Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson adamantly opposes an attempt by the Anchorage Assembly to bypass his authority and reimpose a citywide mask mandate on nearly every resident.
The mayor issued a strong condemnation of a draft ordinance introduced by the liberal block of the Assembly on Sept. 20. It will be up for public hearing during the Sept. 28 Assembly meeting.
“Let me be clear, I am opposed to this ordinance,” Bronson emphasized in a newly released video response. “I believe it is heavy-handed, out of line with the will of the people and businesses of Anchorage, and it serves as just the latest example of how this Assembly believes it must force people into submission through fear and government sanctions.”
Bronson encouraged Anchorage residents to turn out for the next Assembly meeting and voice their concerns.
It’s clear that this Assembly has a savior complex and is hell-bent on violating public constitutional rights.
Assemblywoman Jamie Allard
On Sept. 20, the Assembly held a contentious special meeting to get the draft ordinance introduced so it can be acted upon at the upcoming meeting. The meeting occurred in City Hall with Assembly Chair Suzanne LaFrance warning members of the public to refrain from making comments out of turn and to mask up while in the room. They did not appear to comply with the latter request.
After the proposed ordinance was introduced, Assemblywoman Jamie Allard called out her liberal colleagues for overstepping their rightful authority and trying to impose a mandate which the mayor has said he opposes.
“It’s clear that this Assembly has a savior complex and is hell bent on violating public constitutional rights,” Allard said. “This body will not stop until they get what they want. There is no doubt the Assembly is absolutely exceeding its authority. We are a legislative branch, and we have an executive branch which the Assembly continues to disregard.”
Assemblyman Christopher Constant asked for a “quick rebuttal” to quip: “I would just say that is a member’s opinion.”
During the limited time set aside for public comment, participants voiced overwhelming opposition to a new mask mandate. Eight of the 10 participants blasted the plan, with many calling it an unenforceable intrusion into doctor-patient relationships.
Please do not violate the separation of powers found in Alaska Statute and in the muni code.
Anchorage Attorney Mario Bird
Local attorney Mario Bird wrapped up public comments by warning Assembly members that their attempt to bypass the mayor and enforce a mask mandate could be a violation of the separation of powers as spelled out in both city code and Alaska statute. Bird noted that allegations of violating separation of powers is grounds for recall, according to a recent Alaska Supreme Court ruling.
“I don’t want any more recalls,” he said. “I would rather see our Assembly members serve and fulfill their oaths and uphold the laws. What we have here in municipal code, number one, is a very clear delineation that the Assembly has legislative powers, and number two, the mayor has executive powers … Please do not violate the separation of powers found in Alaska Statute and in the muni code.”
Assemblywoman Crystal Kennedy said she was “rather shocked” by her colleagues plan.
It is unclear what options the Assembly has for enforcement since the mayor controls law enforcement.
None of the Assembly members supporting the mandate spoke on the issue. The ordinance, however, notes that Mayor Bronson has refused to impose a citywide mask mandate, and then even acknowledges that he has “management authority over Municipal buildings” according to city code, which includes “issuing directives regulating their use.”
Nevertheless, the ordinance states that so long as Anchorage is in “high alert level” meaning either there are either more than 50 new cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 persons in the city over the past 7 days or the “percentage of positive COVID-19 tests in the past 7 days exceeds 8%” the mask mandate will be in effect.
If passed it would require that “all individuals must wear masks or face coverings over their noses and mouths when they are indoors in public settings or communal spaces outside the home; or outdoors at large crowded public events.”
ALASKA WATCHMAN DIRECT TO YOUR INBOX
Limited allowances are made for those who cannot tolerate a mask for physical or mental reasons or for those working in environments where masks pose a danger. The mandate does not apply to children under age five or to presenters, musicians and other communicators who are 10 feet from the audience. Nor does it apply to competitive wrestling.
The onus of enforcement falls to employers who must “deny admittance to any individual who fails to comply with this ordinance and shall require or compel removal of such individuals from the premises.” This includes city buildings which are under direct control of the mayor.
The ordinance ends by asserting that the city “reserves the right to use all available enforcement options to assure compliance with this order.” That said, it is unclear just what options the Assembly has since the mayor controls law enforcement throughout Anchorage.
If passed, the mandate would remain in place until Dec. 31 unless otherwise lifted by the Assembly.
