By CRAIG E. CAMPBELL

This mayoral election is one of the most critical elections Anchorage has faced since the mid-1980’s. Who we select for mayor will determine our destiny.  

Is Anchorage to continue down the road to socialistic ruin, or will we reverse the trend of these past six years and make responsible government, economic prosperity, and individual freedom our providence?

There are 14 candidates seeking to become our next mayor. Of these, there are a couple of conservatives, a few moderates, a number of fringe candidates, and one extreme liberal — his name is Forrest Dunbar.  

As a currently serving Anchorage Assembly member, Dunbar has established a rock-solid, far-left voting record. He has advocated for, endorsed, sponsored, and voted for nearly every single liberal issue that has come before the Assembly.

When former Mayor Ethan Berkowitz was accused of sexting by a local female reporter, Dunbar was one of the first to publicly defend our disgraced mayor who ultimately had to resign because her accusations were true.  Apparently, Dunbar really doesn’t believe all women, even when they are telling the truth, especially if it may cause damage to one of his fellow liberal buds.  So much for the Me Too Movement.

Dunbar proudly supported the creation of a Chief Equity Officer in Anchorage.  Equity means “being fair and impartial.”  Anchorage already has an Office of Equal Opportunity, an Equal Rights Commission, and an Ombudsman Office to address fair and impartial treatment of people. Do we really need another bureaucrat to duplicate the efforts of others, or isn’t this really just a scam to continue pushing the dishonest narrative that Anchorage is systemically racist?

For Dunbar, fair and impartial treatment of others might just start with him not threatening assembly members with retaliation if they voice an opinion different than his.  But I digress, as we all know a liberal’s motto is “True for you, not for me.”   

Forrest Dunbar is an officer in the Alaska Army National Guard.  He took an oath to defend the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of Alaska.  So why are you worried that he has publicly stated he believes the U.S. Constitution is inherently tied to race, thus it’s a racist document?  

Quick to condemn the January 6^th US Capital occupation, Dunbar was proud his sister and cousin participated in last year’s “peaceful” riots in Portland.  No double standard there.

He’s proud of supporting AO-2020-65, banning counselors from discussing sexual orientation or gender identity change with a minor, even though the 11^th US District Court of Appeals ruled in November that such a ban was unconstitutional. But why would a person schooled in law care about what is constitutional or not?  Remember, the Constitution is based on racism.

Dunbar was a key ally of Czar Felix Rivera in Rivera’s quest to purchase four properties for homeless shelters and a treatment center, some adjacent established residential areas. He heard your opposition, by nearly a 5 to 1 margin, and then voted to purchase the properties. We then learned that he and comrade Christopher Constant pressured pastors into supporting this crazy idea. This is verified in their own words from emails between the two on July 13, 2020. But Dunbar respects all people, or so he says in trying to convince the masses to vote for him.  Last month a recall was launched against Dunbar for these coercion and shaming actions.

Then we learn from another email he was critical of the “Common Grounds Espresso” coffee stand owner for not being “progressive enough” because he did not support purchase of the vacant Alaska Club building on Tudor Road, the location from which a barista was kidnapped and murdered back in 2012.     

Dunbar introduced the alcohol tax ordinance, claiming the funds would be dedicated to child abuse and domestic violence.  Not necessarily true, the Anchorage Charter prohibits dedicated taxes, so these funds go into the city General Fund for future appropriation to whatever program the Anchorage Assembly wants.  He also endorsed and voted for an increase in our fuel tax, allegedly to off-set property taxes, but these funds also go into the General Fund.  Why must politicians keep lying to us about taxes?    

In fact, he has voted for every municipal budget since joining the assembly.  Thanks in part of Dunbar’s votes, Anchorage collects the highest property taxes in the state and is among the top 25% counties across the United States.  Basically, Dunbar hasn’t seen a tax he doesn’t like.

Dunbar states from an interview posted on his web site that he believes “…an authoritarian takeover will not occur in the United States, but I also know this much is true: we must never take our democracy for granted.”  So, there is the clear and present danger of electing Dunbar mayor; he doesn’t see that his actions are driving Anchorage towards socialist authoritarianism.  

