Anchorage

Q&A: Mayor Berkowitz wants to shift Knik Arm bridge money to Anchorage port

Anchorage Mayor Ethan Berkowitz says he'd like state money that has been set aside for a bridge across Knik Arm to go instead to the Port of Anchorage redesign.

In a Monday interview with Alaska Dispatch News, his first since he was sworn in last week, Berkowitz also said he's looking at changing the chains of command in the police and fire departments and wouldn't commit to keeping Anchorage Police Chief Mark Mew in his post.

He also said his rival in the mayoral runoff, Assembly member Amy Demboski, has not been returning his phone calls, but he said he doesn't expect any issues working with her.

Below are excerpts of the interview, edited for length and clarity.

You've been in office for a couple days. What's happened so far?

The ideas and the policies that I formulated during the course of the campaign, we're trying to bring them into fruition right now. So making sure we have the people in place to move the ideas forward … filling out my new employee paperwork, I've had to do that. But trying to get out and around as much as I can. I went to a (police patrol) ride-along, went down to the (building department) permitting center, visited people here in this building (City Hall) and (in the Health and Human Services building).

You recently hired a new Anchorage fire chief, Denis LeBlanc, who has experience in city government but has not worked as a firefighter. Can you explain the hiring decision?

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One of the things we want to make sure happens with the fire department is that ... they're in pretty good economic standing right now. We want to make sure we consolidate their financial well-being as well as develop a succession plan so we can make sure the institution of the fire department is in good shape for a long stretch of time ahead.

Sometimes when you create an institution of that size, it's very helpful to bring in a different set of eyes to make sure the money is being spent in ways that are as efficient as possible, and there's a difference between the skill set required to be a great firefighter and the skill set that might be necessary for being a good administrator.

What's the status of Mark Mew's job as police chief?

Mark Mew is the police chief.

Will that be changing?

Mark Mew is the police chief ... we'll just leave it at that.

Are there big-picture administrative changes you expect to make at the Anchorage Police Department?

The police department, just as the fire department, we want to make sure the administration of the police department is being done as efficiently as we can possibly do it. We want to make sure there is a succession plan in place so we can have the ability for people to come up through the ranks, not just for the chief but for the chief after and the chief after that. If we start to grow our own, I think we're going to have a stronger department. I also want to make sure we're able to recruit and retain from within the people of Anchorage ... and I also am going to focus on trying to get to our goal of 400 sworn officers.

Is there a succession plan currently in APD leadership?

It's not as robust as it should be. ... You want a chain of command to be able to replicate itself. There are gaps right now.

In the final months of Mayor Dan Sullivan's term in office, an effort was underway to clean up the downtown transit center and make the environment safer and friendlier. Do you plan to continue that effort?

We're looking at a much larger effort to make sure all of downtown is vibrant, which includes the downtown transit center… .We're doing what we can to make sure the streets are safe, not just during the day but in the evenings … There are some public safety measures we've already started with.

Can you talk details about those measures now?

No.

But consisting of police, the Anchorage Downtown Partnership?

Yes, police ... the Downtown Partnership is engaging in different ways than it has in the past. And we're just ... we're going to make sure this is a clean, safe place to be.

What do you see happening to boarded-up ... properties like the 4th Avenue Theatre and the Northern Lights Inn?

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It's interesting you chose two pieces of property owned by one entity. ... It's private property, you have to respect the rights of the private property owners. At the same time, there's a certain urgency that comes when you have property, particularly like the Northern Lights Inn, that's just been sitting there a long time. Commitments were made to remove it, so we're waiting for that to happen.

How do you see the Anchorage Community Development Authority, which manages downtown parking as well as redevelopment projects, functioning in the future?

I think the ACDA can be a vigorous agent of change.

Do you support the recent proposal to allocate capital funds from the ACDA's budget to a covered tennis court project at East High School?

I think we're living in a time of capital scarcity, and when you allocate capital you have to do it in a way that's leveraged to the greatest extent possible. ... If we're going to appropriate any kind of governmental funds, we have to do it in a way where it's competitive or at least hews to a capital improvement plan.

What's Andrew Halcro's role in your administration?

Andrew right now is working on the transition team, doing a great job there.

Do you expect him to have a role in the future?

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I hope so.

On another former political rival -- have you spoken with Amy Demboski since the election?

Unfortunately I have not had her return my phone calls.

How do you anticipate collaborating with her in the future?

I don't expect any issues. She's a professional. This is a professional setting. We got along well for the most part during the campaign. I would expect that to continue in the future. I've been able to get along with political opponents in the past. Some have become friends even when we have political disagreements.

How do you anticipate working with the Assembly as a whole?

I'm going to work well with everybody on the Assembly. I come at this with an open mind and an open hand ... open like shaking hands. I think there's a lot of common ground between everyone here in Anchorage. Those who serve on the Assembly and myself. We're going to get a lot done.

On the city permitting department: What's your impression of the operations there?

I went over there ... Thursday morning. I was supposed to go for an hour; I spent two hours. I'll go back next week. There's a lot of really good people who are working there. I had a very interesting conversation with one person who I think summarized the approach that we should have as far as permitting goes. When it's black and white, we should tell people yes or no as quickly as possible. When it's gray, what we ought to do is give the advantage to the people trying to do the construction.

Is that easier said than done?

I think it can happen with the right leadership and if you trust the people that are working there to exercise their discretion with a clear understanding that the mayor's desire is to build.

What's your outlook on the Knik Arm Crossing project?

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I'd sure love to see that money go help to fix the (Port of Anchorage).

What's your stance on the Department of Transportation's plan to demolish several homes in Government Hill to make way for the access roads?

We're going to reach out to the governor's staff to convey to him that, to take property off the tax rolls, it's not helping, it's pushing the load on everybody else. Plus, it doesn't make sense to me that you tear something down before you know how you're going to build the next thing.

You've got a lot of ideas, but what's your sense of city budget constraints?

I'm very conscious of the money we have and the amount of money we can save. I'm very conscious of that, and always have been.

Do you have thoughts now on savings, or reallocations?

Not as of yet. This is my first full day on the job.

Devin Kelly

Devin Kelly was an ADN staff reporter.

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