George Henry Byer (June 22, 1912 - August 22, 2000) was an American politician who served as Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 1959 to 1961. He was the first full-time mayor of Anchorage, and was chiefly responsible for Anchorage's first two All-America City Award designations. [1]
He was a Democrat.
George Byer, born on June 22, 1912, moved to Alaska in 1947, after serving in the United States Army during World War II. From 1951, he worked as a mail carrier. In 1956, he campaigned successfully to have Anchorage named as "All-America City", and in 1959 he was elected mayor of the city, serving two terms. From 1963 to 1966 he sat on Anchorage's City Council, during which time he lobbied to renew Anchorage's "All-America City" status (1965), and launched an unsuccessful bid to bring the 1972 Winter Olympics to Anchorage. In 1967, he ran once again for Mayor of Anchorage, but lost to George M. Sullivan.
In later years, he lived in Hemet, California and was active in efforts to promote world peace.
Byer died, age 88, of heart disease in Hemet on August 22, 2000. [2]
Ernest Henry Gruening was an American journalist and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Gruening was the governor of the Alaska Territory from 1939 until 1953, and a United States Senator from Alaska from 1959 until 1969.
Jay Sterner Hammond was an American politician of the Republican Party, who served as the fourth governor of Alaska from 1974 to 1982. Hammond was born in Troy, New York and served as a Marine Corps fighter pilot in World War II with the Black Sheep Squadron. In 1946, he moved to Alaska where he worked as a bush pilot. Hammond served as a state representative from 1959 to 1965 and as a state senator from 1967 to 1973. From 1972 until 1974 he was the mayor of the Bristol Bay Borough. Then, in 1974, he was elected governor of Alaska.
Waino Edward Hendrickson was an American Republican politician & businessman, the final Governor of the Territory of Alaska, before statehood.
The Alaska Statehood Act was introduced by Delegate E.L. Bob Bartlett and signed by President Dwight D. Eisenhower on July 7, 1958. As a result, Alaska became the 49th U.S. state on January 3, 1959. The law was the culmination of a multi-decade effort by many prominent Alaskans, including Bartlett, Ernest Gruening, Bill Egan, Bob Atwood, and Ted Stevens.
George Poe Wuerch is an American politician and a member of the Republican Party. He served as mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 2000 to 2003.
After congress approved the completion of the Alaska Railroad from Seward to Fairbanks in 1914, it was decided that a new town should be built as a port and rail hub along the route. The decision was made to develop a site near Ship Creek on Cook Inlet. Survey parties visited the area in 1914 and researched possible routes for the rails and options for siting the new town. Anchorage was originally settled as a tent city near the mouth of Ship Creek in 1915, and a planned townsite was platted alongside the bluff to the south. Anchorage was mostly a company town for the Alaska Railroad for its first several decades of existence.
Anchorage, officially the Municipality of Anchorage, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Alaska. With a population of 291,247 at the 2020 census, it contains nearly 40 percent of the state's population. The Anchorage metropolitan area, which includes Anchorage and the neighboring Matanuska-Susitna Borough, had a population of 398,328 in 2020, accounting for more than half the state's population. At 1,706 sq mi (4,420 km2) of land area, the city is the fourth-largest by area in the U.S.
Thomas A. Fink was an American Republican politician from Alaska. He was Mayor of Anchorage from 1987 to 1994 and Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives from 1973 to 1975. He was also a member of the Federal Retirement Thrift Investment Board, serving from 1997 to 2010.
Richard Mystrom is an American politician, businessman, and author who served as the 32nd mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage from 1994 to 2000. He is a member of the Republican party.
George Murray Sullivan was an American politician who served as the 26th mayor of the City of Anchorage from 1967 to 1975 and the 1st mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage from 1975 to 1981.
Maynard Loren Taylor Jr. was Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 1951 to 1955.
Henry Aristide "Red" Boucher Jr. was an American politician who served as the second lieutenant governor of Alaska from 1970 to 1974. He had also served as mayor of Fairbanks, Alaska, from 1966 to 1970, and in the Alaska House of Representatives. Boucher served on the Fairbanks City Council and Anchorage Assembly.
The 2008 United States Senate election in Alaska was held on November 4, 2008. Incumbent Republican U.S. Senator and former President pro tempore Ted Stevens ran for re-election for an eighth term in the United States Senate. It was one of the ten Senate races that U.S. Senator John Ensign of Nevada, the chairman of the National Republican Senatorial Committee, predicted as being most competitive. The primaries were held on August 26, 2008. Stevens was challenged by Democratic candidate Mark Begich, the mayor of Anchorage and son of former U.S. Representative Nick Begich.
Dennis William Egan was an American politician who was a member of the Alaska Senate representing Juneau from April 19, 2009, until January 15, 2019. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the mayor of Juneau from February 13, 1995, to October 3, 2000, and was a member of the local assembly prior to that. Outside of politics, he was known for his work as a radio broadcaster, most notably for KINY, and was inducted to the Alaskan Broadcaster Association's Hall of Fame in 2001.
Michael Joseph Conroy was the second Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, serving from 1923 to 1924.
Matthew W. Claman is an American politician and attorney serving as a member of the Alaska Senate since 2023, representing West Anchorage. Claman previously served as a member of the Alaska House of Representatives from 2015 until 2023; the acting mayor of Anchorage from in 2009, and a member of the Anchorage Assembly from 2007 until 2010.
Daniel Albert Sullivan is an American businessman and politician who served as the mayor of Anchorage from 2009 to 2015 and on the Anchorage Assembly from 1999 to 2008. The son of Anchorage's longest-serving mayor, George M. Sullivan, he was the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor of Alaska in the 2014 election but he and incumbent Governor Sean Parnell were defeated by the ticket of Independent Bill Walker and Democrat Byron Mallott.
John Henry Dimond was an American jurist who served as a justice of the Supreme Court of Alaska from August 7, 1959 to November 30, 1971. He was one of Alaska's inaugural justices, serving along with Buell Nesbett and Walter Hodge on the court's first ever bench. Born in Valdez, Alaska, he was the only son of Anthony Dimond, and was briefly in private practice with his father prior to his death. The state courthouse in his adopted hometown of Juneau, Alaska, located across the street from the Alaska State Capitol, is named in his honor.
The November 2022 United States House of Representatives election in Alaska was held on Tuesday, November 8, to elect a member of the United States House of Representatives to represent the state of Alaska. Democratic incumbent Mary Peltola won reelection to a full term in office, defeating Republicans Sarah Palin and Nick Begich III and Libertarian Chris Bye in the runoff count.
David Bronson is an American politician, pilot, and retired Air Force officer. A Republican, he was the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska from 2021 until 2024.