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Mayor Dan Sullivan's sway over decision-making on the municipal Assembly, which writes the city's laws and approves spending, is at stake in the Anchorage city election Tuesday.
The current Anchorage Assembly features a 6-to-5 majority frequently critical of the conservative mayor's initiatives. But with five seats on Tuesday's ballot -- including two seats with no incumbent -- the Assembly could become more sympathetic to Sullivan's agenda, or it could slide even further away from the mayor. Sullivan ran for mayor last year on a conservative agenda and took office last July facing a multimillion-dollar budget deficit. He spent months paring the city's spending and pushed through the Assembly a 2010 budget that is $8.5 million less than the maximum allowed under the city tax cap. He says he expects to propose a lean budget for 2011 too. Sullivan's nine months in office have been marked by visible tension between him and the Assembly majority. For example, Sullivan has alleged that the administration of former Mayor Mark Begich mismanaged city finances in the final months of Begich's term, while majority members defend the former mayor. And recently, some majority members called for an investigation of a city life insurance payout to a trust for Sullivan's father, former Mayor George Sullivan. Dan Sullivan administered the trust. There's also been sniping back and forth about budget cuts. STRONG MAYOR By law the Anchorage mayor's office is a powerful one, and Sullivan is only partly hampered by an Assembly majority that leans away from him on many issues. That majority isn't so strong that it can override a Sullivan veto, for example. But the majority members can keep Sullivan initiatives from passing, if they want, although not much, if any, of that has happened yet. The mayor endorsed three Assembly candidates in an effort to help tilt the Assembly his way: Adam Trombley in East Anchorage, Andy Clary in Midtown and Ernie Hall in West Anchorage. If all three of Sullivan's picks were elected, plus incumbents Debbie Ossiander in Eagle River-Chugiak and Jennifer Johnston in South Anchorage, the Assembly, based on their records and campaign statements, would have a 7-4 split generally favorable to Sullivan. Wins by incumbent Matt Claman over Hall, Dick Traini over Clary and Paul Honeman over Trombley would yield generally the opposite result, with a majority more likely to question the mayor's policies. The Assembly doesn't always vote in blocs, however. People regularly cross to the other side based on how they feel about individual issues and how a measure affects their part of town. And some Assembly candidates don't appear to fit squarely into one camp or another. Hall, for example, once ran for lieutenant governor as a Democrat, and is now not registered for any party. He said during an interview, "Mayor Sullivan and I see eye to eye on some things, and on others there's a difference." And former Assemblyman Traini, competing with Clary for the Midtown seat, regularly served as a swing vote between one camp and another on his prior years' service. But for big decisions like the size of the budget, often conservative or liberal philosophical leanings make the difference. "I don't have any grand agenda," Sullivan said in a recent interview. "I want to restore the fiscal health of the city. Having the votes aligned is helpful." OLD FRIENDSHIPS Forces other than the mayor are at work behind the scenes of this election too -- others on the Assembly, labor unions, developers and businessmen are helping out their chosen campaigns in significant ways, with endorsements, fundraising help or direct campaign contributions. Dan Coffey is vacating the Midtown seat that Traini and Clary are seeking. Coffey has been a Sullivan supporter, but he endorsed old friend and colleague Traini over Clary, a computer programmer and analyst. Coffey dives into municipal elections wholeheartedly and is working on behalf of five candidates. Besides Traini, they are Ossiander, Trombley, Johnston and Hall. He pays attention to polling and helps his favored candidates raise money. This week, he did a recorded mass phone call to Midtown voters on Traini's behalf. "What would be good in my judgment would be a deliberative body that is a counterweight -- not an adversary to the mayor, but a balancing element to the mayor. That says, 'Wait a minute, Mr. Mayor, transit is important, it gets people to work,' " Coffey said. "But at the same token, we need the same group of people to recognize the fiscal situation of our town, and say, 'OK, we are going to be very cautious about increasing property taxes further,' " he said. Assembly member Harriet Drummond, part of the 6-5 majority, wants an Assembly that serves as counterweight to the mayor's views, too, but two out of three candidates she's helping are different from Coffey's choices. She's campaigning for Honeman, Claman and Traini -- who are in races against Sullivan's favorites. "Personally, I'm working to keep a progressive balance to the mayor on the Assembly. I don't think it's necessary for Dan Sullivan to have a veto-proof majority," she said (That would be 8 votes to 3). Drummond said Sullivan has been "governing by veto" as it is. He vetoed an anti-sexual discrimination ordinance last year, for example. And he vetoed items out of the budget. DIFFERENT GOALS Assembly chairman Pat Flynn downplays the role of voting blocs on the Assembly most of the time but says the liberal-conservative split is significant in writing the budget. "This year we were able to maintain a few things like libraries, after-school activities for kids and community grants that were seriously endangered," he said. "If there aren't six votes to say this is important to us, the Sullivan administration can write the budget they want." Both major political parties are trying to get voters to go to the polls. The Republican Party of Alaska distributed absentee-ballot information by mail and e-mail, said party chairman Randy Ruedrich. It is encouraging Republicans to vote early, a strategy considered successful in the past. The Alaska Democratic Party is sending out e-mails with links to absentee-ballot information and is also encouraging those on its mailing list to vote early, said Deborah Williams, executive director. It also set up recorded calls on behalf of three candidates, Claman, Honeman and Keli Booher, who is running in South Anchorage against Johnston. Political observers on all sides expect a low turnout. There are no school bonds to draw out the PTA crowd. No hot ballot issues on controversial issues to entice voters. No mayor's race. Just four bond propositions, a 3-acre land-exchange proposal, the five Assembly races and two School Board contests.