TAKING ACTION
35 Comments
Those who live with the fear of death in their hearts, shall always be susceptible to manipulation through fear.
Masks are symbolic of the fear. Misery loves company. Those who are afraid, want everyone to be afraid with them, or at least have the appearance of being afraid. It is the the ones who live in fear who have isolated themselves from reality, from truth.
This will not last. The illusion is breaking down. Only the blind will comply.
Meanwhile these fools continue to ignore 3 stone, cold, FACTS. #1 – paper masks (the store bought blue and white paper masks come in a box that has a disclaimer on it stating that their masks do not protect against viruses) and cloth/fabric masks are worthless. Anything short of a properly fitting KN-95 or higher respirator is worthless against this virus – even Fauci said so in private emails to fellow virologists . #2 – Alaska was one of the first, if not the first to see this virus in early December of 2019. It was brought here by air cargo pilots from China that routinely overnight in Anchorage. The virus was on the Kenai Peninsula the 2nd week of December due to the fact I HAD it over Christmas vacation of 2019. A high number of Alaskans have had the virus already and beat it. #3 – Natural Immunity is better than any of the vaccines. While ignoring therapeutics they fire hospital workers with Natural Immunity that have worked the frontlines since day 1.
Ponder me this – if masks work, why so many cases in mandatory mask areas? If vaccines work, how can unvaccinated people be a danger to them? I’ll end with the most obvious question of them all: If covid is so dangerous wouldn’t all unmasked people be dead already?
Just a few comments.
First, it is true that the paper masks, which tend to be worn incorrectly anyway, are far less useful than N-95 or KN-95. Cloth masks /can/ be better, but the fashion among certain groups to simply pull their turtleneck (or whatever) collar over their mouth is not a good implementation of a mask. Fortunately, where I shop most people these days are using KN-95 or N-95. These are no longer expensive.
Second, it’s not clear that Alaska was the first case in the US. I don’t see anything supporting that.
Third, it is likely true that natural immunity is “better” than a vaccine. But natural immunity comes with a roughly 2% risk of death, and a non-trivial risk of prolonged COVID symptoms.
And in regards to your ponderance:
“If masks work, why so many cases in mandatory mask areas?”. You’re getting your causal relationship wrong. Mask mandates are (generally) instituted because of high case counts. Mask wearing is one of several remediation measures, which also include social distancing and restricting activities such as singing loudly indoors with others.
“If vaccines work, how can unvaccinated people be a danger to them?”. You know the answer to this. No knowledgeable person has ever claimed that vaccines are 100% effective, yet anti-vaxxers continue to attack this strawman for their own, I’ll say generously, questionable purposes. All evidence points to very good results. But even long-lived vaccines we’ve been taking for decades aren’t completely effective. The MMR vaccine is about 95% effective. The flu vaccine is about 50% effective in many years. But cutting the “R” rate in half can still have a tremendous public health benefit. The COVID vaccines seem to be somewhere between those, and they are extremely effective at preventing the most serious cases of COVID. This is why the vast, vast majority of hospitalizations and deaths from COVID are among the unvaccinated.
“If covid is so dangerous wouldn’t all unmasked people be dead already?” This is a ridiculous question and I suspect you realize it. But I’ll go ahead and answer. Nobody has ever claimed that COVID kills everyone. It seems that the death rate is about 2%. You don’t need to look far to see vociferous anti-mask, anti-vax people changing their tune as they take their last breaths. Hopefully recovery rates continue to improve as treatment gets better, but also hampered now due to lack of hospital capacity. There are about 700,000 of your fellow Americans who are dead because of COVID. At this rate it seems quite plausible that we’ll exceed 1 million dead Americans. About half of those will have been preventable if people had taken the vaccine that is freely available to them. There are millions more who continue to experience long-term symptoms from COVID.
All lies Fred. I don’t see anything that supports these points. Please stop being a gaslighting know-it-all.
“Anti-Vaxxers”
You use general terms to segregate against people who have an understanding that doesn’t match your own.
Screw your mask and you injection.. time will tell.. so shut up and let people decide for themselves.
No one is impressed with you vomiting up the media given talking point..
Must work for Pfizer.
It is interesting that “none?” of the Assembly members supporting the mask mandate took the opportunity to speak. What? Makes no sense. At least tell us what you are thinking. Maybe we can find some value in what seems to be just a dumb idea.
