The first results are in for the special election to fill the new 12th seat on the Anchorage Assembly, and candidate Daniel Volland has a comfortable lead on his challengers.
The winner of this election will join Assembly member Chris Constant in representing North Anchorage.
Of the roughly 4,200 ballots that have been counted, Volland has roughly 39% of the vote. He has about 220 more votes than his closest challenger, Stephanie Taylor, while Tasha Hotch is in third with around 16% of the vote.
Volland is an optometrist and the vice president of the South Addition Community Council. This is his first time running for elected office. He says he’s optimistic his lead will hold.
“I think it just kind of shows that we made a concerted effort to engage the community and get out there and knock on a lot of doors,” Volland said.
Volland said he’s most looking forward to working on the city’s approach to homelessness. The Sullivan Arena mass shelter is set to close at the end of June, and two top facilitators who’d been working with the Assembly and Mayor Dave Broson’s administration on a long term homelessness plan recently stepped down.
“I hope that we haven’t reached an impasse and that we can get back on track and work with the Assembly and the administration together,” Volland said.
Volland said another top priority will be ensuring safer trail areas for pedestrians.
Election results are set to be certified during the next Assembly meeting on July 12.
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Wesley Early covers Anchorage life and city politics for Alaska Public Media. Reach him at wearly@alaskapublic.org and follow him on X at @wesley_early. Read more about Wesley here.
