Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance is asking the Anchorage Assembly to approve a non-competitive, sole-source contract to one of her former campaign rivals, Bill Popp, who withdrew during the campaign in 2024 and endorsed her.
The $52,500 contract would be to develop an economic development plan for the LaFrance Administration.
Popp is the former executive director of the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation. His reputation around Anchorage is that he did little to grow the economy of Anchorage, but held a large luncheon every year to present a report to decision makers on the state of the city’s economy, which has been abysmal during his 16-year tenure.
In her request to the Assembly, LaFrance says Popp is the one to do the job and says it is not a quid pro quo arrangement.
“First, there is a pressing need to support Mayor LaFrance’s policy team in developing and implementing an economic agenda for Anchorage out of the Municipality. This work requires a person with extensive knowledge of economic development, local government, and the Municipality of Anchorage,” LaFrance said in her request.
“Second, the mayor has identified an urgent need for someone to work in conjunction with the mayor’s policy director, key executives, local businesses, and economic development partners, including the Anchorage Economic Development Corporation. This work requires someone with relationships with organizations and individuals involved in economic
development in the Municipality and state,” she said.
“Third, this work requires an individual with an understanding of the mayor’s economic development priorities, which includes work on business development, workforce development, housing, and identification of opportunities to grow and develop unique business sectors in Anchorage. The qualifications that a contractor must have to successfully complete this work therefore include: (1) extensive knowledge of economic and community development as well as local government; (2) strong relationships with economic developers and other key stakeholders within the Municipality and the state; and (3) the ability to contribute to and help implement an economic agenda for the LaFrance Administration …” LaFrance wrote.
“Bill Popp, through Popp Consulting, is uniquely qualified to do this work because of his strong local relationships, his unique background in Anchorage economic development, and his local government experience. Popp served as the president of the Anchorage Economic and Development Corporation for 16 years. Popp has deep economic and community development experience in Anchorage and with cities across Alaska and the United States. He has worked closely with businesses across the Municipality for over a decade and is familiar with the economic challenges and opportunities of the Municipality. Popp also served for six-years as a member of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly, including as chair, and also worked on oil and gas, workforce development, and economic development projects for both mayors. Popp’s combination of economic development and local government experience makes him uniquely qualified to support the mayor in driving forward an economic agenda for Anchorage,” LaFrance wrote. She said the sole-source contract with Popp “is necessary due to his unique qualifications and the pressing need for support in fully operationalizing Mayor LaFrance’s
economic agenda for the Municipality of Anchorage. With limited staff capacity available to conduct these time-sensitive tasks, contractual support is necessary. No one else is qualified do this work.”
When Popp withdrew from the race in April after getting only 8% of the vote before the runoff, Must Read Alaska predicted he would be rewarded by LaFrance:
“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,” MRAK wrote in April of 2024.
The request to the Assembly for funding is found in the meeting packet for the first Assembly meeting of the year, Jan. 7, at 5 p.m. in the meeting room on the first floor of the Loussac Library on 36th Ave. in Anchorage.
This is the socialist machine in action right there for everyone to see, and I’ll bet they give him the contract.
The Real Strategy Play:
Popp develops a ‘plan’ and the Assembly implements it or a portion of it. Then, when the economy goes in the crapper, the Assembly has plausible deniability and simply blames Popp. he thinks he’s helping but, in reality, he’s just taking the bait, setting himself up as the fall guy!
Popp has done absolutely nothing positive for economic development in Anchorage.
Yes and he will promote 500,000 dollar toilets and bike lanes on Minnesota and with cash incentive to build downtown.
Well, I’m surprised……
Popp’s candidacy for mayor was a contrived strategy by the forces of LaFrance to draw votes away from Bronson. His candidacy was probably the most significant accomplishment is his lackluster career. This was a quid quo pro in its purest sense. So, now Popp gets a pay back at the citizens expense. The fly in the ointment is he’ll be just as incompetent going forward as he was in the past.
Sadly true.
Suzanne, the prophet, sees her prediction come true. It’s just too bad he won’t be an assett to our city, if his 16 year track record stays on track.
I’d do a better job than Popp and only charge the city $40000.
That’s all bill popp’s soul is worth apparently. $52,000. Wow
The plan will be as good – maybe – as an undergraduate term paper. It will not contain any new ideas. The Mayor will do very little to implement the platitudes. Fortunately, $52K is not a lot of money. Anchorage’s downward economic spiral will continue.
“Must Read Alaska predicted he would be rewarded by LaFrance”-Ya didn’t know Suzi was clairvoyant, did ya?
I don’t see where he had a real job, maybe a barista or something?
How many times can the prescription be refilled?
LaFrance is no different than the other democrat mayors. One thing they all have in common, is cities in complete ruin. The Anchorage voters deserve her.
Look at him–you know damn good and well that Popp has always answered the dinner bell! And if you’re wondering what all the “oinking” is about, remember that politics is nothing but the fine art of breeding hogs!
If he is so uniquely qualified then why only 52k for his expertise. Sounds like either a bragin or just a small gift.
Quid pro quo smells like the floundering LaFrance giving Bill Popp $52,500 of taxpayers’ money to help force a sales tax on taxpayers, post Eaglexit, so Anchorage doesn’t go broke, at least not right away, on Future Governor LaFrance’s watch.
.
Watch this political parasite start regurgitating the same moldy old lies for a sales tax beginning with:
.
