2021 Anchorage mayoral election

The 2021 Anchorage mayoral election was held on April 6, 2021, to elect the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska.^[1] As no candidate received at least 45% of the vote in the first round, the two candidates with the highest vote share, Forrest Dunbar and Dave Bronson, advanced to a runoff on May 11.^[2][5] The election was officially nonpartisan. Incumbent independent acting mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson, first appointed to the position in October 2020, was eligible to run for reelection to a full term, but did not run.^[6][7][8] The deadline to register to vote in the first round was March 7. Mail-in ballots were sent out starting on March 15. On May 21, 2021, after a narrow loss, Dunbar conceded the race to Bronson.^[9] Bronson was sworn in on July 1.^[5]

2021 Anchorage mayoral election

← 2018 April 6, 2021 (first round)^[1] May 11, 2021 (runoff)^[2] 2024 →
Turnout	31.88% (first round)^[3] 38.35% (runoff)^[4]
Candidate Dave Bronson Forrest Dunbar Bill Falsey First round 24,567 32.96% 23,054 30.93% 9,551 12.82% Runoff 45,937 50.66% 44,744 49.34% Eliminated   Candidate Bill Evans Mike Robbins First round 7,073 9.49% 5,766 7.74% Runoff Eliminated Eliminated
Interactive map version Runoff results by precinct: Bronson:   50–60%   60–70%   70–80% Dunbar:   50–60%   60–70%   70–80%
Mayor before election Austin Quinn-Davidson Independent Elected Mayor Dave Bronson Republican

Background

Ethan Berkowitz was elected mayor in 2015 and 2018 and was ineligible to run for a third term. On October 13, 2020, he announced his resignation through his chief of staff Jason Bockenstadt at a meeting of the Anchorage Assembly, Anchorage's city council, to be effective October 23. The resignation came after a reporter made allegations that he was engaged in an inappropriate relationship with her.^[10] Felix Rivera, chair of the Anchorage Assembly, was next in the line of succession to the office. After a failed attempt immediately following the resignation announcement, the Assembly met in a special meeting on October 16 to reorganize itself, installing Austin Quinn-Davidson as Assembly chair with Rivera as vice-chair. This move allowed Quinn-Davidson to succeed to the office of mayor and allowed Rivera to retain his position presiding over Assembly meetings.^[10] Quinn-Davidson is both the first female and first openly gay mayor of Anchorage.^[11] On November 4, the Assembly voted not to hold a special election for the position of mayor, meaning that the next election for the seat would be the regularly scheduled one in 2021.^[12]

General election

In the leadup to the general election, it was widely believed that there would be a runoff between Dunbar and one of the more conservative candidates.^[5]

Candidates

Major candidates

• Dave Bronson (Republican) - Former U.S. Air Force and commercial pilot^[13]
• Forrest Dunbar (Democratic) - Member of the Anchorage Assembly (2016–present), member of the Alaska Army National Guard^[14][15]
• Bill Evans (Independent) - Member of the Anchorage Assembly (2014–2017), board and two-time co-chair of the Anchorage Chamber of Commerce^[13]
• Bill Falsey (Independent) - Anchorage Municipal Manager (2017–2020)^[13]
• George Martinez (Democratic) - Educator, former special assistant to Ethan Berkowitz for economic development^[13]
• Mike Robbins (Republican) - Businessman^[13]

Other registered candidates

• Anna Anthony^[16]
• Jeffrey Brown, social services worker^[16][5]
• Darin Colbry (Republican), candidate for Governor of Alaska in 2018^{[16][13][17][18]}
• Heather Herndon, real estate developer, construction, project manager, accountant, portfolio private placement financier.^[16][17][13]
• Jacob Seth Kern (Democratic), perennial candidate^[8][16][19]
• Reza Momin^[16]
• Albert Swank Jr., civil engineer^[16]
• Jacob Versteeg, compliance examiner^[20]
• Joe Westfall^[16]

Withdrawn

• Eric Croft (Democratic), former state representative, former member of the Anchorage Assembly, former president of the Anchorage School Board, and candidate for Governor of Alaska in 2006^[8][17]
• Dustin Darden, maintenance worker and perennial candidate^[21][22][16]
• Nelson Jesus Godoy, activist and candidate for mayor in 2018^[8][16]

Declined

• Austin Quinn-Davidson (Independent), incumbent acting mayor^[17]

Endorsements

Dave Bronson (R)

• Jamie Allard, Current Anchorage Assemblyman
• Dan Sullivan, Current United States Senator from Alaska
• Rick Mystrom, former mayor (also endorsed Martinez and Robbins)^[5]

Forrest Dunbar (D)

State officials

• Johnny Ellis, former Majority Leader of the Alaska Senate^[23]

