Mayoral Candidates Give Views in Girdwood Forum

By Soren Wuerth

TNews Editor

During a forum in Girdwood four candidates for Anchorage mayor gave their views on a panoply of issues, including local housing, school funding and even calls for a ceasefire in Israel's war on Palestine.

The candidates who showed up to the Friday night forum in the community center—Chris Tuck, Suzanne LaFrance, Bill Popp, and Nick Danger—all made an effort to show their "Alaskaness", "Anchorageness" and, in some cases, their "Girdwoodness".

All the candidates are decades-long residents, and showed nostalgia for earlier times when, they said, Anchorage was a more friendly place when, as Popp put it, people were more optimistic and when "people drove around with jumper cables in their car", as LaFrance said.

Now, there is acrimony, a sense of defeatism, discouragement and low morale, they said. 

"We started getting stuck in the now," Popp said. "We've lost our vision."

LaFrance asked, "How do we restore trust and confidence?"

The forum, sponsored jointly by Girdwood's Rotary Club and the Turnagain News, had many questions about local land use and the four candidates were well aware of a rift between Girdwood and Anchorage, one that widened after the Anchorage Assembly voted in favor of a "Holtan Hills" subdivision. That idea has been widely panned by the community.

In answering questions, some from a moderator, some from the audience and some, in a yes or no "lightning round", the candidates discussed their views on conflicts over local housing, staffing issues in Mayor Dave Bronson's Administration, and taxes. 

Developer Connie Yoshimura joined an audience of about 40 and took a seat in the first row of chairs. Her company, CY Investments, plans to develop at least 60 acres in virgin forest near Girdwood's school. Alyeska resort owner Pomeroy has announced it also hopes to acquire public land managed by the municipality's Heritage Land Bank for development. 

Nick Danger, who said he used to live in Girdwood and once served on the Girdwood Board of Supervisors, suggested Girdwood and Eagle River split off from Anchorage in a sentiment palpable in a nascent "Free Girdwood" movement.

"If I were the mayor, which I probably won't be, I'd push for that, two cities," said Danger, who wore a black, long sleeve North Face shirt with an Alyeska Resort logo. Danger, handlebar mustached and with a faint tattoo on his bald crown, sat with his hands folded in front of him.

"I remember when a long-distance phone call to Anchorage was 75 cents," he said. Danger, who said he is part-owner of the Buckaroo Club, talked mostly from his personal experience as a homeowner in Anchorage and former oil company employee. 

Danger said the problem is not jobs, but a population who doesn't want to work. "I had a kid who worked on the Slope and made $6,000 a week and he quit because he missed his dog," Danger said. "I mean really?"

Candidates attending forum, from left to right: Bill Popp, Chris Tuck, Nick Danger, and Suzanne LaFrance. If you missed the Candidate Night and would like to view it, Turnagain News has added a You Tube channel for readers to access. The link is: https://youtu.be/LXyehAP36M8 . (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

Chris Tuck, a legislator in Juneau and former union boss who wore a blue sport coat over a blue sweater, jeans and leather dress shoes, said he would look at reforming codes around short term rentals and restore "dilapidated buildings" in Anchorage as a way to address housing issues.

"We're going to have another record tourism year this year ... and that means people want to do short term rentals," Tuck said. "Short terms rentals means its unavailable for local residents to have housing. Our population is shrinking but our housing is getting more and more restrictive. Why is that?"

Suzanne LaFrance said she would listen to the community and see how new housing proposals would fit in with Girdwood's just-released comprehensive area plan.

"It's got to be a partnership, as far as the municipality's role," said LaFrance, who wore a maroon sport coat over a flowery blouse. "We've seen in the past when a community isn't involved from the get-go how the best possible outcome is hard to reach."

Bill Popp, in a checkered button-down, asked, "If not here, then where do you want development in the Girdwood basin? I've honestly got a lot of mixed signals talking to different people in Girdwood depending on who I'm talking to and where they live or where they like to recreate. No, no, no, not there. And I get that ... but also, when do we compromise?" Popp said.

About 40 people attended the Candidate Form held at the Girdwood Community Center on Friday evening. (Photo by Soren Wuerth)

During the "lightning round", candidates held a "yes" or "no" card above their heads. Only Tuck spoke during the round, prompting moderator and Rotary President Howard Earl to express his doubts that "everyone was clear on the 'yes' or 'no' concept. Later, Tuck said he thought the lightning round asked candidates to "impose something on the community" and didn't give candidates a chance to explain.

In that series of questions, candidates differed only on a handful of issues with Danger being a frequent outlier. Danger indicated that he neither believed Joe Biden was duly elected president nor that climate change was really occurring. 

On a question of whether Girdwood should separate from the Municipality, only Danger signified, "Yes". Tuck qualified his view by saying, "I don't live in Girdwood. It's your choice."

All candidates affirmed they would support a cemetery bond, that Pomeroy should be required to build affordable housing if they get municipal land, and that the HLB Advisory Commission should meet in Girdwood when the disposal of municipal land in Girdwood is discussed.

Tuck was the only candidate to flash a "yes" card to support a recent resolution presented to the Anchorage Assembly calling for a bilateral ceasefire in the war in Gaza.

"Peace is always better than war," Tuck said.