About a month ago, Anchorage residents launched an effort to recall Mayor Suzanne LaFrance after finding a failure to comply with certain municipal laws related to surveillance technology. On October 5, the Municipal Clerk certified the group’s application to petition a recall.
Anchorage Municipal Code 3.102.040 requires the mayor or a designee to “transmit to the assembly and cause to be publicly posted on the municipal website an Annual Surveillance Report” with specific reporting requirements “no later than June 1.” However, the 2026 annual surveillance report did not reach the Assembly until the September 1 regular meeting— three months late.
An information memorandum (No. AIM 139-2026) regarding Anchorage Municipal Code 3.102 appeared on the Assembly agenda on September 1 but was postponed to September 15. The agenda describes the memorandum as a “report for 2026 regarding Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) and confirming no use of facial recognition technology.” The item was postponed again to the October 6 regular meeting.
At the October 6 meeting, Assemblymember Keith McCormack questioned Police Chief Sean Case about the reports provided with the information memorandum. The report, featuring logs of surveillance drone flights for 2022-2026, were found to be complete. The logs can be viewed here: AIM 139-2026_2_DRONE ATTACHEMENTS.PDF.pdf.
A press release form Recall LaFrance states: “Mayor LaFrance has shown that her administration cannot—or will not—follow laws intended to safeguard Alaskans’ right to privacy, even as she continues to expand mass surveillance throughout the Municipality of Anchorage. Mayor LaFrance must be held accountable for violating the Anchorage Municipal Code.”
The next step for the recall effort is to gather at least 7,225 signatures from qualified Anchorage voters which is equal to ten percent of the voters who cast ballots at the last regular mayoral election. The signatures must be collected and submitted by December 7, 2026, to be verified by the Clerk’s Office.
Anchorage voters interested in signing the petition can find more information here: Recall LaFrance.
