By SE STEELE
Mayor Suzanne LaFrance and her allies on the Anchorage Assembly are suddenly heartbroken over the closure of Carrs in Fairview. The store’s shutdown has prompted a wave of public statements lamenting the loss and emphasizing its historical significance.
Mayor LaFrance even claimed, “Fairview gave this business its start, supporting their growth and success for decades.”
While that sentiment acknowledges the community’s roots, it sharply contrasts with the prolonged inaction and neglect by city leaders that led to the store’s demise.
For years, Fairview residents and Carrs employees have endured escalating public safety concerns: open drug use, theft, assaults, and daily lawlessness. These issues didn’t arise overnight; they festered under the watch of present city Assembly members and Mayor LaFrance who had the power, resources, and responsibility to intervene. Despite an obvious, visible, and desperate need for help, those pleas were met with indifference.
Now, the sudden concern from official’s rings hollow. Where was this urgency when employees were being threatened? When residents felt unsafe just walking to get groceries? The city had every opportunity to act, and it didn’t.
Let’s call this what it is: political damage control.
For years, this Assembly and its allies weren’t focused on solving problems. They were consumed with destroying the Bronson administration. That obsession with political revenge came at the cost of public safety, economic stability, and community trust. And Fairview is the one left paying the price.
The closure of Carrs is more than just the loss of a neighborhood store. It’s the loss of trust in government and a painful reminder of what happens when leaders like Chris Constant, Daniel Volland, Meg Zaletel, Felix Rivera, and Mayor LaFrance prioritize optics and power over action and accountability.
Fairview didn’t need sympathy after the fact. It needed leadership before the collapse. And now, instead of cleaning up the mess, city officials are trying to rewrite the narrative. But the community isn’t fooled they lived it.
Anchorage doesn’t need more photo ops or press releases. It needs real leadership, real solutions, and the courage to put politics aside and fix what’s broken.
Until that happens, expect more closures, more chaos, and more heartbreak from the very neighborhoods that once carried this city forward.
SE Steele is a resident of Anchorage.
