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.
