Thomas August Fink (August 26, 1928 – June 4, 2021) 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.[1]
Tom Fink | |
|---|---|
 Fink in 1975 | |
| Mayor of Anchorage | |
| In office July 1, 1987 – July 1, 1994 | |
| Preceded by | Tony Knowles |
| Succeeded by | Rick Mystrom |
| 7th Speaker of the Alaska House of Representatives | |
| In office 1973–1975 | |
| Preceded by | Gene Guess |
| Succeeded by | Mike Bradner |
| Personal details | |
| Born | August 26, 1928 Peoria, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | June 4, 2021 (aged 92) Anchorage, Alaska, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Pat Fink |
| Children | 11 |
| Education | Bradley University (BS) University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (JD) |
Personal life
editFink was born in Peoria, Illinois. He received a Bachelor of Science from Bradley University in 1950, and a J.D. from the University of Illinois Law School in 1952. He moved to Anchorage, Alaska in 1952, and worked as a life insurance salesman from 1958 onward. He received his Chartered Life Underwriter certification from American College in 1963. Fink was in partnership with Don Schroer for 20 years, doing business as The Schroer-Fink Agency. Schroer was also often involved in Fink's various campaigns for office. He died on June 4, 2021, at the age of 92.[2]
Political career
editFink was elected to the Alaska House of Representatives in 1966, and became Speaker of the House in 1973. In 1975, he resigned in protest of a new law that would have required him to release a list of his insurance clients.[3]
Fink mounted an unsuccessful bid to succeed term-limited Republican Governor of Alaska Jay Hammond in 1982. He ran on a platform promoting the relocation of the state capital from Juneau to Willow, but was defeated by Democrat Bill Sheffield.[4]
In 1987, Fink was elected Mayor of Anchorage in the wake of a dramatic drop in the price of oil, which devastated the local economy. During his term in office, he advocated the sale of ATU, the municipal telephone utility.[5] He received national attention for his stance on gay rights when he vetoed a 1993 municipal ordinance that would protect city employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation.[6] The same year, he called for the cancellation of funding for Pomo Afro Homos, a local theater group that included works with homosexual themes in their repertoire.[7] In both cases, he was overridden by the Anchorage Assembly. In 1997, after sitting out one term, Fink returned to politics to mount an unsuccessful challenge to incumbent Republican mayor Rick Mystrom.
References
edit- ^ "PRESIDENT CLINTON NAMES THOMAS FINK TO THE FEDERAL RETIREMENT THRIFT INVESTMENT BOARD". Clinton White House. Retrieved June 7, 2021.
- ^ "Tom Fink, former mayor of Anchorage, dies at 92".
- ^ The New York Times: "2 Issues Dominate Alaska Campaign." Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ Time: "America's message" by Roger Rosenblat. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ Anchorage Press: "Alaskapolitik: ATU Belongs in Private Sector" by Benjamin Brown. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ Anchorage Press: "Queer On The Last Frontier" by Shana Sheehy. Retrieved March 22, 2007.
- ^ "Pomo Afro Homos in Anchorage." Archived 2007-06-22 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved March 22, 2007.
External links
edit- Alaska's Digital Archives Tom Fink's 1970 campaign photo
- Tom Fink at The Political Graveyard
- Tom Fink at 100 Years of Alaska's Legislature