FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 2, 2023
907 Initiative Responds to Municipal Budget Debacle with ‘Incompetence has a Price Tag’ Campaign
ANCHORAGE - This week, government watchdog organization 907 Initiative launched an extended accountability campaign educating Anchorage residents on the cost of incompetence from Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson. This campaign has launched in response to today’s rollout of the Mayor’s proposed FY-2024 budget despite having failed to close the city’s financial books for FY-2022 and FY-2023 and despite the newly announced departure of the city Budget Director, with no public plan for replacement.
“The Mayor is presenting the Assembly and the city with a budget without a budget manager. Because Bronson failed to balance the books for the past two fiscal years, he and his administration are not able to determine how much money the city actually has,” 907 Initiative Executive Director Aubrey Wieber said. “Fiscal responsibility is the most elemental component of running the city. This budget proposal builds on a pattern of incompetence that is costing Anchorage time and money. Anchorage residents need to demand that Mayor Bronson get control of the city’s finances and actually balance the books.”
Over the coming months, the 907 Initiative will continue to use digital, mail, and broadcast advertising to directly inform Anchorage residents about the costs associated with Mayor Bronson’s incompetent handling of the Municipal budget. The short-term goal of this campaign is to increase pressure on the Bronson administration to balance the books for Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023.
Examples of how the Mayor’s incompetence is costing Anchorage time and money include:
The revolving door of top-level staff has created instability in the administration and increased costs for city departments. In the latest scandal, a city commissioner was charged with fraudulently obtaining $1.6 million in COVID-19 relief funds for her charity
The mass exodus of municipal staff has halted many basic functions of city government, such as fulfilling records requests and prosecuting misdemeanor crimes, while leading to exorbitant payouts to consultants to cover the work of vacant staff roles.
Bronson’s wrongful firings of employees and decision to greenlight construction on a navigation center without required Assembly approval has literally cost Anchorage taxpayers millions of dollars. His closing of the only low-barrier emergency homeless shelter in the city cost literal lives, as records were set for outdoor deaths in 2022 and 2023.
Bronson’s inability to maintain the city’s snow plow fleet and hire drivers led to historic school closures, business closures and people unable to leave their homes, causing untold economic damage.
Bronson is accused of improper contracting, spying on employees to intimidate potential whistleblowers, condoning an improper romantic relationship within his staff, and supporting a sexualized work environment. This incompetence has a price tag and Anchorage could be paying the price for years to come.
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Contact:
Aubrey Wieber, Executive Director, 907 Initiative: aubrey@907initiative.org | 907-903-7017
Previous Press Releases
907 Initiative Issues Midterm Report Card Assessing Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson
907 Initiative Mails Bronson Wrongful-Termination Letter Directly to Anchorage Residents
907 Initiative Announces Ad Campaign to hold Bronson Administration Accountable
APOC Sends Clear Warning to Republican Governors Association: Spend in Alaska “At Your Own Peril”
AKPIRG and 907 Initiative File Supplemental Evidence and Allegations Against Dunleavy for Governor
907 Initiative Announces New Organization to Promote an Even Better Alaska
AUBREY WIEBER, Executive Director
Aubrey has worked in communications for more than a decade as a news reporter, consultant and communications director on a congressional campaign. As the Executive Director for the 907 Initiative, he oversees the creation of messaging campaigns, tool kits and strategies to be used by progressive organizations throughout Alaska to promote equity, diversity and inclusion.