
Municipality of Anchorage · Photo source · US government work
Jared Goecker
Assembly Member · Anchorage Assembly · District 2
40 articles · 20 transcripts · 2 clips
Municipality of Anchorage, Alaska
Former Deputy Director of Human Resources for Municipality of Anchorage. Public Relations Director for Chugiak-Eagle River Senior Center. President of Chinooks Board of Directors. Term expires 2028.
Affiliations
Anchorage Assembly to weigh mandatory penalties for public intoxication and petitions for candidates
Anchorage's Assembly takes up mandatory penalties for repeat public intoxication, signatures to run for office and a mixed-use condo tax break Nov. 17.

Anchorage passes surveillance rules, rejects new limits on plate reader searches
The Assembly wrote police plate reader and crime center rules into code 11-1, but left the 14-day data limit in police policy and rejected new search limits.

Anchorage fire chief expects two recruit academies in 2027 as about 50 can retire
Anchorage's fire chief expects two recruit academies in 2027 as about 50 firefighters can retire. Even that may fall short, and a third costs about $2 million.

Anchorage budget office lists pool closures and bus cuts as possible options for 2028 gap
Anchorage budget office outlined cuts that could close a $15 to $30 million 2028 gap. • Options include closing 3 pools, cutting a bus route and axing 21 police community officer jobs. • None are in the 2027 budget. Assembly votes Nov. 17.

Anchorage Assembly takes up surveillance rules again as sponsors flag Axon contract data terms
Sponsors say the Axon contract lets the company keep police metadata indefinitely. The city attorney says Axon can't see plate data. Round two is Wednesday.

Anchorage Assembly to hear proposal capping city department staffing Tuesday
Anchorage departments have topped their budgeted staffing five years running. An Assembly proposal would make them get permission first. Hearing Tuesday.

Two Assembly members propose requiring voter signatures for Anchorage candidates to get on the ballot
“ballot access is still available to 31 individuals that fail to submit a sufficient nomination petition.”

Anchorage schools model a $9 million budget gap for fiscal 2028
Anchorage schools project a $9 million fiscal 2028 gap after reserves and assumed energy relief. Officials say underlying cost growth is closer to $40 million.

Anchorage officials fail to agree on shared school-closure committee
The Assembly and School Board could not agree on giving both bodies votes on a school-closure committee. The existing board-led panel remains.

Assembly members seek equal vote on joint school rightsizing panel
Three Anchorage Assembly members want a real vote on how the city closes schools, not the non-voting seat the School Board offered, as consolidation looms.

Two closed Anchorage school buildings head back to municipal hands
Two closed Anchorage schools, Abbott Loop and Campbell STEM, are set to return to the municipality, moving their fate from the School Board to the Assembly.

An ordinance would tighten oversight of Anchorage's staffing overruns
Anchorage's government has run past its budgeted position count five years running. Three Assembly members want future overruns to need the mayor's sign-off.

Fifteen Anchorage Assembly members will have their spending accounts examined in a 9-2 vote
Fifteen Anchorage Assembly members will have their $24,000 spending accounts examined. Nobody will be required to answer the findings in writing.

Anchorage homeowners wanted every big assessment rechecked. They got a narrower fix
Anchorage homeowners who saw assessments jump as much as 40% asked for a do-over. Three Assembly members proposed one. The Assembly passed something smaller.

The Anchorage Assembly may audit every member's spending
The Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on auditing every member spending account back to 2023. The review seeks to identify potential inconsistencies in how members use their annual budgets.

Anchorage Assembly committees would consolidate under a draft from the Rules chair
Anchorage Assembly committees would consolidate and meet less often under the Rules chair's draft. Members have said the current load is too many hours.

Who controls Chugach access spending: trail advocates or the neighborhoods next door?
Anchorage delayed creating a board to steer Chugach park-access spending, as neighborhoods and trail advocates split over who should control it. The Assembly decides Oct. 6.

Anchorage Assembly rejects investigation into member Martinez's travel, 5-6
Anchorage Assembly rejected an investigation into Assembly Member George Martinez's travel Tuesday, 5-6, after Vice Chair Daniel Volland switched his vote citing flaws in the accusation.

Removing an Assembly member takes 94 days and a supermajority
Anchorage published the map for removing an Assembly member: 94 days, a two-thirds vote, and the city pays the accused member's legal bills either way.

Anchorage Assembly weighs how hard to investigate Martinez's travel
The Anchorage Assembly must pick between a quiet look at George Martinez's travel and a subpoena-backed investigation that could end in his removal.

