‘We’ve got to make it work’: Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance talks about snow response and remote learning for students
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - A record-breaking October snowstorm, which included Anchorage School District leaders switching to their remote learning plan, tested Anchorage Mayor Suzanne LaFrance’s new snow strategy this week.
“Anchorage is a winter city, and this was really a business-as-usual kind of snowstorm,” LaFrance said said during a live interview with Alaska’s News Source. “Teams have been out all night and all day, clearing the snow, and they’ve done a great job.”
The storm left many parents either working from home or calling out to help their children with online assignments.
“We want to work with ASD to make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep the schools open, because we know what a big impact that is to families and the economy,” LaFrance added, “and we’re going to focus on muni roads and clearing snow from those roads and taking feedback and continuing to improve.”
LaFrance said her administration has been planning for winter since her July swearing-in, which includes increasing communication with people in Anchorage.
“Preparation is essential and so is teamwork and we need to continue to work together,” LaFrance said. “And also, keep in mind that it’s going to take some time. We’ve ordered new equipment, we’ve got to make some investments, we’ve neglected our assets, so it’s going to take some time and we’ve got more work to do.”
LaFrance pointed to the Municipality of Anchorage’s new plow-out information website, which you can access here.
During the 2024 mayoral race, LaFrance made plowing a key issue, as she targeted former Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson’s record. That included accusing his administration of failing to keep up with snowstorms and leaving neighborhood roads treacherous for weeks, leading to remote learning days for students as buses could not safely pick up children.
Using the context of large, back-to-back snowstorms, Bronson repeatedly defended his record, saying he had declared a snow emergency allowing him to take emergency actions, including hiring extra private company crews.
Since taking office, LaFrance has warned of aging snow removal equipment and a shrinking staff not being paid competitive wages.
“We’re making good progress when it comes to filling those operator positions that were vacant and we have included a wage increase in our budget for 2025 so that those positions are more competitive,” LaFrance said.
Some of that equipment, the mayor says, will not be available until next winter.
“We’ve got to make it work and you know we’re doing everything we can to prepare in advance for the next snowstorm,” LaFrance said.
Watch the full interview above.
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