The Anchorage mayoral runoff election is Tuesday, and candidates Forrest Dunbar and Dave Bronson are collecting last-minute campaign donations in the final stretch. Campaign finance reports, which were due on Tuesday, show Bronson’s campaign has outraised Dunbar in the runoff election by about $77,000.
Overall, Dunbar has still raised more — close to $591,000 in total, compared to Bronson’s $559,000.
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This mayoral race is one of the most heated in the city’s recent history. In addition to fiery rhetoric, campaign finances have come under scrutiny. Dunbar’s campaign has filed multiple complaints against Bronson’s with the Alaska Public Offices Commission, alleging sloppy reporting practices and violation of state campaign finance laws.
An attorney for the Bronson campaign responded that “while there may be certain issues that need to be addressed,” there were no intentional violations of campaign finance law.
APOC denied a request for an expedited hearing on the violations last month after the Bronson campaign agreed to conduct an audit of its finances. It’s unclear whether the audit has been completed.
Kavitha George worked at Alaska Public Media from 2021 to 2024. Her coverage areas included statewide politics and climate change.