Mark Begich
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| Mark Begich | |
| [[Image:Begich.JPG|x|Mark Begich]]
| |
Mayor of Anchorage, Alaska
| |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 1, 2003 | |
| Preceded by | George Wuerch |
|---|---|
Member, Anchorage Assembly
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| 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://begich.com/ |
Mark Begich (born 1962) is an American Democratic Party politician and the current mayor of Anchorage, Alaska.
He 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, 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.[1] 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-City 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.
Begich is the first Democrat to be elected Mayor of Anchorage since Tony Knowles, who would later be elected to two terms as Governor of Alaska.
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.
He has been mentioned as a possible candidate in the 2008 U.S. Senate election.[2]
[edit] Election history
Anchorage Mayor, 1994[3]
- Rick Mystrom, 21.8%
- Mark Begich, 19.4%
- Craig Campbell, 17.4%
- three other candidates, 41.4%
- Runoff[4]
- 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% | ||
(Photo Radar)
[edit] Notes
- ^ 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."
- ^ http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/2007/07/whats_the_matter_with_alaska.html
- ^ 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.
- ^ Blumberg, Peter. (1994-05-18). "Mystrom new mayor." Anchorage Daily News. Retrieved at Newsbank.com (subscription required) on 2007-04-04.
[edit] References
| 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 | |
