ADN Politics

Anchorage voters will soon decide a hugely consequential mayor’s race. Unlike the last mayoral election, the city is no longer in the middle of a pandemic, but Anchorage is still dealing with significant challenges. After three tumultuous years, incumbent Mayor Dave Bronson faces nine opponents who promise to lead the city in very different ways. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to Daily News reporters Emily Goodykoontz and Zachariah Hughes about what they’re paying attention to ahead of election day. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy made good on his threat last week, vetoing a $200 million education bill that had passed the Legislature on a bipartisan vote. This week — amid immense pressure on all sides — lawmakers fell one vote short of overriding that veto. Now the future of state education funding for Alaska schools this year is murky, at best. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to reporters Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire to discuss what happened, and the coming political fallout. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy this week threatened to veto a hard-fought bill to increase funding for Alaska’s public schools, unless the Legislature agrees to back some of his own education priorities. Now, lawmakers in Juneau and school districts across the state are scrambling to sort out what to do next. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to reporters Sean Maguire and Iris Samuels to discuss what is and isn’t in the bill, and what might happen next. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

A recent cold snap in Southcentral Alaska raised the profile of a looming problem for the region: Natural gas from Cook Inlet powers a big chunk of Alaska, including Anchorage, the Kenai Peninsula and the Mat-Su – but energy companies say that gas won’t be available for much longer. How is that possible, in a state that has enormous gas reserves? And what does that mean for future energy bills? Anchorage Daily News reporter Alex DeMarban has been covering this issue, and speaks with host Elizabeth Harball to answer these and other burning questions. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

The New Year has arrived, bringing with it an election year and the next Alaska legislative session. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to Daily News reporters Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire about the top storylines they are tracking in 2024 — from continued battles over education funding and ranked choice voting to notable people and issues on the ballot in November. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

Part of a little-known state agency is near collapse, and it’s not clear what will happen to the vulnerable people it serves. Daily News reporter Iris Samuels recently dug into issues at Alaska’s Office of Public Advocacy. Facing severe staffing issues, it turned to a private nonprofit to help it provide guardianship services for over 100 people. But that nonprofit ran into issues of its own, leaving the Alaskans it served at risk of going into debt, losing public benefits, or becoming homeless. Host Elizabeth Harball talks to Samuels about what happened to the Office of Public Advocacy, and what that means going forward. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

In this episode, we return to the topic of snow plow politics in Anchorage. In November, once again, the city was hit with back-to-back snowstorms. And once again, the roads were a huge mess. For a winter city that relies on plowing so residents can get to work and schools can open, snow plowing quickly becomes a political issue — especially with a mayoral race coming up. Host Elizabeth Harball talks to Daily News reporter Zachariah Hughes about why so many Anchorage roads went unplowed for days and the political fallout as Mayor Dave Bronson vies for reelection. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee .

In 2018 and then in 2020, two women were found dead on the same property in the Northwest Alaska community of Kotzebue. The women were 25-year-old Jennifer Kirk and 30-year-old Susanna, or “Sue Sue,” Norton. They both had been in relationships with sons of Kotzebue’s now-former mayor, who owns the property where they were found. Kirk’s death was declared a suicide, and Norton’s, a homicide. No charges have ever been filed in connection to the deaths. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball speaks with Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica reporter Kyle Hopkins, who spent years looking into the details of the two cases for a recently published story. He explains how he found disturbing patterns leading up to the deaths, as well as unexplained holes in the investigations. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

As Western Alaska communities face a shocking decline in the salmon runs they depend on, fishing operations called factory trawlers are drawing more scrutiny than ever before — the vessels are not going after salmon, but they can still scoop some up in their nets. With support from the Pulitzer Center, the Daily News recently published a two-part series diving into factory trawling in the Bering Sea, the industry’s impact on Alaska’s salmon runs, and Community Development Quota groups, which have become powerful players in fishery politics. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to longtime fisheries reporter Hal Bernton, who went out on a factory trawler this August to report the first story in the series. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

