I appreciate Assembly member Christopher Constant’s rebuttal to the editorial board’s stance on the Anchorage “fantasy” budget.
The board’s view left me puzzled, especially regarding who is the “adult” in the room. The mayor, claiming no cuts to public safety departments, overlooked his administration’s failure to fill more than 50 authorized positions in the Anchorage police and fire departments. A funded AFD wildfire public information officer position, with applicants, meant for the past wildfire season, remains vacant, alongside a new AFD wildfire coordinator role, delayed by administrative hurdles. These setbacks hinder our wildfire preparedness, obstructing essential grants and federally funded work.
Our luck with wet weather this summer was a relief, yet relying on luck is a costly strategy, as evidenced by our unpreparedness for snow removal when our luck ran out.
Neither the editorial board’s argument nor Constant’s rebuttal highlighted a key point: The mayor’s duty isn’t to rely on luck or shift priorities post-budget approval. As the administrative head, the mayor’ s job is to diligently implement and manage the city to the approved budget. It’s clear we need a leader who understands this role, its responsibilities and the community’s costs and risk when these duties are neglected.
— Ky Holland
Anchorage
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