Anchorage Municipal Assembly

07/28/2026 | Press release | Archived content

Assembly Leadership Statement on the Passing of Former Member Karen Bronga

PageImage5

Assembly Leadership Statement on the Passing of Former Member Karen Bronga

7/28/2026

PageContent4
Assembly Chair Anna Brawley and Vice Chair Daniel Volland offer the following statement on the tragic passing of their former colleague Karen Bronga:

"Karen was passionate about education, health, women's equality and opportunities, and safety for all people who walk, run and bike in our community," said Assembly Chair Brawley. "She wasn't afraid to speak her mind, and ran for Assembly to continue serving her community after retirement. I'm grateful for her contributions to the community as an advocate and elected official."

"In addition to vocal support for public access to trails and parks, Karen and I found strong alignment on the topic of safety for pedestrians and bicyclists. As an avid cyclist, Karen brought great ideas and experience to the table when she helped draft the Vulnerable Road User ordinance," said Assembly Vice Chair Volland. "She both participated in and promoted bike awareness events. She also joined forces with Meg Zaletel and I to host a press conference and call for improved safety measures on Anchorage streets - better lighting, slower speed limits, education campaigns - during a time of record pedestrian deaths. I hope that we can work in Karen's honor to make real, continued progress in this area."

Karen Bronga represented District 5, East Anchorage from April 2023 to April 2025. Her notable contributions to the community through her work on the Assembly include:
  • Parks, Trails and Access: her advocacy for East Anchorage led to the opening of the Northeast Trail Connector and secured the Basher Trailhead improvements on the 2025 Chugach Access Service Area (CASA) bond; she was a strong voice for fairness in funding of CASA projects and served on the CASA Advisory Working Group.
  • Youth Health, Education and Safety: she sponsored several resolutions calling for adequate state funding of schools; a resolution urging the state to restrict the sale of diet pills to youth; and she championed several efforts to keep youth safe from gun violence and other forms of violence.
  • Pedestrian and Bike Safety: she sponsored legislation to promote safety, equity, and access to infrastructure for bicyclists and other vulnerable road users, and a resolution calling on the Municipality of Anchorage and the State of Alaska to take action in response to a record-breaking number of pedestrian deaths in collisions with vehicles.
  • Addressing Homelessness: she sponsored several pieces of legislation aimed at cutting red tape, protecting parks and green spaces, and improving shelter opportunities.
  • Women's Rights: she was very passionate about women's rights and worked to get more women involved in leadership through elected office.
"On behalf of everyone in the Assembly branch, we extend our condolences to Karen's family and friends. It was an honor to know and serve with Karen and she will be greatly missed," said Assembly Chair Brawley.
###

Contact


Anna Brawley, Assembly Chair
District 3, West Anchorage

Daniel Volland, Assembly Vice-Chair
District 1, North Anchorage

​

Anchorage Municipal Assembly published this content on July 28, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed via Public Technologies (PUBT), unedited and unaltered, on July 31, 2026 at 19:42 UTC. If you believe the information included in the content is inaccurate or outdated and requires editing or removal, please contact us at [email protected]