Mark Begich

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Mark Begich
Incumbent
Assumed office 
July 1, 2003
Preceded by George Wuerch
Member, Anchorage Assembly
In office
1988 – 1998
Born 1962
Anchorage, Alaska
Political party Democratic
Spouse Deborah Bonito
Relations son of U.S. Representative Nick Begich (1932-1972)
Children Jacob Begich
Occupation Businessman
Website http://www.begich.com/

Mark Begich (born 1962) is an American Democratic Party politician and the current mayor of Anchorage, Alaska. He has appeared in national news media promoting economically efficient ways of reducing energy consumption to combat global warming.

On February 27, 2008 Begich held a press conference to announce that he was forming an exploratory committee to study the issue of running against incumbent U.S. Senator Ted Stevens (R-AK), who is running for reelection.[1] On April 21, 2008, he officially announced his candidacy.[2]

Contents

[edit] Political career

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. In 1989, Begich gained notoriety by successfully leading the oppositon to the sale of the municipally-owned Anchorage Telephone Utility (ATU) to private interests for $412 million. ATU was eventually sold in 1999 (after Begich had left the Assembly) for $295 million, resulting in a substantial loss to the city. Begich was also one of the chief sponsors of the highly unpopular introduction of "photo radar," which was found to be insufficiently reliable to be used as evidence by a three-magistrate panel. Photo radar was discontinued shortly after the ruling.

He ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 1994 against Rick Mystrom, and in 2000 against then-City Assemblyman George Wuerch. In the 2003 mayoral race he narrowly defeated both Mystrom and Wuerch, earning only 11 votes over the number needed to win, due to a simultaneously-approved law allowing a mayor to be elected without a majority vote. He was re-elected in April 2006, winning against local radio personality Jack Frost.

Though the office is officially non-partisan, Begich is the first Democrat to be elected Mayor of the Municipality of Anchorage since Tony Knowles, who was later elected to two terms as Governor of Alaska.

[edit] Personal life

Begich was born in Anchorage at the Old Providence Hospital, and is the first person born in Anchorage to be elected as the city's 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. The fourth child of six born to Nick and Pegge Begich, he has two sisters and three brothers. His paternal grandfather John Begich immigrated to the United States from Croatia in 1911.[3] He attended Steller Secondary School in Anchorage. 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.

[edit] Election history

Anchorage Mayor, 1994[4]

  • Rick Mystrom, 21.8%
  • Mark Begich, 19.4%
  • Craig Campbell, 17.4%
  • three other candidates, 41.4%
Runoff[5]
  • Rick Mystrom, 58.0%
  • Mark Begich, 42.0%

Anchorage Mayor, 2000

  • George Wuerch, 52%
  • Mark Begich, 47%

Anchorage Mayor, 2003

  • Mark Begich, 45%
  • George Wuerch, 37%
  • Rick Mystrom, 15%


Anchorage Mayor, 2006
Regular election, April 4, 2006
Candidate Votes % ±%
✓ Mark Begich 39,468 55.95%
Jack Frost 28,760 40.77%
Nick Moe 1,747 2.48%
Thomas Mark Higgins 431 0.61%
Write-in votes 135 0.88%
Turnout 70,541 35.18%

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Begich takes step toward Senate campaign Sean Cockerham, Anchorage Daily News, February 27, 2008
  2. ^ Mark's Announcement Speech (April 21, 2008). Retrieved on 2008-04-21.
  3. ^ Begich, Tom. (2006-04-30). "Tom Begich: Politics first - Part of growing up in a political family with a man who was a workaholic was I didn't know my father." Interviewed by Judy Ferguson. Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. Tom Begich, brother of Mark Begich, says of his father, "Until I was nearly 12, I grew up with a man who was a legend, the son of Croatian immigrants, but who disappeared Oct. 16, 1972, into the clouds."
  4. ^ Blumberg, Peter. (1994-04-21). "Campaign 94 mayor: Let's shake hands before round 2 - 37,850 votes up for grabs." Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved at Newsbank.com (subscription required) on 2007-04-04.
  5. ^ Blumberg, Peter. (1994-05-18). "Mystrom new mayor." Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved at Newsbank.com (subscription required) on 2007-04-04.

[edit] External links

Preceded by
George Wuerch		 Mayor of Anchorage
2003 – present		 Incumbent
Persondata
NAME Begich, Mark
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska
DATE OF BIRTH 1962
PLACE OF BIRTH Anchorage, Alaska
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH


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