Protecting Your Rights: Serving Sand Lake, Spenard and Turnagain

March 16, 2022

Anchorage Election

The Anchorage Municipal Election is on April 5, 2022. The last day to apply to vote at a temporary address is March 29, 2022, and applications must be received by 5:00 PM. This election includes Anchorage Assembly seats, including West Anchorage and Midtown, and Anchorage School Board seats, which are at-large positions. Voters will also vote on service area boards and six bond propositions.

To learn more about upcoming deadlines, how to vote by mail, and other election related information, visit the Anchorage Municipal Elections Homepage. From there you can track your ballot, apply to vote at a temporary address, check your voter registration, and learn who the candidates are.

The League of Women Voters has created a 2022 Ballot Review for the Anchorage Municipal Election. The review includes: information about the various propositions, contact information and website information for the candidates, and important information about how to vote by mail. Check it out here.

The West Anchorage area Community Councils hosted an Anchorage Assembly and School Board candidates forum. To watch the video of that event, click here.

I took a few minutes to talk about the upcoming election and the important deadlines.

Temporary Address Change

Track Your Ballot

Candidate and Proposition Info

Watch My Latest Video Update

→ Candidates for Anchorage Assembly Seat 3-D

Kameron Perez-Verdia

Perez-Verdia, a current Assembly member, was elected to Seat D in 2019 and is seeking a second term. He previously served on the Anchorage School Board from 2013 to 2017. He is the president and CEO of the Alaska Humanities Forum, a nonprofit.

Nial Sherwood Williams

Williams ran for an Anchorage School Board seat last year and lost. He is a frequent attendee and testifier at Assembly and school board meetings. He has been ejected from the chambers for disruptive behavior and was recently arrested during an Assembly meeting.

Liz Vazquez

Vazquez was a Republican Alaska State House representative for District 22 from 2015 to 2016. She is an attorney, a former administrative law judge, assistant state attorney general and state prosecutor. She has twice served on the board of directors of Chugach Electric Association.

→ Candidates for Anchorage School Board Seat A

Margo Bellamy

Bellamy is currently school board president. She was elected in 2019 to the board and is seeking a second term. She began working in the Anchorage School District in 1974 and has held multiple positions, including working as a teacher, librarian, assistant principal and principal.

Cliff Murray

Murray is a longtime swim coach in Anchorage, including coaching at South High School. He is the head coach at Northern Lights Swim Club.

Dan Loring

Loring ran for school board Seat F in the 2021 election, and lost with 3,345 votes. Loring said he is retired and that he has a strong interest in education and is currently doing research to write a book about the Anchorage School District.

Mark Anthony Cox

Cox ran for Seat B on the Anchorage School Board last year and lost. Cox is an Anchorage School District graduate and served in the U.S. Army. He is the CEO of Family Charity of Alaska.

→ Candidates for Anchorage School Board Seat B

Kelly Lessens

Lessens was elected to Seat B last year to serve the remainder of a term for a board member who resigned. She is a founder of ASD60, a parent organization and advocacy group that started a pilot program in the school district to increase physical activity and time for eating.

Benjamin R. Baldwin

Baldwin is a first-time candidate for school board. He serves on the Kenaitze Indian Tribe’s education committee and is a member of the board of directors for the National Indian Education Association.

Dustin Darden

Darden has run for public office a number of times, including for Anchorage Assembly, but has so far never won a seat. He is a frequent attendee and testifier at Assembly meetings, and has been arrested or ejected from the chambers for disruptive behavior several times.

Rachel Ries

Ries is a first-time candidate for office. She is a former medevac pilot and platoon leader in the Army National Guard. She had previously announced her intent to run for a South Anchorage Assembly seat but has since decided to run for school board instead.

→ Areawide Propositions

Proposition 1 - $111,090,000 Anchorage School District Capital Improvement Bonds

These bonds would pay for capital improvements for the Anchorage School District. For each $100,000 of assessed property value, the estimated annual increase in taxes is $24.73 to retire the proposed bond.

Proposition 2 - $2,400,000 Areawide Facilities Capital Improvement Bonds

These bonds would pay for capital improvements to areawide facilities. The proposed improvements include building safety rehabilitation and upgrades, facility renovations, code improvement projects, fire alarm system replacement, and related capital improvements. For each $100,000 of assessed property value, the estimated annual increase in taxes is $0.48 to retire the proposed bond.

