Mayor LaFrance makes staff changes in comms and budget

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She’s known at Anchorage City Hall as the “pre-eminent rice krispie envoy” in the administration of Mayor Suzanne LaFrance. Amanda Moser, who has served as LaFrance’s external affairs director since July 1, has a new role today: Special Projects in the Office of Management and Budget.

The mayor didn’t say exactly what the special projects would entail other than “help expand the office’s capacity to plan, support, and execute the Municipality’s work across priorities.” It appears from the sudden switch that something isn’t working well in OMB, something that requires Moser’s special touch. Or perhaps something isn’t working well in external relations.

Moser, who was communication director for former Gov. Bill Walker, also ran the Downtown Partnership briefly and was also briefly appointed deputy municipal clerk for Anchorage, where she briefly helped manage municipal elections and helped engineer the mail-in voting used in Anchorage.

Political commentator Jeff Landfield said this about Moser last July: “But appointing Amanda Moser as head of external affairs is a major misstep. She’s one of the most caustic and off-putting people in Alaska politics. It’s like making me chaplain.”

LaFrance, however, says Moser has a cult following due to her Rice Krispie diplomacy. Evidently Landfield isn’t one of the Krispie cult members.

Taking over in the communications function for LaFrance will be Berett Wilber, who lists herself as a she/her on her LinkedIn details. Wilber served as deputy press secretary for Gov. Walker during his last year in office, 2018 and is now “point of contact for communications and media relations going forward,” the mayor’s office announced.

11 COMMENTS

  1. Please explain what you mean by “Rice Krispie.” Is she effervescent? Does she get soggy in milk? Does she give a short term sugar rush?

  2. And Landfield isn’t “one of the most caustic and off-putting people in Alaska politics?” Anyone who did anything for the Walker-Mallot administration would be toxic in my book.

    • I must agree!! And anybody who rallied for the Biden/Harris administration would be about as toxic. About, but not all of them. How many parents of the children who attend these schools agree with their fine famous superintendant?

  3. Since nobody can stand working with her, they’re giving her a special pedestal where she can spew out worthless laughable proclamations that mean nothing and get nothing done.

    • Are you reverting back to your prior content free post style? You were doing so well for a guy that normally gets frothy over large men in tights and football related nonsense. Keep trying MA, you can do it!

      It would be nice to know what the rice crispy reference is supposed to mean though.

      • SC- From the memo, it appears the person brings Rice Krispie treats to work and is appreciated for that, but it’s also possible that it’s a dog-whistle phrase that only insiders know the meaning of. – sd

  4. This mayoral administration is a dysfunctional mess. This mayor has made her administration into a make work program instead of an administrative branch of the municipality. She is concentrating on passing out money instead of stewarding the tax money from the citizens. Between her and the current assembly, I expect by next winter, it will be a complete feces storm.

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