By SUZANNE DOWNING
A property tax question involving East Anchorage Assembly candidate Cody Anderson was the result of an internal error at the Anchorage Assessor’s Office, not a failure by the taxpayer, according to a detailed statement released by Anderson this weekend.
The issue surfaced after a post circulated on Nextdoor, an online website, questioning whether Anderson had paid the full amount of property taxes on a tenant-occupied home he owns in Eagle River. Anderson said his campaign became aware of the post on Jan. 24 and that he went directly to the Assessor’s Office the following Monday to resolve the matter.
According to Anderson, city staff confirmed that he had properly filed all required paperwork notifying the municipality that the Eagle River property was not his primary residence. He said he was provided a time-stamped document dated July 17, 2024, showing full compliance.
City staff also informed Anderson that the incorrect tax classification stemmed from an internal processing error within the Assessor’s Office. Anderson said he was told he was not required to pay back taxes because the mistake was the city’s, but that the correct tax rate would apply going forward. Despite that, Anderson said he asked to pay the back taxes in full.
“This was not a failure by a taxpayer; it was a failure of internal business practices,” Anderson said in his statement, raising broader concerns about whether routine audits are being conducted within city departments. He pointed to repeated warnings from city leadership and the Anchorage Assembly about an impending fiscal shortfall, questioning how administrative errors that result in lost revenue can go undetected.
“Anchorage residents deserve a city government that functions efficiently, conducts regular audits, and provides a professional customer experience,” Anderson said.
But none of that mattered to Assemblyman George Martinez. His goal is to smear his opponent with a lie circulating on the internet.
Martinez, a first-term incumbent who just moved to Anchorage, referenced the tax issue while announcing his re-election bid. Martinez released a statement portraying Anderson as an “outsider” and accusing unnamed groups of attempting to disrupt East Anchorage politics. He spilled several lies in the process.
He further alleged that a “former Eagle River candidate,” meaning Anderson, improperly claimed a tax exemption while attempting to use a church-owned, tax-exempt property in East Anchorage as a campaign residence to meet residency requirements. These are the claims Anderson’s campaign says are misleading and ignore the city’s documented error.
Martinez referenced his background as a “previously ordained minister,” and inaccurately called the situation “disqualifying” and urged Anderson to withdraw from the race, pay back taxes with penalties, and exit before the Feb. 3 deadline. The previously ordained Martinez lied repeatedly about Anderson.
Anderson’s statement directly contradicts that narrative, asserting that the tax issue was the result of a municipal processing failure and that he took immediate steps to verify compliance and make payment once notified.
His campaign characterized Martinez’s statements as an attempt to weaponize a city error for political gain after the filing deadline had closed.
The episode comes amid growing scrutiny of Anchorage’s property assessment and tax administration systems.
5 thoughts on “Occupy Wall Street Anchorage assemblyman smears opponent for city’s mistake”
His district voters (the ones inside that district who will vote)
They should be made aware of this “ “Anchorage residents deserve a city government that functions efficiently, conducts regular audits, and provides a professional customer experience,”
That does his district voters really want to blindly be handing over taxes into a municipal that doesn’t do audits and makes errors at the taxpayers expense. Most Anchorage taxpayers won’t even question as Anderson dug up. They’ll just be out thousands of dollars believing their government.
How many more Anchorage residents have needlessly paid thousands of dollars becsuse of an internal error?
I really doubt this is the only “error” made by the municipality assessor’s office. The errors more likely are city-wide.
Martinez is part of the ass-embly’s Marxist Nine, and is just another carpetbagging radical leftist extremist, so naturally he is going to resort to lying, cheating, malice — whatever it takes to hold and exercise raw, naked power. That being the end-all and be-all of radical leftist existence.
I live in east Anchorage and can say with certainty: “There is no lower level to which Martinez can possibly stoop”. And along a numerical continuum, he is a negative number. We deserve much better than him and shrill Yarrow Silvers. Please people … vote!
It sounds like Mr. Martinez is the real ‘outsider’ and also an assembly rep who needs to be replaced by someone a bit more honest. Cody Anderson, whom I do not know nor have met, but am already impressed by his honest effort to do the right thing, seems to be an excellent candidate to replace Mr. Martinez. I encourage East Anchorage voters to support Mr. Anderson. Every dollar helps in an election. One dollar even can pay for a flyer. Donate! Get the word out! Most importantly, vote! The Marxist Nine need to be replaced. One Marxist at a time.