yours, but be ready to accept the consequences and don’t blame health care workers if mumbo jumbo doesn’t work.
A tasteful and diplomatic but equally strong message to those who love freedom from a mayor it was my great pleasure to help elect!!
Well said Mayor. I commend your stance on liberty and freedom.
I was present last night at the Assembly meeting, relegated to the auditorium due to the chamber being full. I head most of the Bronson message until the feed was cut and the lights went out. Thanks for printing the full text. I stand with Mayor Bronson. I also appreciated Jamie Allard quizzing the medical plants from Communist majority. Thanks for holding their feet to the fire. We have a freedom loving Mayor who is a leader. I am with him.
Great job mayor!!!
BRONSON FOR GOVERNOR!
Dunleavy to the trash can!
Are you watching Dunleavy, you feckless wonder? This is what leadership looks like.
Standing in the face of adversity, taking clear, strong positions, and not hiding behind your desk.
A ray of hope and beacon of light for Anchorage. Congratulations for electing a man of character.
Despite the small problems Mayor Bronson and the executive team facing them working with skeptical 9 assembly members. Alaska Public Media’s report from Sept 28th, 2021 ‘New Sullivan Arena shelter managers say they’re trying to change the tone for clients’ is revealing this new contractor is already revealing a bountiful harvest for the Bronson Administration than if they continued with Bean’s Cafe.
Bronson Administration is going to be successful no matter how many roadblocks and stumbling blocks the Assembly puts up. If they asked for Wisdom, they too can join into this Administration’s success and politically share in the same harvest.
Mayor Dave Bronson,
This Patriot stands with you in Spirit. Many are and many will continue to. Our forefathers of this great Nation fought for the freedom.
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I applaud you for standing for truth & honor as did our forefathers of which, they bestowed upon us.
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God Bless you and your family. God Bless America!
How much more counter productive can it be to fire medical staff for not getting vaxed then spend a ?load of money to fly some up here and probably have to house them at a tremendous cost and replacing the same people who put their lives on the line by working tirelessly during the start of the pandemic are now tossed out like a baby with the bath water. They are being replaced by people totally unfamiliar with the hospitals and where the supplies are, how the computer systems work, how particular docs want things done, and a lot more things about all of the inner workings of the whole organization. I have thought about the loyalty of long time employees all over town that won’t go back to their jobs right now but the loyalty towards medical staff that are the backbone of our hospitals is the height of loyalty and a disservice to this community. It cannot have an outcome that is good for any community
Not to mention, that the same hospital staff that refuse the vaccine are also the same people who came to work everyday prior to the vaccine to do their job in the fog of not knowing exactly what they were fighting, but committed themselves to fighting it anyway, heroically. Now their heroics are being dismissed because they refuse to bow to ILLEGAL mandates.
But it takes a village,,,,, to enforce a mask mandate. Or more cameras.
But….But we NEED THE masks to perpetuate the fear if we’re to also mandate MAIL IN VOTING ONLY these next few power grabs…… I mean “election’s “
Since when, was Providence declared the top medical authority in Anchorage, let alone this state? I’m betting there are some deep dark secrets about their activities. Especially surrounding Catholic Social Services and how much they haul in annually. Just food for thought
The people of Anchorage are very bless to have this man as their Mayor and should stand with him in everything he said. If they don’t, they are foolish, dumb, childish and are going to keep throwing a two-year-old temper tantrum until the citizens of Anchorage throw them out. Sooner than later, hopefully!!!
Thank you Mayor Bronson, I believe you have a lot more support than you know.
Well said by a true leader! Thank you Mayor Bronson for standing tall for liberty!
I’m curious Mr.Bronson, do you realize that those supporting you are wearing the star of David at the assembly meetings? I am beyond offended that individuals are doing this in your name & so should you.
Yeah that’s pretty low. Not a whole lot of people care about their fellow man anymore. It’s all about themselves because they’ve migrated to being a libertarian. So sad.
I’m pleased to see it. That means people are beginning to wake up to the implications of this mess.
As am I. History does repeat itself, especially in the movement towards tyranny. The victims of today’s schooling and indoctrination seem to have a problem of knowing history and the similarities that are present. I’m sure by design. If you make the slaughter house to look like the soup house, the ignorant and uneducated move rather quickly to their demise.
Greg’s already bellowing in the chute and he doesn’t even know it.
It’s reprehensible to equate any component of the Holocaust with a silly effing mask!
You all have no shame, no conscience, no good will, but you have plenty of hatred, selfishness, and arrogance.
You are dangerous people.
The Holocaust was the last stage to the persecution, Evan. I find it reprehensible that you are so ignorant. Tens years of phased persecution resulted in mass murder. I am sure the German people didn’t see that coming either. Grow up, educate yourself and quit acting so indignant.
You can call us dangerous people but we can’t when you want to pit everyone against each other. You have zero self awareness and you’re full of hypocrisy and double standards, and yes that’s dangerous and very parallel to 1930’s Germany. Actually there are tons of parallels, including owning the media and manipulating big business to spew propaganda and alienate all that oppose you. You know fascism.
Where do you think we live, America? Oh yeah, we do. It is too bad that any branch of all governments do not take that same stance. Personal freedoms mean just that and if mine do not impede your choice then do not try to force yours on me or others.
Health freedom is a choice not a mandate or because of paranoia.
Weren’t you on here a while ago bad-mouthing people for getting the shot saying they were pumping in poison and people who wear masks are breathing in their own exhaust fumes like sucking on a tailpipe of a car? Where’s their freedom?
You are free to suck the tailpipe of any vehicle you choose, greg. Make it a good one.
Sounds like something you would say or create yourself, I do not care if you choose to harm yourself or anyone chooses to do the same but my choice not to do something is my choice not yours or some bs mandate.
If you did not wear a mask or get suggested vaccinated before this scamdemic you are a moron out of fear and MANipulation. Yes. it is your right to conform.
Let liberty Ring and thank you mayor for standing for Freedom, great speech.
Good stuff. It isn’t just about liberty. It’s about NOT driving a wedge between our community, and for many, amongst family. But strangely, it’s like this assembly wants that. They truly must not have any conservative friends, yet they think they are qualified to represent the general public. If they really want to pit neighbor against neighbor, then I would love a great big billboard with their faces on it so everyone in the community can remember what they were apart of, even long after this is all over. I know I will never forget.
Why? Clean resume…Too righteous. I think the good book warns us about these things. We should have learned from the UA system..MILITARY is NOT public leadership material…they are MILITARY material…
Huh?
The answer to 1984 is 1776!
Recall Bronson…He is not qualified….
Nothing is 100% guaranteed…But the alternative is death or severe illness for yourself or someone else…
Misinformation is not going g to stop you dying but it could prevent you from trying to live.
I am just not sure the resistance is so strong to live to another day on earth…politics bs life…common sense vs stupidity…
BUSINESSES are dependent pm people spending money…DEPARTMENT…No customers no businesses…People we make to decisions to engage in these activities…make the smart one…
The left’s mandates are yet another power grab to control everyone. No one gives them that right ! We can think for ourselves we do not need the left to tell us what we think or need to do. They have the right to do whatever they want in consideration of wearing a mask and getting the vaccine. Why shouldn’t the anti maskers and anti vaxxers have that same right who makes the left better than the rest?
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