Assembly Members Thank Task Force and Outline Next Steps

With the final meeting of the Task Force to Reimagine the Public Safety Commission now complete, Assembly Members Felix Rivera, Anna Brawley, and Kameron Perez-Verdia extend their sincere gratitude to the task force members and the many Anchorage residents who contributed to the six-month effort. Their time, expertise, and candor shaped a set of recommendations that will help inform next steps.

"It is my hope that a Public Safety Commission would work with the Anchorage Police Department and other Municipal agencies to address public safety issues on behalf of everyone in Anchorage, and to build a community of trust," said Task Force Co-Convenor Rich Curtner of the Alaska Black Caucus and the Alaska Coalition for Justice.

The Task Force's final report highlights several key themes:

• strong public interest in transparent and community-centered public safety systems;
• the value of a commission structure that balances accountability and collaboration with the Anchorage Police Department; and
• the need for clear roles, responsibilities, and authority to ensure effectiveness.​

The report will come before the Assembly for an acceptance vote on December 16. This procedural step simply acknowledges receipt of the Task Force's recommendations and signals the transition from the Task Force phase into further engagement and ordinance drafting.

"Through the last six months, the Task Force gathered plenty of community feedback and researched a variety of options for how a future Public Safety Commission could look," said Assembly Member Felix Rivera, Task Force Co-Convenor and District 4 Assembly Member.

"The next several months will be the next phase of this work - putting pen to paper while considering all points of view and crafting an ordinance that would reestablish a commission."

Assembly Members Rivera, Brawley, and Perez-Verdia emphasized a continued commitment to engaging the public, stakeholders, and the Municipal administration as they strive to develop legislation with broad community support and capable of earning approval from both the Assembly and the Mayor.

For more information on the Task Force's work, visit the Assembly's Focus on Public Safety webpage.

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CONTACT

​Felix Rivera
District 4, Midtown
[email protected]

Anna Brawley
District 3, West Anchorage
[email protected]

Kameron Perez-Verdia
District 3, West Anchorage
[email protected]

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