‘A mass shelter is fully off the table’: Mayor-elect Suzanne LaFrance talks about future of Anchorage

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Suzanne LaFrance will become the first woman to be elected as mayor of Anchorage when she is sworn in July 1.

This week, she spoke with Alaska’s News Source about her priorities in office, what to expect from her administration, and if the Anchorage Police Chief-Designee Bianca Cross — who was appointed to the position by Mayor Dave Bronson a few months ago — stays on the job.

This interview has been edited for clarity.

Q: What do you think as you approach these next few days going into office? Are you nervous?

A: “Well, mostly, I’m excited and focused on the work ahead because there is so much to do.”

Q: What are day one priorities?

A: “There’s a lot to do. But we’ve got so many wonderful opportunities ahead, and the most important thing right now is building a strong team, and knowing too, that working together is how we’re going to make progress, and so first priority is to stabilize the municipality.”

Q: As far as shelters go, is the idea of the East Anchorage shelter not even a talker at this point?

A: “One thing I can say is that a mass shelter is fully off the table.”

Q: How big do you see the year-round shelter?

A: “Well, that’ll certainly depend on the need and, you know, how those conversations and planning roll out with stakeholders. We’re just getting into the work right now and again, there’s a lot to do, but it’ll really depend on building a strong team and working together to address those kinds of critical priorities.”

Q: [Downtown] has been hampered and hurt by the homeless population. How do you feel about downtown at this point?

A: “I love downtown, and downtown, you know, has always been a place where many of us you know — it’s a point of pride where we take our visitors and it’s just such a critical part of our economic well-being as well, and I know there have been a lot of challenges and right now people don’t feel safe, whether they are, you know, working here or wanting to come down and shop or just walk around. So aligning the resources of the municipality with the needs of downtown to ensure public safety is really, really important.”

Q: Bronson has talked about his relationship with the Assembly wasn’t good, and it didn’t start out well. Do you see that relationship inherently being different with you here?

A: “Well, you know, I’ll preface by saying that each branch of government has its role and its responsibilities, and at the end of the day, both branches are here to serve the people of Anchorage.”

Q: The criticism has been that this could be just an Assembly that has whatever it wants, whenever it wants, you know, like a big government Assembly. What would you say to those people who feel that way?

A: “It’s hard for me to imagine a scenario like that, and you know, coming from the Assembly and knowing too that within that group, there’s such divergent opinions, and so the idea that, you know, there’s this like lockstep and rubber stamp — it’s just not how it works.”

Q: What do you hope the city’s like after your first three years?

A: “You know, taking the temperature down, and really instilling those values of collaboration and being nonpartisan and focusing on problem-solving is a big part of the culture.”

Q: What are your thoughts on the police chief [designee Bianca Cross] at this point? Is she staying? Are you hiring somebody new?

A: “During this time in the transition, I am focused — my team is focused — on building the most competent, highly qualified team we can, and how we can ensure that public safety’s prioritized.”

Q: Have you been speaking with Bianca Cross at all about the job?

A: “Yeah, we had a really good conversation about issues in the police department and, you know, some of what they’re dealing with. To me, it’s been a challenging time. And, you know, again, very much appreciate the difficult nature of those jobs.”

Q: But you can’t say today if she keeps the job or not?

A: “Well, you know, we’re still in that process of building out the team and ensuring that public safety has the proper attention and thoughtfulness to it and what that looks like, so in the coming weeks.”

LaFrance also released the names of the people hired to key positions on her team:

Good government: Staff up departments, balance the budget, and deliver better services:

• Mike Abbott
• Eleanor Andrews
• Jane Angvik
• Jennifer Johnston
• Jasmin Smith

Safe streets and trails: Tackle homelessness, staff up APD, and ensure safe public spaces:

• Bob Doehl
• LeeAnn Garrick
• Walt Monegan
• Beth Nordlund
• Dave Rittenberg

Building our future: Deliver better economic opportunities, more housing, affordable childcare, and a reliable energy future:

• Sheldon Fisher
• Carol Gore
• Joelle Hall
• Radhika Krishna
• Aaron Leggett
• Bill Popp
• Ivy Spohnholz
• Jonathan Taylor

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