Daniel George is one of three candidates running for Anchorage Assembly District 1, representing North Anchorage. We asked each candidate the same five questions and gave them 90 seconds to answer each one. Read the transcript of George’s answers below and click the play button above to listen to where he stands. Find the rest of the Anchorage municipal election candidates’ Q&As here.
1. Why should people vote for you for Anchorage Assembly?
Hi, sure. First of all, thanks for having me on. I would hope that folks would vote for me for the Anchorage Assembly based on the fact that, first of all, I've been involved in the community for many years. I had the good fortune to be born and raised here in Anchorage. I grew up on Government Hill. I've been involved in my community council. I chaired the Mountain View Community Council for a number of years. Actually chaired the Federation of Community Councils for a number of years as well. I sat on the Planning and Zoning Commission for the last two years. I've helped to run a neighborhood patrol in Mountain View. I've lived in, attended school or owned a business in eight out of the 11 community councils of District 1, which is the North Anchorage district that I'm running for. Deeply involved in the community, built roots in the community over a lifetime. And I think that's really essential to have someone who understands our community, who has built those relationships over a long period of time. It helps you solve problems within the community. And so I think that makes me well-suited to represent all the folks in North Anchorage.
2. What is the single biggest issue facing the city and how would you address it?
I appreciate the question. The single biggest issue facing our city today is probably the fact that we are struggling to maintain a working-age population. We are losing families — folks that want to start a business, folks that want to have families — to the Mat-Su and to other places outside of Alaska. How do we attract people to Anchorage? How do we attract businesses and investment to our community? You know it's, we can't necessarily compete with the Mat-Su in terms of, you know, large lots and low regulation necessarily, but I think we can do a much better job of examining our tax burden and the quality of life. You know, I'm a real estate agent by day. I've spent the last eight years as a realtor in Anchorage, and I've sold a lot of houses to folks that are moving out to the Mat-Su Valley, and I've yet to sell a house from someone moving to Mat-Su to Anchorage. I would love that trend to reverse. One of our biggest challenges is simply convincing folks that Anchorage is worth investing in. And I think that's a perception issue. I think that we have to change the perception of what our local parks and communities are seen as. Folks need to feel that their neighborhoods are safe to live in. They need to feel that they are well invested in and I think that that comes with setting the expectation for what is acceptable in the public spaces. A great city is simply a collection of great neighborhoods.
3. What do you see as the best way to reverse Anchorage's trend of outmigration in recent years?
Well, the cost of living in Anchorage is particularly burdensome for a lot of folks. It comes down to housing. I've worked in housing for years, like I said. I started my very first job right out of high school over 20 years ago, was building the Cook Inlet houses in Mountain View for a local builder, John Hagmeier. I spent my entire summer, actually, before and after, all the way through college, building homes in Anchorage throughout the municipality. I've swung a hammer and built houses. I was a member of Labor's Local 341 for a hot minute. I worked for Cook Inlet Housing Authority for a little bit, and I've just, I've been in housing like I said, I'm a real estate agent and so on. I understand housing issues, and I've also been a property manager, a landlord, and I could go on and on. Housing is one of the biggest expenses we have, and I think that when we focus on providing housing opportunities for folks of all affordabilities, is how we really solve the problem. It's not just a matter of providing opportunities for new construction. Unfortunately, new construction is beyond the affordable range of most Anchorage residents. It's part of the problem. It's part of the equation, but we really need to focus on affordable housing options in Anchorage.
4. How would you reduce homelessness in Anchorage?
Well, first of all, I think we need to set the table larger for the conversation. In the last five or six years, we've had an influx of federal spending that has allowed us to do a lot of really great things. We've expanded our mobile crisis team to 24/7 which has helped us to provide services that are also billable to Medicaid. We've provided essential services that have reduced the billing on and the service demand on our first responders, which has been fantastic. However, we still have a problem that seems to be getting worse. Our unhoused neighbors continue to live in our parks and our green spaces, and I think we have set the expectation that that's okay. I think we need to change that expectation, but we need to set the table larger. It's not just an Anchorage problem. The Anchorage taxpayers can't be expected to foot this entire bill. We need to have state entity individuals at the table. The Anchorage, excuse me, the Alaska Mental Health Trust Authority needs to be part of this. We need to reach out to AFN. We need to ask for their help, for how we have this conversation, for how we help solve these problems. This is a bigger-than-Anchorage problem. This is a statewide problem.
5. How would you improve public safety in Anchorage?
Sure. How would we improve public safety in Anchorage? Well, first of all, we need to make sure that our sworn officers, that are those that have put their lives on the line for our public safety, have the resources necessary to do the job. I think that, by and large, we're starting to do a good job of that. I think part of it’s conversation with ensuring that they both have the resources they need as well as the policy backing as well. I think there's a level of frustration among some of our law enforcement that it's catch and release, that it's like playing whack-a-mole, where we're pushing folks from one place to another, which, you know, when we're dealing with some of these populations who are highly visible that, it really it's not doing the community any favors. It's not doing the reputation of our community any favors, and it's really demoralizing for our law enforcement. We need the resources with our prosecutors, and we need the will to do something about folks that refuse to go into treatment, refuse to make the decision to participate in the opportunities that we're providing for them, and continue to not follow the laws in our city. I think that is a leadership decision at the city level.
Read the candidate Q&As with George’s competitors: Daniel Volland and Nicholas Danger.