“Popp, a former member of Alaska Public Media’s board, left the Anchorage Economic Development Corp. (AEDC) last fall to run for mayor. Earlier this year, the nonprofit announced a campaign for a city sales tax, which Popp helped develop.
.
AEDC is interested in a 3% sales tax, with two-thirds of the revenue dedicated to property tax relief and one-third for major public projects.
.
Popp was the most supportive (of a sales tax).
.
‘How would you like a 25% reduction on the property taxes on your house for a 2% sales tax?’ Popp said. ‘There are other benefits that could come from this. And a year-round sales tax with almost 20% of it being paid by people who don’t live in Anchorage is a tax break for citizens.’”
(https://alaskapublic.org/news/2024-02-27/anchorage-mayoral-candidates-address-sales-tax-muni-workforce-issues)
.
That was a year ago. What do you think this mob’s been cooking up since? Delphi meetings masquerading as town-hall meetings; eager community councils, boards and commissions begging for wish-list “projects” to make Anchorage a fun place for bums to play and sleep, figuring out how, post Eaglexit, to keep the city’s contractor-union-donor machine busy, happy, and paid off?
.
Sure and a sales tax seems likely to be “passed” now because the election system’s so easily corruptible.
.
Small question of who’ll actually pay the Popptax when all the fixes are in and everyone who matters gets an exemption.
.
But look at the sales tax like a reward for the many, many wonderful things which Contractor Popp’s Anchorage Economic Development Corp did for Anchorage, then it makes sense and to be fair, really should be more, right?
.
These feeble fools couldn’t even get a casino going without starting a riot, and they want a sales tax to do what?
.
Popp’s Posse was apparently okay with blowing up Eklutna dam, having to rationing water and electricity, and they want a sales tax to do what? Yes they were. They were dead quiet and taking taxpayers’ money when Anchorage Assembly wanted to do it.
.
Seems simpler to let floundering LaFrance fail on her own, but if this is what it takes…
AEDC has been rudderless since the departure of Scott Hawkins……..RIP, Scott……..
I’ve known Bill Popp since he was the manager at the Safeway Photo Department. I wouldn’t trust him to take out the trash, much less write an economic development plan for Anchorage. Now imagine this: a republican mayor giving someone like Popp a sweetheart deal like this. It would be weeks before it was not the lede article in the ADN, KTUU and elsewhere. Let’s see how much ink this gets beyond the Must Read Alaska orbit.
At least the plan should have great pictures.
Touché.
Make alcohol tax neutral – tax alcohol enough that to cover the problems it creates. Like half the police and fire budgets, homeless shelters and so on. Crack down on crime and drugs – get rid of DEI judges (send them back to the west coast) and DA’s that don’t do their job. We need to vote on the DA’s and hold them accountable. I think Dunleavy is not pointing out how things should be improved.
Alcohol causes nothing. It is the people under the influence who do the bad things.
The anti-gunners have been using your logic for years. It’s never the guns. It is the person with the finger on the trigger. There are lots of guns out there that have never gone out and committed crimes. Cheers –
DEI judges? Looking over the election results from November, the outrage over Judge Zeman was only good for about 8,000 votes. Looking over their biographies, it seemed ironic that Zeman was the first judge I saw with extensive private practice experience. In the case of judge after judge after judge, they came to Alaska fresh out of law school, with their entire professional experience prior to appointment consisting of collecting a paycheck from either the Court System or Department of Law. I’ll bet you that’s been a thing for a lot longer than DEI has been a thing.
I’m so shocked……
We still have the taxpayer funded Anchorage Economic Development Corporation whose job it is to improve our economy. Why do we need both he and it? Fortunately for Mr. Popp, his Big New Plan for Anchorage will coincide with our Bigly New President and he’ll be able to take credit for our trickle down in a post JoeBama economy. I’m celebrating New Year’s Eve this year on Jan. 19th!
While living in Anchorage I had the experience of meeting Mr Bill Popp socially on occasion. My late wife and I were in agreement that he was basically a pompous a$$ then, it appears he has not changed. I never had the misfortune to have met the current mayor, but it appears that she is cut from the same cloth.
While 52K may not break the bank just the idea of a no bid contract using tax dollars to form a “financial plan” is wasteful spending of the publics money.
A real economic growth plan would be to plug the big property tax deferment given to commercial property owners (Berkowitz’s Pals).
I quit reading the ADN quite some time ago, but Google still wants to push their content on me. Here’s the latest: “As Anchorage population shrinks, planners consider scaled-down connector for Seward and Glenn highways”. According to my ongoing historical research, connecting the two highways was first conceptualized in 1961. This means that ultimately, it’s more of the sort of turd-polishing with no tangible results that the ADN has reported on many times over the past three or four decades. The important part is the acknowledgement that Anchorage is shrinking. If we aren’t tackling that elephant in the room, I don’t see how anything else in the name of economic development is terribly important enough to mention.
Let me see if I have this right.
The Assembly is looking to implement a sales tax because they do not have enough funding to keep city services running. (Somehow, they have no end of money for the homeless…Weird)
But, the city has $52,000 for a economic plan?
.
Make that make sense.
If you have to come out and say “it is NOT a quid-pro-quo” it clearly IS a quid-pro-quo!
What a farce!
So the assembly is not smart enough to come up with a plan on their own…. oh never mind, theirs includes $500,000 a piece toilets (and it still may once Mr. Popp, presents “his plan”)