Chugiak High softball wins second state title in four years
Chugiak High softball won its second state title in four years despite playing only 11 games before playoffs, with more than half the roster batting above .400.

Anchorage's proposed tax break caps at $497,000. New homes average $750,000.
“given all that we've seen and we've looked at as far as the trends of who's buying houses in Anchorage right now, I don't know that it's first-time homebuyers”

Anchorage police and fire overtime budgets built on 2010 math, OMB says
Anchorage police and fire overtime budgets are running millions over approved limits because the city has not updated the math since roughly 2010, OMB told the Assembly on Thursday.

Anchorage's Assembly weighs censure — or removal — of George Martinez
The Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on two paths for George Martinez after a state ethics order — censure and close it, or launch removal proceedings. It's never done either in 50 years.

Anchorage Assembly approves $750K True North grant after amendments fail and crisis-care dispute divides members
Anchorage Assembly approved a $750,000 grant to True North Recovery for a Fairview behavioral health facility after rejecting two amendments that would have required written limits on crisis care.

Perjury counts detail Martinez's 63-minute Fort Lauderdale trip and evasive oath testimony
“formulaic and evasive”

Anchorage Assembly to consider first-ever removal proceeding against Martinez
Anchorage Assembly votes Tuesday on whether to remove East Anchorage member George Martinez over perjury, fraud, and disclosure violations, the first removal proceeding in municipal history.

Anchorage Assembly introduces resolution to initiate first-ever removal proceeding against member Martinez
“outright refused to respond to questions or provide answers to straightforward inquiries”

Anchorage cuts a top City Hall job it just created
Anchorage is scrapping a senior City Hall post it created two years ago — the administration says it fixed the broken operations the job was invented to fix, so the job can go.

Anchorage Assembly members call on Martinez to resign after APOC ruling
Two Anchorage Assembly members called on George Martinez to resign after an APOC ruling found he willfully used campaign funds for personal benefit and lied under oath.

Two Assembly members want Martinez out. The removal law may not reach him
Two members want Martinez gone over APOC fines. The removal law they're trying to use might not be a fit, and the math to carry it out would be an uphill battle.

Anchorage raises veteran bid preference cap to $50,000
Anchorage Assembly approved a new veteran-owned business bid preference capped at $50,000 and simplified local bidder preferences, effective July 1, 2026.

Anchorage advances 5% bid preference for veteran-owned firms
Anchorage Assembly advanced an ordinance giving veteran-owned businesses a five percent preference on city contracts capped at $50,000, affecting a city where veterans make up 13 percent of the adult population.

Anchorage Assembly weighs veteran contracting preferences
Anchorage Assembly is deciding between two veteran contracting preference proposals that differ on preference size, eligibility windows, and whether preferences apply to qualifications-based bids or price-based bids only.

Anchorage veteran preference could exclude recent Afghanistan, Iraq vets
Anchorage Assembly is split on a veteran business preference for city contracts, with disagreement over whether to limit it to veterans discharged in the past five years and whether to require honorable discharge status.

Anchorage veteran preference splits on eligibility, contract scope
Anchorage Assembly weighs two veteran business preference plans with different eligibility and scope. • S-1: 5 percent preference up to $50,000 for any honorably discharged veteran, applies to all contracts. • S-2: limits to Alaska residents separated within five years, sliding scale, bids only, $500,000 lifetime cap. • Effective July 1, 2026 if passed.

Anchorage proposes second round of child care licensing code changes
Anchorage Assembly votes May 26 on second round of child care licensing cuts to remove rules that duplicate state standards. Changes include dropping annual physicals for children, eliminating nutrition rules already covered by state and USDA, and allowing more online training. City oversees 92 licensed homes and 98 centers with no new revenue impact expected.

Anchorage Assembly considers new Public Safety Commission with community focus
Anchorage Assembly considers reviving a Public Safety Commission with nine voting community members and five non-voting agency reps. Commission would advise on police and fire policies, hold public hearings, and request records, but cannot investigate or discipline. Public hearing set for May 26.

Anchorage faces mobile home park crisis as South Park Estates closes
South Park Estates mobile home park is closing due to unfixable water damage, leaving over 30 households with few options in Anchorage's tight affordable housing market.

Assembly Approves Study of Wildfire Service Area for High-Risk Zones
Anchorage Assembly voted to study creating a wildfire service area funded by property taxes on high-risk zones to pay for dedicated fire protection where development meets wildland.
