Anchorage Daily News

The six leading candidates for mayor took center stage at a packed Chamber of Commerce luncheon Monday, one of their first opportunities to draw distinctions among themselves away from the confusion of an election field crowded with nine lesser-known hopefuls.

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Claman

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Sullivan

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Honeman

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Monegan

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Selkregg

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Croft

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Chamber officials said they invited Matt Claman, Eric Croft, Sheila Selkregg, Dan Sullivan, Paul Honeman and Walt Monegan on the basis of the amounts of campaign contributions they reported to the Alaska Public Offices Commission.

The forum opened with a series of yes-or-no questions. On a show of hands, for example, all but Claman said they support the tax cap initiative designed to ease property taxes. The initiative will be on the April 7 city ballot.

Half -- Sullivan, Honeman and Monegan -- said they agree with the chamber that an endangered species listing for Cook Inlet's beluga whales is a bad idea.

Monegan and Honeman oppose a $1.9 parks and recreation bond. Sullivan is against the $1.5 million library improvements bond.

All six showed support for the bigger of two school bonds, a $70 million proposition to fix up and expand Service High School, design a new Girdwood Elementary School, and extend water and sewer lines at Eagle River High School. Bonds for roads, public safety, fire and police protection improvements also brought six hands up.

The candidates then fielded flurries of questions submitted on paper and electronically by chamber members. For the most part, each question went to one candidate only.

Selkregg said she opposes the smaller of two school bonds, a $27.5 million proposition for repairs and renovations at various schools across the district, because it's "fundamentally not good policy to bond for maintenance ..." The city and the Anchorage School District should plan ahead and build up reserve funds to pay for such expenses, she said.

Claman, the Assembly chairman who took over as acting mayor when former Mayor Mark Begich resigned Jan. 3, supports all the bonds on the ballot and said his short tenure as the city's interim mayor dealing with a budget deficit shows voters what he's capable of. "Since January, I have been making the smart decisions" and finding ways to maintain services while trimming spending, Claman said.

Croft, a former state lawmaker who has worked the last two years as a municipal prosecutor, was asked what the city can do to ensure the existence of a local work force that is trained for the sorts of jobs available in Alaska. He highlighted the King Career Center -- "it is packed now" -- and farming out some introductory vocational courses to other schools. "We need to expand (the career center) but realize it has reached its capacity," he said.

Monegan, a former Anchorage police chief and state public safety commissioner, was asked how the School District and the city should address an influx of students from rural Alaska as families are drawn to Anchorage by urban economic opportunities. The response should be multifaceted, he said, and involve Native corporations and nonprofits working with government on finding "transitional housing" and ensuring the newcomers have "marketable skills" and are able to "succeed not only as students but as families."

Honeman, who retired from the police department last fall to run for mayor, said he would try to lighten the "excessive" tax burden on property owners by encouraging adoption of a "seasonal sales tax" and perhaps a gross receipts tax. The 3 percent to 4 percent sales tax would be in effect from May until September and could be written so it would expire every three years unless renewed, he said.

Sullivan, a former three-term Assemblyman and the only candidate who's also a chamber member, said he "absolutely" backs the proposed Knik Arm crossing. "Anchorage is running out of industrial land," he said, and a bridge to Point MacKenzie would open up new residential areas too.

"If you're worried about the migration (to Mat-Su) of people looking for homes ... Hey, it's happening already," Sullivan said.

This is a busy week for the candidates, with at least three more forums scheduled. Next up is one sponsored by the downtown Rotary Club, meeting at noon today at the Egan Civic and Convention Center.