But wait, maybe it is not the value or the ROI of the idea but just that the Assembly gets to beat people up and tell businesses what to do? Mommy issues? Daddy issues? Well I might have a solution for this mess. Lets all chip in and buy all of the liberal Assembly members one of those Bozo the Clown punching dummies! They’re only like $20 on Amazon. The liberal Assembly members can punch it and kick it, twist that big red nose and pull his hair 🙂 They can work out all their frustrations so when they show up at a meeting maybe they will actually have some good ideas and speak up to support those ideas. Oh and we should get that on video. It will be the gift that keeps on giving.
Stand strong Mayor Bronson!
Better yet, let’s buy them each a one-way ticket to Seattle.
If this passes and I am Mayor Bronson, I am immediately telling all Anchorage residents to ignore the mandate.
The mayor should be telling the citizens of Anchorage to ignore any such mandate. It is illegal and unconstitutional aside from being just stupid.
Ack! Ok, first, , I agree with the article, I agree with mayor Bronson, but Timothy Colbath above you are missing the purpose of the standard paper or cloth mask – yes, it has almost no value in protection of the weare, but is effective as a shield keeping possible droplets from the wearer dispersing into the air. That is how such masks are intended, and it is wearying constantly hearing the mantra ‘masks don’t work’, when actually in essence that is a pretty narcissistic statement if one really looks at the facts and thinks about it, as no, they don’t work for wearer, but could protect me, your neighbor, from you, if you are sick. And vice versa.
But that aside ……
With that said, nothing is perfect and if anything mask mandates don’t work, or work far less effectively than people simply choosing on their own accord to wear a mask, rather than being forced. It is human nature to rebel against senseless mandates and rules, and we don’t need to be told what to do. If a business is crowded and feels more comfortable with employees and customers wearing a mask, it should be their choice to set their own rules. People can choose not to patronize if they absolutely don’t want to comply. The assembly does not need to act as mini dictators.
Your data on droplets is very out of date. The virus is spread through aerosols, not droplets. The masks don’t protect against aerosols. Without proper mitigation, the aerosols will stay in the air (inside a room or building) for several hours to several days. Masks give wearers/employers a false sense of security to believe that they have a modicum of protection. As has been proven through stats and data in every area, the masks haven’t prevented any sort of spread, anywhere it’s been tried.
We in a war, people. The globalists are coming for the kids with their A-Needle-in-Every-Arm agenda. So if you STILL believe (contrary to EVERY Randomized Controlled Trial which says otherwise) face masks protect your neighbor, just know you are aiding and abetting the enemy by demonizing your neighbor as narcissistic, while you falsely virtue-signal your “I care about my neighbor” BS. A coercive Communist tactic in order to elicit individual compliance is to shape public opinion, then use the duped public to further demonize, humiliate, shame, persecute, and eventually execute the “enemy” (i.e. non-compliant). You can thank a courageous, maskless patriot for defending your God-given individual liberties even if you’re too unsuspecting to recognize who’s on your side.
Wish the Major was morally consistent. His damn crack down on speeding is infringing on my freedoms. Speeding should be a personal choice as speeding doesn’t kill. Got 44 years of hardcore year round Alaskan driving at high speeds to prove it. So please tell me I’m rushing to the grave. NOT. Glad I’ve got radar detectors on all my rides. So far no speeding tickets from this Mayor. I’m never going to abide by this Mayor Fake Freedom!
The speeding might or might not kill you, but my advice to you is lay off the crack or meth or whatever it is you are smoking USA.
This is so STUPID
I never went by the rules from the Fake mayor-Davis a year ago. And I’m not going to go by this new rule if it passes. That’s why we have elections.
You Lost, now go home all you afraid little sheep.
The answer to 1984 is 1776!
“Assemblywoman Jamie Allard called out her liberal colleagues…” Ah, nope. These aren’t liberals any more. Can we please stop using that term? How about sociopaths, despots, sadists, communists, socialists?
Marxist is my go to word to describe these people.
NWO puppets, government avatars for the ruling elite, NPCs
Constitutional rights do not cease to exist when one enters a particular space. Rights come from God, they are inalienable. This means they cannot be seized only surrendered.
I will never surrender any of my God given rights. I place my faith in the blood of Jesus Christ as my creator and the creator of all the universe. Jesus Christ is the King of Kings and He will come back in glory to judge the living and the dead. His Kingdom will never end.
