Jan 9, 2026: Bob Dole Confirmation Hearing as Director of CED
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Confirmation of Bob Dole as Director of Community and Economic Development
On January 9, 2026, the Anchorage Assembly held a confirmation hearing for Mayor's nominee Bob Dole to serve as the new Director of Community and Economic Development. Dole, formerly the city's Building Official, was nominated to lead a reorganized department focused on the administration's goal of building 10,000 homes in 10 years, commercial development, and neighborhood revitalization. The hearing featured an exchange regarding Anchorage's constraints, departmental reorganization, and strategies for shifting the city's regulatory culture.
Consent Calendar
- No consent calendar items were listed for this specific executive appointment confirmation hearing.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Council Member Brawley: Expressed concern that the reorganization risks losing focus on aligning transportation planning with housing policy. Asked how Dole ensures these sectors remain tightly bound to prevent conflicts like highways intersecting with pedestrian pathways. Stated she expects the director to be the primary point person for holding the role responsible for creating a lower-risk environment for developers.
- Council Member Baldwin Day: Expressed hope to move from a "culture of no" to a "culture of how." Questioned how this cultural shift will be accomplished within the permit center and scored the city's implementation of existing plans (2020, 2040, neighborhood plans), noting a lack of public education on why plans exist. Raised a concern about a "circular process" where the public repeatedly relitigates plans during implementation rather than executing them.
- Council Member Gates: Expressed concern that despite efforts, a "culture of no" persists with some staff. Inquired if Dole has a mandate to change this.
- Council Member (Phone/Unidentified): Noted the community council survey process is "historically quite broken" and requested Dole's leadership in harmonizing it.
Discussion Items
- Dole's Role and Mandate: Dole described his role as a "connector" (facilitating communication between developers and government) and a "border collie" (directing efforts toward the 10,000 homes goal). He accepted the Mayor's unequivocal mandate to advance Anchorage's interests, emphasizing a non-one-size-fits-all approach for different communities like Girdwood, Eagle River, and the Bowl.
- Reputation with Developers: Council members cited a historical poor reputation with developers. Dole agreed the department must act as a business partner, not just a regulator. He stated he is already reaching out to developers to understand friction, noting that waiting for developers to show up at the counter is insufficient.
- Shifting to a "Culture of How": Dole referenced Simon Sinek's "Start with Why," proposing a three-tier decision framework: "Can we?" (within existing authority), "Should we?" (aligns with goals), and "Do we want to?". He committed to exploring flexibility in code updates to avoid hard "no's" and suggested using appendices for pathways forward.
- Plan Implementation and Public Education: Dole acknowledged that while the city has robust planning processes, it has failed to adequately educate the public on those plans, leading to surprises and headwinds during execution. He stated the Planning Department must play a key role in outreach, noting they are currently under-resourced but seeking to leverage assets like GIS and infographics to explain plans digestibly.
- Transportation and Housing Alignment: Dole confirmed that the Community and Economic Development department and Planning are housed in the same building to facilitate daily coordination. He stated he attends transportation meetings and works with AMATS to ensure housing and transportation plans move in sync.
- Operational Coordination: When asked about daily interfacing, Dole requested that Assembly members CC him on relevant emails to ensure all stakeholders are aware of issues and to prevent fragmented decision-making.
- Code Flexibility: A Council Member suggested adding code sections allowing the Planning Director to issue project-specific waivers for bureaucratic blockades to meet mandates. Dole did not explicitly address the legal feasibility of this specific waiver concept but affirmed his broad authority to find partnerships and solve problems.
Key Outcomes
- Nomination Status: The hearing concluded successfully with no recorded objections or questions remaining; the Assembly proceeded to stand adjourn for a work session, implying the confirmation process is complete or will proceed to a vote.
- Strategic Directives: Dole committed to:
- Acting as a "connector" and "border collie" for the 10,000 homes initiative.
- Shifting the department's culture from "no" to "how" by using flexible code appendices and existing authority.
- Prioritizing public education on implemented plans to reduce relitigation.
- Increasing outreach to attract and support developers rather than waiting for applications.
- Maintaining daily integration between housing, planning, and transportation departments.
Meeting Transcript
Friday, January the 9th. It's 1227 p.m. We're a little bit late getting started on the calendar from 1220 to uh 1250 for um assembly memorandum number five-2026 from the mayor. It's an executive appointment confirmation hearing, Bob Dole, Robert Dole, Director of Community and Economic Development. I will start with introductions in the room. It's bald and day. Erin Baldwin Day, Anna Brawley. Christopher Constant on the phone, Mr. Rivera. Thank you, Mr. Myers. Yes, sir. Thanks, Chair. You were the first one here, Mr. Gates. I'm sorry, Mr. Johnson. I'm here. All right. So then we have the mayor. So, Mayor, why don't we go ahead and let you take the floor? Thank you, Chair Constant for scheduling this confirmation hearing, and thank you, members, for being here. I am extremely pleased to introduce Mr. Bob Dole, my nominee to be community and economic development director. Most of you already know Bob from his prior time at the municipality as building official. I am incredibly excited. He chose to come back and help achieve the goal my administration has set to build and restore 10,000 homes in 10 years. Under the reorganization, we bundled key departments together to increase the level of coordination needed to achieve the 10,000 homes goal. I'm excited to work with all of you and Bob going forward, not only on the 10,000 homes initiative, but also to support increased commercial development, neighborhood revitalization, and opportunities to attract new economic development to the municipality. With Bob's background at the Rasmussen Foundation, the Air National Guard, and the many, many, many community boards he serves on. I swear he knows everyone in our community. And I got to work with Bob in Scouting, where we were both Scoutmasters. He has the relationship, skills, and municipal knowledge to really ignite growth here. So before I close, I want to thank Lance Wilbur for his tenure at the permit center, but also really great to see him back on the eighth floor as he transitions to the CFO position. So thank you, Mr. Chair, and thank you all. Thank you, Madam Mayor. Mr. Dole, would you like to say a few words? Thank you, Chair. It's a privilege and opportunity to serve Anchorage residents in this role that I've been invited back to do. It's an exciting time for Anchorage in that there's a sense of working together and pulling together that I frankly haven't experienced before locally since coming up here in 1998. It's truly a great time to be here. Recognize there's a famous uh misquote attributed to Winston Churchill. We're out of uh money now, we have to think. I think Anchorage is in a much more difficult position, however, it's out of money, it's out of uh land, and it's out of uh time. Like that we have land to develop uh by and large, at least easily. And we're out of time as we continue to see the outflow of our young adults we need for us to continue to grow and flourish. I look forward to working with the assembly with the executive branch and all residents of Anchorage to go forward and uh and grow the opportunities in this great city. Right.
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