Assemblywoman Zaletel to Mayor Bronson: 'This is on you.'

Anchorage Assemblywoman Meg Zaletel sent off one hell of an email this afternoon — and the email was headed in the direction of Anchorage Mayor David Bronson's inbox.

The email shows the Midtown Representative pulling no punches with Anchorage's new mayor, laying responsibility for Anchorage's healthcare crisis and any future negative outcomes squarely on Bronson's back.

"While you believe in personal choice, your choice to not actively employ strategies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 are harming our residents and the economy," Zaletel wrote, adding that rampant COVID-19 and restricted care in Anchorage hospitals were the direct result of Bronson's  "unwillingness to enact simple public health and safety measures."

The Midtown Assemblywoman urged Mayor Bronson to "reverse course now" not only to protect Anchorage's public health and safety, but to forestall any further adverse healthcare and economic impacts.

Zaletel, closing out her email, wrote that unless Mayor Bronson acted quickly, the situation in Anchorage would continue to deteriorate before they improve. She told the mayor that he had a "specific obligation to municipal employees to protect their health and safety," and that as a leader, Bronson also had an "obligation to protect all residents."

Twice, the Anchorage Assembly has asked Mayor Bronson to direct that masks or face coverings be required in public indoor areas of municipal buildings. Twice, Mayor Bronson has refused to do so.

Mayor Bronson’s inaction on COVID-19, coupled with a Tuesday evening press release from the Office of the Mayor in which Bronson plainly stated he would not mandate masks or vaccines, seems to indicate that Mayor Bronson is not concerned that Alaska's largest hospital, Providence Alaska Medical Center, is now making decisions about who gets treated and who does not.

Today, Anchorage hospitals reported no available adult ICU beds in the city, while this afternoon, Mayor Bronson announced the appointment of Jim Winegarner as the Municipality of Anchorage Director of Real Estate.

Winegarner's appointment came after Christina Hendrickson — Mayor Bronson’s now ex Real Estate director, filed a whistleblower complaint alleging that the hiring of Winegarner violated Alaska Municipal Code, constituted gross mismanagement, and that the Bronson administration engaged in the fraudulent use of public funds.

Dear Mayor Bronson -

While you believe in personal choice, your choice to not actively employ strategies to mitigate the effects of COVID-19 are harming our residents and the economy. Rampant COVID-19 and restricted care in our hospitals are the direct result of your unwillingness to enact simple public health and safety measures. I urge you to reverse course now not only to protect our community's public health and safety, but also to forestall any more adverse healthcare and economic impacts. Continued unmitigated COVID-19 is harming residents’ ability to get necessary medical care, undermining employers' ability to find employees, and resulting in cancellations by groups wanting to hold their events and meetings in Anchorage.

The Assembly has explicitly asked you on two occasions to act and yet you explicitly refuse even as COVID-19 continues to increase throughout the community and break new daily case count records.

Unless you act quickly things will continue to deteriorate before they improve. You have a specific obligation to Municipal employees to protect their health and safety, and as a leader in this community, you have an obligation to protect all residents.