At each Regular Assembly Meeting, the Chair gives a report on recent community events and issues of interest before the Assembly. If you missed the Chair's Report, you can catch up below.
View the recording of the remarks.
Good evening everyone and welcome to our regular business meeting. I will commit to generally keeping chair reports brief, but will also ask a bit of indulgence today, because we have several things to highlight!
First, recognizing the new Assembly:
Last week, Vice Chair Volland and I shared a message, also published as an opinion in the Anchorage Daily News, to communicate our approach in this role, invite the public to better understand the legislative process, and to keep engaging with our diverse body. A brief highlight:
As Assembly Leadership, we’re committed to laying a foundation of service, supporting our colleagues to work towards their goals and strengthening the trust in local government that brings meaningful change to our community. Some principles for how we approach this work:
- Start with learning. Local government is complex, and we work best when we start with information and understanding.
- We each carry part of the load. We have more work than hours in the day, but every member brings something: expertise, a community connection, passion for an issue they care about deeply.
- Focus on issues and find solutions. We won't always agree, and we welcome vigorous debate. The legislative process precisely to work through hard problems and arrive at the best available solutions.
Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month
Next, as we will recognize shortly, May is Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month. Anchorage is home to people from many cultures spanning the Asian continent and across the Pacific Ocean, with local opportunities to learn, celebrate, enjoy music, dance, food, and unique traditions. I strongly encourage members and the public to participate, not just in May but year round!
I also want to say “Salamat Po,” or “thank you very much” in Tagalog, to the Asian Alaskan Cultural Center for Asian Cultural Night this past Friday at the Performing Arts Center. Each year AACC chooses a culture to feature, with this year showcasing the Philippines, with a beautiful performance by the Samahan Filipino American Performing Arts and Education Center in San Diego. Mark your calendars, the next featured culture in 2027 will be China!
Short Term Rental Registrations
Next, an update on the Short-Term Rental registrations. Since implementation of the short-term rental registration ordinance on May 1, approximately 550 units have been registered. The Clerk reports that implementation has proceeded smoothly so far, with registration applications currently processed within one to two business days after submission.
As a reminder, unit(s) needs to be registered by Thursday, July 30, 2026. More information about the new registration requirements, including Frequently Asked Questions and step-by-step how to instructions, is on the website at
muni.org/str.
Public Safety Advisory Commission Proposal at CivicAnchor
Next, our monthly CivicAnchor feature at Loussac Library is the proposal for the Public Safety Advisory Commission, an ordinance which will be heard on May 26th. Visit the display in the Loussac atrium or online at
muni.org/CivicAnchor by the end of May to learn more about the history of the Public Safety Advisory Commission, and how to share your thoughts on the proposal.
The CivicAnchor display revolves monthly, so I encourage you to visit it regularly to stay updated on current projects within the Municipality.
Anchorage History Quilts
Speaking of displays, you probably noticed something new behind the dais tonight.
To celebrate Anchorage's centennial in 2015, the Anchorage Log Cabin Quilters’ Guild members held a juried show of quilts to depict people and places significant in Anchorage's history in each decade of our community’s first one hundred years. This ten-quilt exhibit, including four quilts reflecting the decades since the Municipality was established in 1975, was first displayed in the 2014 Great Alaska Quilt Show, then again at the 2015 Centennial celebration on the Park Strip.
This year, in celebration of our 50th Muni-versary, the Municipality of Anchorage commissioned a quilt representing our most recent decade, 2015 – 2024. The five quilts will be on display here in Assembly Chambers through the official end of our fiftieth year, which we will recognize in September.
Instructions to New Members
Finally, I want to personally welcome new Assembly Members to their first meeting!
To help you get up to speed on our processes, I will go slow tonight, and do my best to help you along, as will your neighbors on the dais. If you're unsure of anything, please ask for a point of information, or talk with your neighbor to get clarification. We'll work through the agenda and procedures together.
View the recording of the remarks.
After being voted in as the new Assembly Chair, Assembly Member Anna Brawley gave the following acceptance speech:
To my colleagues: thank you for your confidence in my leadership, and for Vice Chair Volland, reflected in this organization vote. Also congratulations to the new members, and colleagues returning to the body for another round. You have agreed to do a job that is difficult, impossible to do perfectly, but is also rewarding and meaningful.
The 12 of us are entrusted with leading the legislative branch of the Municipality, representing 290,000 residents from Eklutna and Chugiak, from Cook Inlet to the Chugach Range, down to Girdwood and Turnagain Arm (and of course, to quote two former colleagues, you can’t avoid Midtown). I look forward to working with all of you, the diverse communities you represent, and the unique perspectives, values, and energy we each bring to this dias.
We are inheriting an Assembly that is strong, committed to its policy priorities, and already hard at work toward achieving positive changes for the good of our community. But I also want to emphasize that this body, this institution, has been now entrusted to us 12, and it is ours to steward, to shape under our collective leadership and care. I am excited to continue strengthening, stewarding, and shaping this branch—we can anticipate more changes to come, after we all take time to settle into our roles.
I look forward to the next year of our work together, to realize some the results of our shared work, and also have some fun along the way.