Organizations

• AFL–CIO^[24]
• AFSCME Local 52^[23]
• Anchorage Democratic Party^[23]
• Anchorage Education Association^[23]
• Anchorage Firefighters Union^[23]
• Laborers' Union, Alaska District^[23]
• Ironworkers Union Local 751^[23]
• IBEW Local 1547^[23]
• International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302^[23]
• Planned Parenthood (also endorsed Martinez)^[24]
• Teamsters Local 959^[23]
• Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 367^[23]

Bill Evans (I)

• Chuck Kopp, former state representative (Republican)^[25]
• Dan Sullivan, former mayor, nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska in 2014, and candidate for U.S. Senate in 2016 (Republican) (no relation to U.S. Senator from Alaska Dan Sullivan)^[26]

George Martinez (D)

People

• Rick Mystrom, former mayor (Republican) (also endorsed Bronson and Robbins)^[5]

Organizations

• Planned Parenthood (also endorsed Dunbar)^[5]

Mike Robbins (R)

• Rick Mystrom, former mayor (also endorsed Bronson and Martinez)^[16]

Fundraising

Campaign finance reports as of February 18, 2021
Candidate (party, if known)	Total raised
Anna Anthony	did not file
Dave Bronson (R)	$162,482
Jeffrey Brown	did not file
Darin Colbry (R)	$0
Forrest Dunbar (D)	$252,216
Bill Evans (I)	$98,480
Bill Falsey (I)	$106,285
Heather Herndon	$0
Jacob Seth Kern (D)	did not file
George Martinez (D)	$60,086
Reza Momin	did not file
Mike Robbins (R)	$210,058
Albert Swank Jr.	$0
Jacob Versteeg	did not file
Joe Westfall	did not file
^[27]^[24]

Debates

Five candidates did not participate in either debate: Anna Anthony, Darin Colbry, Jacob Seth Kern, Reza Momin, and Jacob Versteeg.

2021 Anchorage mayoral election debates
No.	Date & time	Host	Moderator	Link	Participants
Key:  P  Participant    A  Absent    N  Non-invitee    I  Invitee
					Dave Bronson	Jeffrey Brown	Forrest Dunbar	Bill Evans	Bill Falsey	Heather Herndon	George Martinez	Mike Robbins	Albert Swank Jr.	Joe Westfall
1^[28]	February 16, 2021	Anchorage Daily News	Tom Hewitt	Video	P	N	P	P	P	N	P	P	N	N
2^[29]	March 18, 2021	West Anchorage Community Councils	Unknown	Not recorded	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P	P

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[a]	Margin of error	Dave Bronson	Forrest Dunbar	Bill Falsey	Mike Robbins	Other	Undecided
Independent pollster at APOC	Released March 8, 2021	– (V)^[b]	–	20%	22%	8%	8%	9%^[c]	33%

Results

General election results^[30]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Dave Bronson	24,567	32.96
	Nonpartisan	Forrest Dunbar	23,054	30.93
	Nonpartisan	Bill Falsey	9,551	12.82
	Nonpartisan	Bill Evans	7,073	9.49
	Nonpartisan	Mike Robbins	5,766	7.74
	Nonpartisan	George Martinez	2,753	3.69
	Nonpartisan	Heather Herndon	451	0.61
	Nonpartisan	Jeffrey Brown	307	0.41
	Nonpartisan	Anna Anthony	306	0.41
	Nonpartisan	Albert Swank Jr.	231	0.31
	Nonpartisan	Joe Westfall	83	0.11
	Nonpartisan	Jacob Seth Kern	52	0.07
	Nonpartisan	Reza Momin	52	0.07
	Nonpartisan	Jacob Versteeg	43	0.06
	Nonpartisan	Darin Colbry	31	0.04
	Write-in		205	0.28
Total votes			74,525	100.00

Runoff

In the leadup to the runoff, third-place primary finisher Falsey and sixth-place finisher Martinez endorsed Dunbar, while fifth-place finisher Robbins endorsed Bronson.^[31][32] Fourth-place finisher Evans did not make an endorsement.

Endorsements

Dave Bronson (R)

• Rick Mystrom, former mayor^[5]

Forrest Dunbar (D)

State officials

• Johnny Ellis, former Majority Leader of the Alaska Senate^[23]

Organizations

• AFL–CIO^[24]
• AFSCME Local 52^[23]
• Anchorage Democratic Party^[23]
• Anchorage Education Association^[23]
• Anchorage Firefighters Union^[23]
• Laborers' Union, Alaska District^[23]
• Ironworkers Union Local 751^[23]
• IBEW Local 1547^[23]
• International Union of Operating Engineers Local 302^[23]
• Planned Parenthood^[24]
• Teamsters Local 959^[23]
• Plumbers and Steamfitters Local 367^[23]