Amnesia
Marxist is right! I’ll say one thing about this whole wuhan flu fiasco, one, I’ve learned a lot about politicians and them choosing profits over reasoning and also them getting sudden onset dementia as soon as they are elected, two, the FDA and CDC are full of crap, the Zelenko protocol is all you need for this bug not a vax, lastly, the dammed garden variety masks don’t work.
Where is the data for August?!
Why haven’t they released the number of breakthrough infections for August? We know the numbers are on the rise. We know the efficacy of the “vaccines” are diminishing significantly. We know that 20% of hospitalizations in July were among the vaccinated, how many in August?
We also know that infection numbers are currently going down, as are hospitalizations. If we’re over the peak a mask mandate now would not only be a giant middle finger to the constituents of the Muni but it would also be “anti-science.”
And look at what is happening in Israel: they are among the highest vaxed rates in the world, yet have a 60% breakthrough rate. If the vaxes don’t work, how can masks? No one talks about the fact that one can get viruses through the eyes. And, I saw a video of Fauci wearing a mask, at a crowded “news” conference. When he was done with his lies, he assumed all the cameras were turned off; one wasn’t. It caught him turning away from the podium, removing his mask and talking to a person that was not “socially distanced”. How about the recent videos of the Pope in the airplane returning from his recent visit to Hungary and Czechoslovaklia where he was talking with, masked. reporters but he was unmasked?
This forced masking is a farce and offense to personal choice and freedom. If you want to wear a mask, wear one, but don’t impose your, inaccurate, beliefs on me. By the way, I had a bit of a cough from a cold last week so wore a mask when going into a store; not due to a mandate, but my choice.
“ don’t impose your, inaccurate, beliefs on me.” As an atheist, I could say the same of Christians.
Pretty sure nobody has ever imposed Christianity on you, against your will, unless you mean the part where it says do not murder, do not steal, do not sleep with your neighbor’s wife. Or are you all in on murder, stealing and adultery?
?
“The threat of imminent danger is the seal of barbaric times.” -Robert Cardinal Sarah
If this was even a pandemic to begin with… where were all the biohazard bins for our dirty masks?
Seems we are putting the “Garbage Man” in needless danger………..
Where are the biohazard Bins??
Where are all the body bags??
No one I know has died.. it has all been friends of friends who have prior health conditions.. were obese.. or just didn’t take care of themselves.
People with the injection are getting sick and getting others sick.. injected people spread the sickness just like Teachers being injected for the seasonal flu and then it goes around the school, because someone got injected.
God Bless Mayor Bronson, this plandemic is a joke. Mask is always USELESS, why are we using it, use your FAITH!
The Assembly’s job when a plandemic is imminent is the same as the Weather Service. Tell us what’s coming, what they expect it to do, recommended response. The individuals of Anchorage, who are each unique in their own way, respond as is necessary for each individual/family unit. Interesting that the Assembly never recommended that people should get healthy and live healthy lifestyles which would reduce comorbidities and generally lift people into higher survivability brackets. Instead we got shutdowns, social separation, mass sanitizing efforts which cut our exposure to each other and the germs and bacteria which our immune systems get exercise fighting. Now we go into the next sick season with immune systems that got fat and lazy. Wonder how this will go.
Question to ponder: When are high priced hazmat teams going to be added into the City budget and ever changing safety regulations which will allow clean up to begin of discarded face masks?
I see paper masks littering the roadways, in parking lots, and in wastebaskets. Gross dangerous masks which were filled with toxic breath particles. When will this protection be added in to the agenda? It belongs along side of the protection instrumented to save the city landfill by eliminating distribution of bags once offered with purchase at retailers!! My God!!! This is the end of society as a whole! The safety of all is held in check by the inhumanity of discarding filthy face masks!! How dare you non caring mask wearers! I hold you responsible for the ongoing crisis of COVID.
They need to do something about all the nasty panhandling on every street corner. Have you seen the trash out there?
Just do what we do in texas,, say EFF you and don’t wear them
Verse from (PA) Senator Mastriano’s newsletter today::
“You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.” Galatians 5:13
This (as is every day above ground) is a test. Continue to fight the good fight; your fellow Christians & Patriots – both now & those not yet born – are counting on you.
Stay Strong ! Stay FREE !