Forrest Dunbar

{{Infobox officeholder

|name = Forrest Dunbar

|image = Forrest Dunbar Headshot 2022.jpg

|office = Member of the Alaska Senate
from the J district

|term_start = January 17, 2023

|term_end =

|predecessor = Constituency established

|successor =

|office1 = Member of the Anchorage Assembly
from the 5th district

|term_start1 = July 1, 2016

|term_end1 = January 17, 2023

|predecessor1 = Paul Honeman

|successor1 = Joey Sweet

|birth_date = {{nowrap|{{birth date and age|1984|9|19}}}}

|birth_place = Eagle, Alaska, U.S.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}}

|death_date =

|death_place =

|party = Democratic

|spouse = {{marriage|Tasha Boyer|2024}}

|education = American University (BA)
Harvard University (MPP)
Yale University (JD)

|branch = United States Army

|serviceyears = 2013–present

|rank = Major

|unit = Alaska Army National Guard

}}

Forrest Dunbar (born September 19, 1984){{cite news |title=Forrest Dunbar: The Millennial Who Aims to Unseat Don Young |work=Alaska Public Media |first=Liz |last=Ruskin |date=September 24, 2014 |access-date=November 28, 2022 |url=https://alaskapublic.org/2014/09/24/forrest-dunbar-the-millennial-who-aims-to-unseat-don-young/}} 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.{{cite web |title=2022 Anchorage Assembly Candidate: Forrest Dunbar |first=Wesley |last=Early |date=March 18, 2022 |access-date=November 27, 2022 |work=Alaska Public Media |url=https://alaskapublic.org/2022/03/18/2022-anchorage-assembly-candidate-forrest-dunbar/}} He is a major and Judge Advocate in the Alaska Army National Guard.{{cite web |title=About – Forrest Dunbar for State Senate District J |access-date=November 27, 2022 |website=forrestdunbar.com |url=https://www.forrestdunbar.com/about}}

Early life and education

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.

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.{{Cite web |date=March 10, 2014 |first=Ben |last=Yeager |title=From paperboy to Alaska congressional candidate |url=https://www.adn.com/politics/article/paperboy-alaska-congressional-candidate/2014/03/10/ |access-date=2023-03-04 |website=Anchorage Daily News |language=en}}

Political career

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.{{cite web |title=On being a Jewish kid in rural Alaska, video games, and fighting cynicism in our politics — a conversation with Forrest Dunbar |work=Anchorage Press |first=RJ |last=Johnson |orig-date=March 10, 2020 |date=September 17, 2022 |access-date=November 27, 2022 |url=https://www.anchoragepress.com/news/coronavirus/on-being-a-jewish-kid-in-rural-alaska-video-games-and-fighting-cynicism-in-our/article_aba5eb1c-6253-11ea-bce1-53a66bf90545.html}}

= 2014 congressional campaign =

{{main|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 {{ushr|AK|AL}} 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.

= Anchorage Assembly =

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. 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.{{primary source inline|date=November 2022}}

= 2021 mayoral campaign =

Dunbar announced his candidacy for mayor of Anchorage in September 2019, to succeed term limited mayor Ethan Berkowitz.{{cite news |title=Forrest Dunbar is running for mayor and Alaska Democrats endorse Alyse Galvin |date=September 11, 2019 |access-date=November 27, 2022 |work=The Alaska Landmine |first=Jeff |last=Landfield |url=https://alaskalandmine.com/landmines/forrest-dunbar-is-running-for-mayor-and-alaska-democrats-endorse-alyse-galvin/}} 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.{{Cite web|date=2020-12-06|title=2021 Anchorage mayoral race takes shape with a crowded field|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2020/12/06/2021-anchorage-mayoral-race-takes-shape-with-a-crowded-field/|access-date=2021-01-04|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}} 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.{{cite news |title=Dunbar so far outraises competitors for Anchorage mayor's office by tens of thousands of dollars |first=Emily |last=Goodykoontz |date=February 17, 2021 |access-date=June 9, 2021 |work=Anchorage Daily News |url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2021/02/18/dunbar-so-far-outraises-competitors-for-anchorage-mayors-office-by-tens-of-thousands-of-dollars/}}{{Cite web|date=2021-02-15|title=In a crowded race, many candidates for Anchorage mayor say they're aiming to make it to an expected runoff|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2021/02/15/in-a-crowded-race-many-candidates-for-anchorage-mayor-say-theyre-aiming-to-make-it-to-an-expected-runoff/|access-date=2021-06-09|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}} 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 around 1,000 votes out of nearly 90,000 votes cast. After ten days of counting Dunbar conceded the race to Bronson.{{Cite web|date=2021-05-22|title=Bronson set to win race for Anchorage mayor; Dunbar concedes|url=https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/anchorage/2021/05/21/bronson-set-to-win-race-for-anchorage-mayor-another-round-of-preliminary-election-results-show/|access-date=2021-05-22|website=Anchorage Daily News|language=en-US}}

= Alaska Senate =

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.{{cite news |title=Forrest Dunbar and James Kaufman file to run for open Anchorage State Senate seats |work=The Alaska Landmine |first=Jeff |last=Landfield |date=May 26, 2022 |access-date=November 28, 2022 |url=https://alaskalandmine.com/landmines/forrest-dunbar-and-james-kaufman-file-to-run-for-open-anchorage-state-senate-seats/}} 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.{{cite news |title=In preliminary results, Democrats appear likely to flip two Alaska Senate seats |first=James |last=Brooks |work=Alaska Public Media |date=November 9, 2022 |access-date=November 28, 2022 |url=https://alaskapublic.org/2022/11/09/in-preliminary-results-democrats-appear-likely-to-flip-two-alaska-senate-seats/}}

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.{{cite news |title=Alaska State Senate forms Senate majority |work=KTUU-TV |first=Shannon |last=Cole |date=November 25, 2022 |access-date=November 28, 2022 |url=https://www.alaskasnewssource.com/2022/11/26/alaska-state-senate-forms-senate-majority/}}

Electoral history

{{Election box begin no change

| title = Nonpartisan primary

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Forrest Dunbar (incumbent)

| votes =2,253

| percentage =72.3

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Independent

| candidate = Cheronda Smith

| votes =863

| percentage =27.7

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes =3,116

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box begin no change

| title = 2024 Alaska Senate General election

}}

{{Election box winning candidate with party link no change

| party = Democratic Party (United States)

| candidate = Forrest Dunbar (incumbent)

| votes = 7,292

| percentage = 69.83

}}

{{Election box candidate with party link no change

| party = Independent

| candidate = Cheronda Smith

| votes = 3,022

| percentage = 28.94

}}

{{Election box write-in with party link no change

| votes = 129

| percentage = 1.24

}}

{{Election box total no change

| votes = 10,443

| percentage = 100.0

}}

{{Election box hold with party link no change

| winner = Democratic Party (United States)

}}

{{Election box hold no change

| winner = Coalition

| color = #ff95b3ff

}}

Personal life

Dunbar has a sister and considers his late grandmother, a Holocaust survivor, to be among his greatest role models. His great-grandfather died in the Holocaust. Dunbar practices Judaism and says that his career is guided by following the principle of tikkun olam. He currently resides in Anchorage.{{cite web |title=Contact the Anchorage Assembly |website=Municipality of Anchorage |access-date=November 28, 2022 |url=https://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/pages/about%20us%20-%20member%20profiles.aspx |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221116182806/https://www.muni.org/Departments/Assembly/pages/about%20us%20-%20member%20profiles.aspx |archive-date=November 16, 2022}} In July 2024, he married consultant Tasha Boyer.