Anchorage officials finalize state funding requests ahead of gubernatorial election

The Municipality of Anchorage has submitted its preliminary Legislative Program to state lawmakers, a document listing nearly two dozen funding requests that will be scrutinized during the upcoming session. The list covers infrastructure, public safety, energy, housing, and education. This submission occurs as Alaskans prepare to vote on November 3 for a new governor and a reshaped state Legislature.

The city’s financial needs remain substantial regardless of who wins the race. Mayor Suzanne LaFrance stated that the municipality’s priorities have not changed due to the election cycle. She noted that the city works with every administration to advance projects. The Legislative Program reflects major investments in long-term infrastructure and seeks to reverse state spending cuts in core services.

A central item in the program is the Port of Alaska Modernization Program. State capital dollars of $86.5 million have been directed to upgrades, and an additional $191.3 million is expected from a federal lawsuit settlement reached last summer. The port estimates the total project cost will exceed $2 billion by its 2035 completion. LaFrance said every dollar secured now reduces the need for local revenue bonds, which are paid back through surcharges on freight and cargo.

The Anchorage School District faces a multimillion-dollar budget deficit in the next funding cycle. The district recently reduced a $90 million shortfall through layoffs and school closures. The city requests that the state Department of Transportation and Public Facilities increase staffing and capacity in the Central Region. Officials have complained for nearly a decade that personnel cuts have disproportionately impacted snowplowing and pothole repairs in the Anchorage Bowl, Matanuska-Susitna Borough, Kenai Peninsula, and parts of Southwest Alaska.

Newer priorities in the program include a waste-to-energy power plant that converts landfill-bound trash into electricity. The city also asks lawmakers to revisit penalties for specific drug offenses and increase interdiction resources for the Alaska State Troopers. LaFrance wants the Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority used to build road and utility infrastructure to support residential development.

Nils Andreassen, executive director of the Alaska Municipal League, said local governments are accustomed to uncertainty. He noted that the Community Assistance Program, which transfers unrestricted state funds to local jurisdictions, has remained flat for more than a decade. Andreassen stated that this stagnation has led to a loss of purchasing power for the 165 local governments the league represents.

Anchorage Assembly Chair Anna Brawley said the legislative need list remains consistent, though tactics may shift depending on the new state leadership. She described binders of past funding requests as relics of an era with higher oil revenues. Brawley emphasized that officials must now be strategic and opportunistic with their requests.

Two Republican gubernatorial candidates have deep ties to Anchorage politics. Bernadette Wilson lobbied the city on conservative causes, including a 2015 effort to repeal expanded equal rights protections. Former Mayor Dave Bronson, who ran against LaFrance in the 2024 runoff, has also been active in local campaigns. LaFrance and Brawley have endorsed Sitka Democrat Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, whose running mate is Anchorage Assembly member Zac Johnson.