Mark Begich
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Mark Begich (born 1962) is an American Democratic politician and the current mayor of Anchorage, Alaska.
Born in Anchorage at the old Providence Hospital, Begich is the city's first Alaskan-born mayor. He is the son of U.S. Representative Nick Begich, who died in a plane crash with U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs in 1972, and Pegge Begich. The fourth child of six, he has two sisters and three brothers. His paternal grandfather John Begich immigrated to the United States from Croatia in 1911. He attended Steller Secondary School in Anchorage.
Begich was elected to the Anchorage Assembly in 1988, at age 26, and served until 1998, including three years as chairman and two as vice chairman. He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1994 against Rick Mystrom, and in 2000 against then-Assemblyman George Wuerch; in 2003, however, he defeated both Mystrom and Wuerch to become mayor. He was re-elected in April 2006, winning comfortably against local radio personality Jack Frost.
In 1990, he married Deborah Bonito, a former chair of the Alaska Democratic Party and the current owner of several small businesses throughout Anchorage. A son, Jacob, was born in July 2002.
Mayor Begich has appeared in national news media promoting economically efficient ways of reducing energy consumption to combat global warming.
[edit] Election history
Anchorage Mayor, 2000
- George Wuerch, 52%
- Mark Begich, 47%
Anchorage Mayor, 2003
- Mark Begich, 45%
- George Wuerch, 37%
- Rick Mystrom, 15%
Anchorage Mayor, 2006
- Mark Begich, 55%
- Jack Frost, 40%
- Nick Moe, 2%
[edit] References
| Preceded by: George Wuerch |
Mayor of Anchorage 2003 – present |
Incumbent |
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