Anchorage,
let's do this.
Core priorities:
Good government
Public Safety
Economic development
Quality of Life
Equity and Justice
Leading in hard times.
As city manager, Bill Falsey has been a driving force behind, and the face of Anchorage’s response to multiple emergencies, including the 2018 earthquake, the coronavirus pandemic, and daunting fiscal challenges caused by state budget cuts.
A proven record of leading Anchorage.
Bill In Action:
- COVID-19 Press Conference - April 14
- COVID-19 Press Conference - April 6
- COVID-19 Press Conference - March 16 (minute 3)
- Nov. 2018 Earthquake Press Conference 11.30.18
- Nov. 2018 Earthquake Press Conference 12.1.18 - 1
- Nov. 2018 Earthquake Press Conference 12.1.18 - 2
- Nov. 2018 Earthquake Press Conference 12.2.18
Real accomplishments.
With his even-keeled manner, Bill builds authentic consensus around policies that most benefit the people of Anchorage. He’s a great communicator, but at heart he is a doer, not a talker. He oversees the majority of the city’s departments and people, and has served as acting mayor.
A history of real accomplishments for Anchorage.
Whether solving problems or seizing opportunities, Bill gets the job done.
- Tackled rising energy costs by orchestrating the sale of Municipal Light & Power to Chugach Electric
- Introduced the state’s first healthcare transparency law, giving patients the legal right to know , before treatment, the cost of their medical care
- Kept our supply lines strong by breaking ground on new facilities at the Port of Alaska
- Improved public safety by restoring law enforcement on the Seward Highway after the Alaska State Troopers abandoned the Girdwood post
- Brought new vibrancy to downtown by moving the Anchorage Police Department into the Legislature’s vacated office building
- Cleaned up the old Northern Lights Inn and other junk properties
- Outfitted the Anchorage Fire Department with new ambulance service and state-of-the-art emergency-medical equipment, and
- Installed the state’s largest rooftop solar array atop the Egan Center.
Deep connection.
Anchorage has given Bill so much -- and he's ready to keep paying it forward.
A deep connection to Anchorage.
Bill grew up in an Air Force family and moved several times when he was a kid. The family landed in Anchorage when Bill was 13, when his father was transferred to Elmendorf (now JBER). Living in Anchorage was transformative for Bill—he had never lived in a place that, to him, truly felt like home. After graduating from Dimond High School, he majored in physics at Stanford University and went on to Yale Law School. He clerked for the Alaska Supreme Court before going into private practice in Anchorage.
Bill’s feelings of appreciation and gratitude for Anchorage only grew after living and working in Washington, DC, getting married, and becoming a (very proud) dad of two. Bill and his wife, Jeannette Lee, whose hometown is Honolulu, have always known that they wanted to raise their family here.
As Municipal Manager, Bill was effectively the city’s second in command, responsible to the mayor for the overall conduct of the administrative functions of the municipality. His general government reports comprised nearly 1500 FTEs and involved annual budgets of >$300 million. He directly oversaw nine departments (police, fire, health, employee relations, traffic, public transit, public works, maintenance & operations, project management & engineering); three utilities (solid waste collection and disposal, water and wastewater, and municipal light & power); two enterprises (the Port of Alaska and Merrill Field); and four offices (emergency management, transportation inspection, risk, and equal opportunity).
As Municipal Attorney, Bill was responsible for providing legal services to the whole of Anchorage's municipal government; managing all civil litigation to which the municipality is a party; and providing judicial prosecution of misdemeanor criminal offenses in direct support of enforcement activities. He oversaw the municipality's civil law division, prosecutor's office, and administrative hearing office.
Bill has also served as a board member, or in a leadership role, in many civic organizations, including: United Way of Anchorage; CIVICVentures (the municipal non-profit that oversees the capital program and bonded indebtedness of Anchorage’s convention centers); the Anchorage Coalition to End Homelessness; the Anchorage Police and Fire Retirement System Board; the Alaska Municipal Attorneys Association; the Alaska State Society; Alaska Common Ground (a non-profit group aimed at improving the quality of Alaska’s civic dialogue); and the Arc of Anchorage (from which his brother receives services).
When not shuttling kids to school, or hard at work, you’re likely to find Bill listening to an audiobook (usually on at least double speed), banging on a piano or strumming a guitar, trying to get back into running shape, or rallying friends to try the latest escape room.
Bill wants all Anchorage citizens to experience what he did: a welcoming community, unbounded opportunity, and the chance to work together to meaningfully improve the lives of our neighbors.