Anyone who has tried to buy or rent a home in Anchorage recently has been faced with the realities of the city’s housing crisis. Costs have shot up, while at the same time, there isn’t a lot of inventory to choose from. The issue has wide-ranging implications for the city, impacting everything from attracting and retaining workers to efforts to address homelessness. Host Elizabeth Harball talks to Anna Brawley, an Anchorage Assembly member with a background in city planning, about efforts to address the city’s housing crisis, and challenges that are coming up along the way. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

A top official in Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson’s administration resigned this month after being accused of breaking election laws. It’s a complicated saga that has unfolded over months – an investigation into the mayor’s IT director involving a challenge to this year’s city election results. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball speaks with ADN reporter Emily Goodykoontz, who broke the news about the allegations in May. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

This week, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy vetoed $87 million in education funding passed by the Legislature — half of a one-time funding increase for public schools that education advocates said was badly needed. Almost immediately, some lawmakers were calling to override the veto. Host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN reporter Iris Samuels about the likelihood of a veto override, what it would take to get there, and more. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

It took marathon negotiations behind closed doors, strained relationships between lawmakers, tens of millions in additional capital spending and a one-day special session, but this week, the Alaska Legislature managed to pass a budget. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN reporters Sean Maguire and Iris Samuels in Juneau for the inside story on how Alaska lawmakers got to a deal. Note: ADN Politics is taking a break after this episode, and will return in June. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

The Alaska Legislative session is entering its final days – at least, officially. Meanwhile, lawmakers still haven’t passed a budget, figured out the size of this year’s Permanent Fund dividend or agreed on whether to permanently increase funding for public schools. Can they? In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN reporters Sean Maguire and Iris Samuels, who are in Juneau tracking last-minute negotiations as they unfold. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

Anchorage’s Sullivan Arena is entering its final days as a mass homeless shelter. This week, many of the people staying there were forced to leave. And for many of them, there isn’t anywhere to go. ADN reporters and photographers were on the ground talking to people as they made their way out of the Sullivan. Host Elizabeth Harball speaks with ADN reporters Michelle Theriault Boots and Emily Goodykoontz to explain why this is happening and what it means for Anchorage in the months ahead. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

Last week, the Daily News and ProPublica published a report that included secret recordings of a top Anchorage Library official, in which she calls Alaska Natives “woke” and “racists” and bemoans “the left’s” influence on libraries. That official is Judy Eledge — a longtime conservative stalwart in Alaska and the Anchorage Library’s deputy director under Mayor Dave Bronson. Eledge is now the subject of several lawsuits filed against the city. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to ADN and ProPublica reporter Kyle Hopkins about the reporting process and what he has learned since it was published. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

This year’s Legislative session in Juneau is in its fourth quarter, with just a month left for lawmakers to finish their work. But even with that deadline looming, some of the biggest political issues we’ve seen over the last couple months remain unresolved. We’ll talk about where things stand with the budget, a controversial education proposal and more. In this episode, host Zachariah Hughes talks with reporters Iris Samuels and Sean Maguire to explain where things stand, and what to expect in the weeks ahead. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

ADN Politics will return next week! For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

Campaigning in this year’s Anchorage election was defined by voter fatigue with bitterness and drama in city politics. Ballots are still being counted, but so far, results show definitive leads for most candidates aligned with the current Assembly majority — a group that has consistently been at odds with conservative Mayor Dave Bronson. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks with reporters about the potential factors behind those results, and what they could mean for the future of Anchorage city politics. Correction: An earlier version of this podcast incorrectly said Anchorage Mayor David Bronson has not said if he is running for reelection. Bronson filed for reelection in December. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.

The German Ambassador to the United States, Emily Haber, is in Alaska for the first time this week, while participating in the Arctic Encounter Symposium in Anchorage. In this episode, host Elizabeth Harball talks to Ambassador Haber about her visit, changing dynamics in the Arctic, energy development, climate change, and how Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is affecting those issues. For more local and state news, subscribe to the Anchorage Daily News today. This episode of ADN Politics is sponsored by SteamDot Coffee.