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Forrest Dunbar

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Forrest Dunbar
Member of the Alaska Senate
from the J district
Incumbent
Assumed office
January 17, 2023
Preceded byConstituency established
Member of the Anchorage Assembly
from the 5th district
In office
July 1, 2016 – January 17, 2023
Preceded byPaul Honeman
Succeeded byJoey Sweet
Personal details
Born (1984-09-19) September 19, 1984 (age 40)
Eagle, Alaska, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
Spouse
Tasha Boyer
​
(m. 2024)​
EducationAmerican University (BA)
Harvard University (MPP)
Yale University (JD)
Military service
Branch/serviceUnited States Army
Years of service2013–present
RankMajor
UnitAlaska Army National Guard

Forrest Dunbar (born September 19, 1984)[1] is an American politician, attorney, and military officer. He is a member of the Alaska Senate, representing East Anchorage District J since 2023. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served on the Anchorage Assembly from 2016 to 2023.[2] He is a major and Judge Advocate in the Alaska Army National Guard.[3]

Early life and education

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Forrest Dunbar grew up in Eagle, Alaska, on the Yukon River, and Cordova, Alaska, on Prince William Sound. Dunbar’s parents moved to Alaska to attend the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the late 1970s. His father Roger worked for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game as a fisheries technician, while his mother, Miriam, was a special education aide and librarian.[4]

Dunbar attended American University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and International Service and won the Harry S. Truman Scholarship. He went on to earn a dual MPP/JD from the Harvard Kennedy School and Yale Law School. He is a returned Peace Corps Volunteer who served in Kazakhstan, and an officer and Judge Advocate in the Alaska Army National Guard.[5]

Political career

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Dunbar began his political career as an intern for officeholders including governor of Alaska Frank Murkowski and U.S. House delegate Madeleine Bordallo. While he was an intern in Washington, D.C., he participated in peace marches opposing the Iraq War; he credits them as a significant inspiration to enter civil service. Before being involved in electoral politics, Dunbar was a volunteer with the Peace Corps in Kazakhstan.[4]

2014 congressional campaign

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Main article: 2014 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska

In 2014, Dunbar launched a campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives running against Republican incumbent Don Young, who had represented Alaska's at-large congressional district for 41 years and was running for his 21st full term. He easily won the nomination in the primary election; Libertarian candidate Jim McDermott also advanced to the general election. Dunbar received 41% of the vote in the general election, losing to Young by 10 percentage points in the closest race for the seat since 2008.[1]

Anchorage Assembly

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Dunbar was first elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 2016, defeating Terre Gales with 61.6% of the vote in the fifth district, representing the eastern portion of the city. He has since been re-elected twice, in 2019 unopposed, and in 2022 with 55.4% of the vote against Stephanie Taylor. At the time of his retirement, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the assembly behind Pete Petersen, who has served since 2014 in the same district.[6] During his tenure, Dunbar says he has focused his efforts on "jobs, quality of life, and public safety," including expanding the Anchorage Police Department and the city's snow removal budget.

He has worked to increase funding in his district to improve the city's infrastructure, beginning projects for upgrades to roads and drainage, improvements to Russian Jack Springs Park, and increased attention on traffic calming. Twice he has been the assembly chair overseeing new budgets and the city's response to the 2018 earthquake.[3][non-primary source needed]

2021 mayoral campaign

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Main article: 2021 Anchorage mayoral election

Dunbar announced his candidacy for mayor of Anchorage in September 2019, to succeed term limited mayor Ethan Berkowitz.[7] The landscape of the election changed when Berkowitz resigned in October 2020, although the race remained open, as acting mayor Austin Quinn-Davidson chose not to run for a full term.[8] In a wide-ranging field of candidates, Dunbar's campaign raised the most money and he was endorsed by several local labor unions; he became the front-runner in the race. Many expected there would be a runoff election between Dunbar and a much more conservative candidate.[9][10] No candidate received 45% of the vote in the first round of the election on April 6, 2021. Dunbar advanced to a runoff against retired Air Force pilot Dave Bronson which was held on May 11. The runoff election was close; Bronson claimed a win by 1,000 votes out of nearly 90,000 votes cast. After ten days of counting Dunbar conceded the race to Bronson.[11]

Alaska Senate

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Following the redistricting cycle brought upon by the release of the 2020 United States census, an independent redistricting commission approved new legislative maps for the Alaska Legislature, in which a new district for the Alaska Senate was created, covering most of east Anchorage and Mountain View. Following state representative Ivy Spohnholz's announcement that she would not run for the seat, Dunbar was the first to file for the 2022 election in the newly established district.[12] He faced Republican Andrew Satterfield and Democratic state representative Geran Tarr in the general election. He narrowly won the first round with 50% of the vote, avoiding an instant runoff by winning the election outright.[13]

Dunbar was seated, along with the rest of the 33rd Alaska State Legislature, on January 17, 2023. He caucuses with the bipartisan majority coalition which consists of nine Democrats and eight Republicans.[14]

Personal life

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Dunbar has a sister and considers his late grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, to be among his greatest role models.[4] His great-grandfather died in the Holocaust.[4] Dunbar practices Judaism and says that his career is guided by following the principle of tikkun olam.[4] He currently resides in Anchorage.[6] In July 2024, he married consultant Tasha Boyer.

References

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  1. ^ a b Ruskin, Liz (September 24, 2014). "Forrest Dunbar: The Millennial Who Aims to Unseat Don Young". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  2. ^ Early, Wesley (March 18, 2022). "2022 Anchorage Assembly Candidate: Forrest Dunbar". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  3. ^ a b "About – Forrest Dunbar for State Senate District J". forrestdunbar.com. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  4. ^ a b c d e Johnson, RJ (September 17, 2022) [March 10, 2020]. "On being a Jewish kid in rural Alaska, video games, and fighting cynicism in our politics — a conversation with Forrest Dunbar". Anchorage Press. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  5. ^ Yeager, Ben (March 10, 2014). "From paperboy to Alaska congressional candidate". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved March 4, 2023.
  6. ^ a b "Contact the Anchorage Assembly". Municipality of Anchorage. Archived from the original on November 16, 2022. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  7. ^ Landfield, Jeff (September 11, 2019). "Forrest Dunbar is running for mayor and Alaska Democrats endorse Alyse Galvin". The Alaska Landmine. Retrieved November 27, 2022.
  8. ^ "2021 Anchorage mayoral race takes shape with a crowded field". Anchorage Daily News. December 6, 2020. Retrieved January 4, 2021.
  9. ^ Goodykoontz, Emily (February 17, 2021). "Dunbar so far outraises competitors for Anchorage mayor's office by tens of thousands of dollars". Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  10. ^ "In a crowded race, many candidates for Anchorage mayor say they're aiming to make it to an expected runoff". Anchorage Daily News. February 15, 2021. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
  11. ^ "Bronson set to win race for Anchorage mayor; Dunbar concedes". Anchorage Daily News. May 22, 2021. Retrieved May 22, 2021.
  12. ^ Landfield, Jeff (May 26, 2022). "Forrest Dunbar and James Kaufman file to run for open Anchorage State Senate seats". The Alaska Landmine. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  13. ^ Brooks, James (November 9, 2022). "In preliminary results, Democrats appear likely to flip two Alaska Senate seats". Alaska Public Media. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
  14. ^ Cole, Shannon (November 25, 2022). "Alaska State Senate forms Senate majority". KTUU-TV. Retrieved November 28, 2022.
[edit]
Alaska Senate
Preceded by Member of the Alaska Senate
from the J district
2023–present 		Incumbent
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