Anchorage Assembly postpones Public Safety Commission vote to June 9

The Anchorage Assembly continued a public hearing Tuesday on an ordinance to create a new Public Safety Commission, postponing a vote to June 9 after community members testified that the proposed advisory-only model lacks the investigative authority a majority of a 2025 municipal task force supported.

Assembly Vice Chair Anna Brawley, a co-sponsor of the ordinance, told testifiers that she and co-sponsor Cameron Perez Verdia "intend to bring a substitute version" and that "folks who did testify tonight would be welcome to do so again on those changes."

The proposed commission would advise the mayor and Assembly, participate in system-level reviews, serve as a forum for community input, and promote transparency and accountability. The ordinance would establish a 14-seat body with nine voting commissioners and five ex officio members.

A testifier representing the Alaska Coalition for Justice called the ordinance "the bare minimum" that does not reflect community input from the 2025 Municipal Task Force process. The testifier said the task force, which ran for six months and was publicly observed, produced a clear majority vote in favor of investigatory authority, subpoena authority, and enhanced access to information; none of which appear in this ordinance.

Other testifiers acknowledged the ordinance as a step forward while criticizing its limitations. One speaker said the commission "is simply better than not having a commission at all" but urged the Assembly to recognize it as "a floor" rather than "a ceiling," noting that "the community has already done the work of telling you what real oversight looks like."

The Assembly will take up the ordinance again at its June 9 meeting, where members will consider the substitute version and hear additional public testimony on any proposed changes.