Opinions

Anchorage Mayor Sullivan let bad politics derail what could have been good legacy

The narrative could have gone so much differently.

Current and outgoing Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan will be remembered for vitriol and the bitterness that came from the eventual defeat of city labor ordinance known as AO-37, the dismantling of the Anchorage Police Department and the generally poor manner in which he handled municipal employees.

Not only was AO-37 bad policy, it was handled very poorly. The Sullivan administration sprung this ordinance on the public with no warning, and it was crafted with no input from the public employees it would have affected.

From the mayor's perspective, something had to be done. He was left with a fiscal disaster from the previous administration. Municipal payroll from a few unions was crippling the mayor's ability to balance the budget. Rather than the standard three-year contracts, Sullivan's predecessor, Mayor Mark Begich, had signed five-year contracts, which many Republicans considered to be too generous.

Anchorage is also having problems with violent crime at a time when APD's staffing is far below the recommendations of the Anchorage Police Department Staffing and Deployment Study from August 2010 that all four of the major mayoral candidates referenced in the recent election.

To some it also seemed like Mayor Sullivan went out of his way to alienate people. A good example of that was the sidewalk ordinance. The mayor introduced an ordinance that made it illegal to sit or lay on the sidewalk in certain areas between certain hours. The Assembly repealed the ordinance, but Mayor Sullivan vetoed that repeal.

However, it didn't have to be that way.

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Before the bitterness, there was a different Mayor Sullivan, headed toward a different legacy.

In 2011, in preparation for guest hosting the morning show on KFQD, I talked to Darrell Hess, who was then the homeless coordinator, and Sarah Erkmann, who was then the communications director, about the work the administration had done with the homeless. I learned quite a bit.

According to Hess, and everybody else I had spoken to about the issue, Mayor Sullivan has done more for the homeless in this city than any other mayor before him. It's true.

Mayor Sullivan created the very first homeless coordinator position, whose job it was to organize efforts to provide services for the homeless in our city. He also created the cold weather plan, allowing different places other than shelters to provide shelter to the homeless when the weather drops below freezing. He also provided support for the Change for the Better Campaign, Project Homeless Connect and supported more beds for the Clitheroe Center as well as -- eventually -- endorsing Anchorage's first "Housing First" project -- Karluk Manor.

That was 2011; this is 2015. There is no longer a homeless coordinator position. Hess became the municipal ombudsman in 2012, and no successor was ever named. The position was eventually eliminated in a round of budget cuts.

The legacy could have been that of an agent of change and leadership in the area of homelessness and public inebriates. There can be no doubt that Mayor Sullivan did some good for quite a few people with the things that he did early on in his administration; however, he failed to take it to the next level.

Instead he set his sights on higher office. There were many different choices for Republicans in recent election cycles, and Sullivan needed to solidify his conservative credibility. He settled on running for lieutenant governor because then-Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell ran for U.S. Senate.

Mayor Sullivan then checked out and became candidate Sullivan. It seemed that all that mattered at that point was making sure he could use tag lines like "hold the line on taxes" and "fiscal conservative."

In the meantime, the city suffered. APD's numbers dropped, the Gang Intelligence Officer position was eliminated as well as the homeless coordinator position.

When it comes to his legacy, the mayor has nobody to blame but himself. The narrative had been written pretty well. Much to the dismay of his detractors, the mayor was doing a fantastic job in an area that liberals were convinced they had a monopoly -- social services. With proper leadership, he could have held his conservative credentials, continued along the process of helping the homeless and built a solid legacy.

Instead he's built a legacy of contempt. He's grasping at straws right now trying to find something to cling to in his last days, whether it's selling Solid Waste Services or sending public inebriates to Seattle for expensive treatment without a solid plan.

It's unfortunate for him and for the city, because the narrative -- and the results -- could have been so much better.

Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late 90s. Email, michaeldingman(at)gmail.com.

The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, e-mail commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com

Mike Dingman

Mike Dingman is a fifth-generation Alaskan born and raised in Anchorage. He is a former UAA student body president and has worked, studied and volunteered in Alaska politics since the late '90s.

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