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2021 Anchorage mayoral election

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2021 Anchorage mayoral election

← 2018 April 6, 2021 (first round)[1]
May 11, 2021 (runoff)[2]
2024 →
Turnout31.88% (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:

Mayor before election

Austin Quinn-Davidson
Independent

Elected Mayor

Dave Bronson
Republican

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]

Background

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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

[edit]

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

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Major candidates

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Other registered candidates

[edit]

Withdrawn

[edit]

Declined

[edit]

Endorsements

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Dave Bronson (R)
Bill Evans (I)
George Martinez (D)
People
Organizations
Mike Robbins (R)

Fundraising

[edit]
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

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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
Tom Hewitt
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

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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

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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

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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

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Dave Bronson (R)

Polling

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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

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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

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  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

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  1. ^ a b "Republican Mike Robbins joins 2021 Anchorage mayoral race". Anchorage Daily News. August 20, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "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. ^ a b c d e f g h "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. ^ a b c d 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. ^ a b 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. ^ a b c d e f g 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Here are all the candidates running for Anchorage mayor and school board". Anchorage Daily News. January 30, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  17. ^ a b c d "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. "Anchorage Mayoral Candidate Profiles | The Northern Light". 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. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v "Endorsements". Forrest Dunbar for Mayor. Retrieved June 9, 2021.[permanent dead link]
  24. ^ a b c d e "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]
[edit]
Official campaign websites