Stonewall Bronson: Emails Show Demboski Ignoring Repeated Requests for WEKA Document
Emails obtained by The Blue Alaskan show that Anchorage Municipal Manager Amy Demboski has repeatedly refused to respond to requests for information sent to her by Anchorage Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance over the past several weeks.
Since March 14, LaFrance has sought details about the Municipality of Anchorage's (MOA) lease/use agreement of the Golden Lion Hotel with WEKA Medical, a Bronson megadonor-owned business that the mayor heavily promoted last October for standing up a COVID-19 treatment center in the building over other free options.
During his campaign, Bronson promised he would sell the property, purchased by the city during the previous administration, for use as a substance misuse treatment center "on day one" if elected.
A concerned citizen approached the Anchorage Assembly last month and believes that the city may have paid WEKA's utility bills while the for-profit business was operating its treatment center at the former hotel. Others have questioned whether WEKA was even paying rent while using the property.
The emails sent to Demboski by LaFrance span the period March 14 - April 3 and elicited only one response from Office of Management and Budget Director Cheryl Frasca, who told LaFrance on March 21 that she had personally checked with Demboski about her request for information and indicated that the administration was "in the process of responding" to her inquiry.
LaFrance sent a subsequent email to Demboski on March 28, asking for an update on the requested information. Receiving no response, LaFrance sent another email to Demboski yesterday in which she copied Vice Chair Christopher Constant, Cheryl Frasca, Special Assistant Lauren Hughes, and Deputy Municipal Manager Kolby Hickel.
"Bringing this back to the top of the pile as it’s been nearly three full work weeks since Assembly leadership requested this information. I recognize you are busy and am hoping that someone else on your team may be able to assist."
Suzanne LaFrance in an April 3, 2022 email to members of the Bronson Administration
With a slate of Assembly challengers running in lock-step with Bronson, Demboski may be concerned about releasing the city's use agreement with WEKA for voters to see ahead of Tuesday's election. It could be especially damaging if the document were to reveal that the Bronson administration was using taxpayer funds to pay the utility bills of a campaign megadonor's business.
Members of the Anchorage Assembly tell me that it's exceedingly difficult to get responses from Demboski, who is seemingly only willing to respond when she believes it's politically advantageous to do so — like when she can take a dig at a member of the Assembly and then provide details to the Alaska Republican propaganda website Must Read Alaska where the narrative is spun in Bronson's favor.
Despite their assertions to the contrary, the Bronson administration isn't working with the Anchorage Assembly but instead actively stonewalling the production of documents in an attempt to buy time until the results of the April 5 Municipal Election are clear — hinging on Bronson's gambit that his far-right Assembly candidates, backed by the Save Anchorage Facebook group, sweep five seats and tip the balance of power.
The emails, lacking any response from Demboski, can be found below.
