Who's Funding the Race?

Justin Weaver — a private wealth manager from Anchorage — donated $41,514 across 9 different candidates in nearly every contested race, often giving to candidates running against each other: both Scout and Milette (District 1), both Vergason and Johnson (District 6), both McDonogh and Blakeslee (School Board). But his most striking move is giving $27,371 — 66% of his total — to Janice Park alone in District 4. Weaver is the #1 individual donor in this entire election.

Kari Ellsworth of Northern Sports Production donated $25,000 across six candidates — Brian Flynn, Bruce Vergason, Cody Anderson, Dave Donley, Donald Handeland, and Justin Milette — all generally aligned on the conservative side of Anchorage politics. Other Ellsworth family members — John Ellsworth Jr. (Alaska Frontier Construction), John Ellsworth, and Janice Ellsworth (Tioga Properties) — added another $8,500, mostly to Flynn, bringing the family total to $33,500. Alaska has no contribution limits since a 2021 court ruling, making gifts of this size legal.

Over 20 employees and affiliates of Mountain City Church gave a combined $7,992 entirely to Cody Anderson in District 5 — the largest group of people from a single organization all donating to the same candidate in this election. This includes Pastor Ronald Hoffman ($2,000), Connor Parker ($1,000), and Dan Hayes of Mountain City Christian Academy ($1,000). Mountain City Church is one of Anchorage's largest evangelical congregations.

HDR Engineering employees gave $10,118 across 9 candidates — but $8,013 of that is Donald Handeland himself, who is an HDR employee self-funding his own District 2 campaign. Strip that out and the genuine outside-the-campaign HDR network is much smaller. State of Alaska employees gave $13,866 across 15 candidates — the widest spread of any named employer in the election — a textbook example of government workers hedging to ensure access regardless of who wins.

In most Assembly races, the majority of campaign money comes from outside the candidate's own district. Kyle Walker has just 16.6% from his own District 2. Janelle Sharp is the exception — 77.8% of her money comes from within District 6, the most locally-funded Assembly campaign in this election. Even Bruce Vergason, running in the same district, gets barely half (50.6%) from inside the district. This raises questions about who most candidates are actually accountable to.

Brian Flynn (District 3) raised $130,235 — the most of any candidate — but has already spent 89% of it, leaving just $14,302 in cash with days to go. His opponent Anna Brawley raised $114,758 and has $24,125 left (79% spent). District 3 is the most expensive race at nearly $244,993 combined. Flynn has less cash on hand than 10 other candidates despite raising the most.

Zachary Johnson (District 6) raised $108,537 — third-most in the election behind Flynn and Brawley — but has spent only $55,519 (51%). That leaves him with $53,018 in cash on hand, more than any other candidate, with days to go. In contrast, George Martinez has spent 84% of what he raised and has just $5,900 left. Johnson's financial discipline gives him a late-campaign advertising advantage.

Janelle Marie Anausuk Sharp (District 6) is her own campaign's single largest donor — she gave herself $11,247 from her NANA Regional Corporation paycheck. That one contribution represents 67% of her entire $16,742 raised. Her campaign is almost entirely a grassroots, self-funded operation — a stark contrast to the $69,803 raised by opponent Bruce Vergason and the $108,537 raised by Zachary Johnson.

Victor Mollozzi of McMinnville, Oregon is the #3 biggest individual donor in this entire election, giving $16,084 — $9,000 to Anna Brawley and $7,084 to Sydney Scout. He has no disclosed Anchorage connection. Alaska's lack of contribution limits means out-of-state donors can give unlimited amounts.

Putting Alaskans First Committee (labor-backed, $33,410) supports Scout, Walker, Johnson, Brawley, and Martinez while opposing Anderson and Handeland. Alaska Family Action ($11,130) backs Anderson, Donley, Vergason, and Flynn. Friends of the Good Guys ($14,000) backs Donley, Vergason, and — unexpectedly — Janelle Sharp. 907 Action ($12,000) spreads support across 8 progressive-leaning candidates. Alaska March On ($8,802) puts everything into Rachel Blakeslee's school board race. In total, $83,109 in outside money has flowed into this election.

Anna Brawley (District 3) has 492 unique contributors — more than any other candidate in this election. That's more than Flynn's 382, Blakeslee's 418, and Johnson's 411. Her average gift is just $233, meaning her fundraising relies on genuine breadth rather than a handful of large donors. A wide donor base is often a proxy for volunteer energy and on-the-ground support.

Of the $1.09M raised across all candidates, $615K came via credit card (56% of contributions with a recorded payment method) — showing how much small-dollar online fundraising now drives local elections. Only 37% came by check. This shift toward digital donations makes it easier for out-of-district and out-of-state donors to contribute quickly.

Alaska removed individual contribution limits in 2021 following the Thompson v. Hebdon federal court ruling. This means any individual, business, or organization can donate any amount to a candidate. The $5,000 donations you see here are not at a legal ceiling — donors simply chose to give that amount. This is why a single donor like Justin Weaver can give $41,000 across multiple races legally.

Independent Expenditures (IE) are money spent by outside groups to support or oppose a candidate — but legally, these groups cannot coordinate with the campaigns. You'll see mailers, ads, and canvassing paid for by groups like "Putting Alaskans First" or "Alaska Family Action." These expenditures must be reported to APOC but are not subject to the same rules as direct donations.