Dave Bronson, mayor of Anchorage, and First Lady Deb Bronson were at the City Clerk’s office at midday on Tuesday to officially file for reelection.
Candidates must file officially with the city as well as with the regulatory Alaska Public Office Commission, a step Bronson had completed a year ago.
Unlike the fanfare of competitor Suzanne LaFrance, who filed last week with a cadre of comrades holding campaign signs, the Bronsons were just there for the formality, not for the press attention.
And, as is the case with Anchorage’s local media, there was little attention paid to the Bronsons as they completed the forms for candidacy. Instead, the Anchorage Daily News had stories about Democrat candidates Suzanne LaFrance and Chris Tuck.
Bronson, a fiscal, pro-business conservative, faces a host of other candidates, but he is the only one among them who has won a citywide race. The Democrats are backing LaFrance and Tuck, who are polling second and third in a recent union-sponsored poll. Bill Popp, formerly head of the economic development agency for Anchorage, is also said to be in the top four.