Proposition 3 - $2,380,000 Anchorage Public Safety and Transit Capital Improvement Bonds

These bonds would pay for capital improvements to upgrade the infrastructure of the Anchorage Areawide Radio Network, acquire new replacement ambulances, acquire and replace transit vehicles and support equipment, and undertake school zone safety improvements. For each $100,000 of assessed property value, the estimated annual increase in taxes is $0.47 to retire the proposed bond.

Proposition 4 - $34,870,000 Anchorage Roads and Drainage Service Area road and Storm Drainage Bonds

These bonds would pay for roads and storm drainage capital acquisition, construction, renovation, upgrades, and related capital improvements in the Anchorage Road and Drainage Service Area (ARDSA). For each $100,000 of assessed property value, the estimated annual increase in taxes is $8.93 to retire the proposed bond and an annual increase in the municipal tax cap of $0.27 to pay for additional operation and maintenance costs of $73,000. Only property owners in the ARDSA would be taxed for these bonds.

Proposition 5 - $3,875,000 Anchorage Parks and Recreation Service Area Capital Improvement Bonds

These bonds would pay to renovate and rehabilitate trails and parks, and to make playground, athletic field, safety, ADA and park improvements at various parks and recreational facilities in the Anchorage Parks and Recreation Service Area (APRSA). For each $100,000 of assessed property value, the estimated annual increase in taxes is $0.90 to retire the proposed bond and an annual increase in the municipal tax cap of $0.64 to pay for additional operation and maintenance costs not to exceed $190,000. Only property owners in the APRSA would be taxed for these bonds.

Proposition 6 - $2,100,000 Anchorage Fire Service Area Fire Protection Bonds

These bonds would pay for acquiring replacement fire engines and making AFD facility improvements in the Anchorage Fire Service Area (AFSA). For each $100,000 of assessed property value, the estimated annual increase in taxes is $0.45 to retire the proposed bond. Only property owners in the AFSA would be taxed for these bonds.

Save the Date: Anchorage Caucus

It's time for Anchorage Caucus! Join us for a virtual meeting with the Anchorage delegation. The event will include a legislative update and breakout session by Senate District. Registration is required for this event.

View the Facebook event page

Apply for Your Dividend

The Permanent Fund Dividend application season is January 1 through March 31 each year. All applicants can conveniently file online and electronically sign a Permanent Fund Dividend application.

Community Information

→ Survey on Impacts of Weather and Climate Change on Anchorage

The Climate Equity Council Steering Committee is collecting information from the community in order to foster partnerships and increase community engagement. Through that process, they hope to find people to engage in a Climate Equity Council - a group of diverse people with shared passion to ensure that:

Anchorage's climate efforts are supporting those most impacted by climate change.
The concerns of the Anchorage community are directly addressed and the city's Climate Action Plan is implemented.

The survey takes about 5 minutes to complete. Complete the survey here.

→ Alaska Housing Homeowner Assistance

The Alaska Housing Finance Corporation is collecting applications for Alaska Homeowner Assistance, a part of the congressionally approved American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. This program is designed to offer relief to homeowners facing pandemic-related financial hardships and ultimately to prevent mortgage delinquencies and the loss of critical services.

You can pre-register and check your availability here. Learn more about this program and other resources for homeowners at AlaskaHousingRelief.org. The application period closes Monday, April 4, 2022 at 11:59 PM.

→ NorthLink Aviation South Airpark Cargo Expansion

NorthLink Aviation is soliciting comments and information on a proposal to construct air cargo infrastructure at the South Airpark Campus of Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. The project requires an Airport Layout Plan approval from the Federal Aviation Administration and is subject to the National Environmental Policy Act.

The proposed work requiring federal approval would include:

Construct new aircraft parking apron
Construct taxilane connectors to taxiways

Construction of the project is proposed to start in summer 2022. Comments are due March 31, 2022 to the following email: info@NorthLinkaviation.com. To download the flyer, click here.

→ Building Resilient Infrastructure for Alaska

The Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities has a NEW map-based survey for Alaskans to provide feedback on building resilient transportation infrastructure in Alaska through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The survey allows individuals to select areas of interest and input information about modes of transportation in those areas. The survey can be taken multiple times — just zoom into the area of the map you have interest in or use the search feature. The survey closes March 31, 2022.

Click here to take the survey!

If you would like to sign up to receive updates on the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act for Alaska, click here. Subscribers will receive updates on the survey results.

Community Events

Mark your calendars for this upcoming event:

$5 Third Thursdays

Visit the museum for $5 on the third Thursday of the month October through April. For information about the current exhibits and offerings, check out the Anchorage Museum website.

When: Thursday, March 17 starting at 10:00 AM

Where: Anchorage Museum, 625 C St. Click here for details.