Polling

Poll source	Date(s) administered	Sample size^[d]	Margin of error	Dave Bronson	Forrest Dunbar	Undecided
Alaska Survey Research	April 9–12, 2021	322 (LV)	± 5.5%	44%	45%	11%

Results

Runoff Results^[33]

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Nonpartisan	Dave Bronson	45,937	50.66
	Nonpartisan	Forrest Dunbar	44,744	49.34
Total votes			90,681	100.00

Notes

1. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear
2. Not yet released
3. Bill Evans with 5%; George Martinez with 2%; Other (5 candidates) with 2%
4. Key:
   A – all adults
   RV – registered voters
   LV – likely voters
   V – unclear

References

1. "Republican Mike Robbins joins 2021 Anchorage mayoral race". Anchorage Daily News. August 20, 2020.
2. "Dave Bronson, backed by 'Save Anchorage' group, enters crowded mayoral race". Anchorage Daily News. August 26, 2020.
3. Official Results 2021^{[permanent dead link]}
4. Official Results 2021^{[permanent dead link]}
5. "In a crowded race, many candidates for Anchorage mayor say they're aiming to make it to an expected runoff". Anchorage Daily News. February 15, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
6. George, Kavitha; Anchorage, Alaska Public Media- (October 17, 2020). "Assembly reorganizes, elects Austin Quinn-Davidson to become interim mayor". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
7. Buxton, Matt (August 8, 2018). "Progressive Quinn-Davidson wins big in Anchorage Assembly special election". The Midnight Sun. Retrieved October 17, 2020.
8. Mathews, Cheyenne. "Anchorage municipal manager files to run for mayor". Alaska's News Source.
9. "Bronson set to win race for Anchorage mayor; Dunbar concedes". Anchorage Daily News. May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
10. Goodykoontz, Emily (October 16, 2020). "Anchorage Assembly chooses Austin Quinn-Davidson to serve as acting mayor". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
11. "Anchorage chooses 1st woman, openly gay acting mayor". NBC News.
12. "Anchorage Assembly rejects special election for mayor". Anchorage Daily News. November 5, 2020.
13. George, Kavitha; Anchorage, Alaska Public Media- (January 18, 2021). "Candidates begin filing for Anchorage municipal office". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
14. "Here's who has filed to run for Anchorage mayor and the Anchorage School Board so far". Anchorage Daily News. January 21, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
15. "Forrest Dunbar". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
16. "Here are all the candidates running for Anchorage mayor and school board". Anchorage Daily News. January 30, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
17. "2021 Anchorage mayoral race takes shape with a crowded field". Anchorage Daily News. December 6, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
18. "Darin Colbry". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
19. Staff, T. N. L. . Archived from the original on November 27, 2020. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
20. "2021 Elections Mayor Candidate - Jacob Versteeg". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
21. "Dustin Darden". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
22. "Mayoral election in Anchorage, Alaska (2021)". Ballotpedia. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
23. "Endorsements". Forrest Dunbar for Mayor. Retrieved June 9, 2021.^{[permanent dead link]}
24. "Dunbar so far outraises competitors for Anchorage mayor's office by tens of thousands of dollars". Anchorage Daily News. February 18, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
25. "Evans offers clear-headed, unifying leadership for Anchorage". Anchorage Daily News. February 7, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
26. George, Kavitha; Anchorage, Alaska Public Media- (December 21, 2020). "Former Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan endorses Bill Evans". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
27. George, Kavitha; Anchorage, Alaska Public Media- (February 19, 2021). "Dunbar, Robbins lead in fundraising for Anchorage mayoral race". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
28. "Watch: 6 Anchorage mayoral candidates debate homelessness and housing in online forum". Anchorage Daily News. February 17, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
29. "Candidates for Anchorage mayor are set to debate in online forum Thursday night. Here's how to watch". Anchorage Daily News. March 19, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
30. https://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Clerk/Elections/Election_Results/2021_Official_Results-_initialed.pdf ^{[dead link]}
31. Goodykoontz, Emily. "Falsey endorses Dunbar and Robbins endorses Bronson in race for Anchorage mayor". Achorage Daily News.
32. Goodykoontz, Emily. "George Martinez endorses Forrest Dunbar in Anchorage mayoral race". Achorage Daily News.
33. http://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/Clerk/Elections/Election_Results/May_11_2021_Mayor_Runoff_Election_Official_Results.pdf ^{[dead link]}

External links

Official campaign websites

• Dave Bronson (R) for Mayor January 11, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Forrest Dunbar (D) for Mayor
• Bill Evans (I) for Mayor March 9, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Bill Falsey (I) for Mayor January 20, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• Heather Herndon for Mayor March 16, 2021, at the Wayback Machine
• George Martinez (D) for Mayor
• Mike Robbins (R) for Mayor January 23, 2021, at the Wayback Machine