From closing Assembly meeting to the public; to threatening and intimidating both elected officials and members of the public; to injecting politics into law enforcement; to establishing policies that are expanding the vagrancy problem his actions have increased the size and cost of government, restricted our individual liberties, and damaged our business community. 

Forrest Dunbar is the one to beat in this April.  He figures he can convince enough moderates to vote for him with his deceptive campaign propaganda that he is for fiscal responsibility and equitable treatment of every Anchorage resident.  It’s just a scam.  Check out his support; it comes from the uber-left and union leadership.  He is endorsed by:

• Planned Parenthood Votes Northwest and Hawaii,
• Anchorage Central Labor Council,
• Alaska Ironworkers Local 751,
• International Union of Operating Engineers, Local 302,
• Alaska State Employees Union, Local 52,
• UA Plumbers and Steamfitters, Local 367,
• International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW), Local 1547,
• Alaska District Council of Laborers, and
• American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Retiree Chapter 52

OK, I’ll stop there, but you get the point: Forrest Dunbar is the Left’s chosen sweetheart for mayor.  If he is elected mayor, implementation of the socialistic agenda will go on steroids.

So, you might be surprised that I received a letter from Dunbar requesting a donation to his campaign. In his letter he says, and I quote, “Our far-right opponents embraced conspiratorial, anti-science rhetoric that would have us ignore COVID rather than face it head on.  They support the toxic partisanship of Save Anchorage and Must Read Alaska, hold crowded, unmasked fundraisers that threaten our hard-won progress toward re-starting our economy instead of proposing real solutions, they promote hateful, inhumane policies that will only serve to take Anchorage backward.”  

What a self-righteous narcissistic megalomaniac. He leads a socialist Anchorage Assembly in cahoots with autocratic mayor(s), to destroy one of America’s finest cities and then twists the truth to make it appear his opponents are the real problem.  Dunbar says he supports the science. OK, then where is the science that shows any of the fundraisers held by his opponents were COVID spreaders.  There is none.  It never happened but he persists on twisting the facts to make people think his actions saved Anchorage. 

Dunbar claims his “leadership” has resulted in “hard-won progress towards restarting our economy.”  More twisted lies.  Ask the restaurants, bars, and small business owners who went out of business due to the fascist-style shut-downs he supported over the past year how well his policies helped restart our economy.  These shutdowns crushed it, and he is responsible for this economic meltdown of Anchorage.

Just last week, Dunbar voted, once again, to extend the draconian Covid mandates on Anchorage, ignoring the fact that the Mat-Su Borough has been open for business this past year and has fared better than Anchorage in sickness and deaths. 

He says his opponents “promote hateful, inhumane policies that will only serve to take Anchorage backward.”   Really?  What Dunbar is saying is that those of us who believe in smaller, more efficient government that allows for individual liberties and freedom, are despicable, mean, cold-hearted individuals, not smart enough to make decisions concerning our lives and we would ruin Anchorage.  Only he and his elitists, government control-thirsty bureaucrats know best how you and I should live. If you disagree with Forrest, you are hateful and inhumane.  

This election is this city’s most critical in decades.  The Left is banking on the large number of candidates splitting the vote, with the left consolidating behind Forrest Dunbar.  There is only one way to counter this action and that is for moderates and conservatives to consolidate our vote around a conservative candidate. 

Dave Bronson and Mike Robbins are the only two conservatives in this race.  I’ll share with you my choice for mayor next week.  For now, just cogitate on the fact that if Dunbar is elected mayor, Anchorage will have solidified its place as the newest west coast socialist city modeled after Seattle and Portland.  For the sake of liberty, prosperity, and our future, let’s not permit Forrest Dunbar to become mayor! 

Craig E. Campbell served on the Anchorage Assembly between 1986 and 1995 and later as Alaska’s Tenth Lieutenant Governor.  He was the previous Chief Executive Officer and President for Alaska Aerospace Corporation.  He retired from the Alaska National Guard as Lieutenant General (AKNG) and holds the concurrent retired Federal rank of Major General (USAF).